Beastman WIP - Chariots and Characters

Hello folks,

With the Deployment Zone's - Tamurkhan, Throne of Chaos campaign kicking off on the 22nd, I figured I should attempt to get a post or two in that isn't going to be campaign related.

I've finally pegged down a good theme for my Beastmen list and I think it will work out well.  I've modified 3 chariots, pinned together an annoying Razorgor and modified existing chariots to fit my theme as well as assembled a finecast Malagor to be my Great-Bray Shaman model.
Here are some of the WIP:

Here you can see where I had to cut off the "spokes" on the Orc chariot as well as the whip section to glue to a Gor hand weapon.  I glued an Ungor arm to the Gor as well.  Both chariots received similar treatment.

Here you can see the Orc Boar Boyz boars converted (i.e. assembled) to serve as Tuskgors.  The liquid Green stuff is also pretty awesome.  The Razorgor...seriously...F this model and it's god damn spikes wtf.

Here is the assembled and works in progress shots of the metal Razorgor chariot and the plastic Tuskgors.

Finally here is the Finecast Malagor Dark-Omen model - both in pieces and assembled as well as a 50% painted Ghorgon.

More to come shortly!  Thanks for reading!

The Deployment Zone’s - Tamurkhan, Throne of Chaos Campaign Phase 1: The Champions of the Dark Gods

The Deployment Zone’s - Tamurkhan, Throne of Chaos Campaign Phase 1:

The Champions of the Dark Gods

Tamurkhan sat atop the massive bulk of his toad dragon and observed the chaotic melee taking place below. After emerging from the twisted Gallows Tree, the chosen of Nurgle had unleashed his furious campaign to conquer the North before working his way down through the Kurgan on his way to the Mountains of Mourn. Several weeks had past and Tamurkhan had not slowed his steady advance towards the Mountains of Mourn until his horde had come across a massive sprawl of ruins where there stood the remains of a blasted black basalt ziggurat. The ziggurat looked as if some force or foul sorcery had exploded within it and rent it asunder and a great azure flame blazed from within. The ruin of the ziggurat, with its flames burning above the tallest of the blasted spires, had attracted thousands of blue cloaked warlocks and mutants to gather and give praise to the Changer of Ways. Without hesitation Tamurkhan had roared a challenge and sent his horde forward to annihilate the gathering of his patron’s hated foe. The warlocks and mutants had reacted quickly and the battle had been joined, Tamurkhan’s rotted horde smashing against the arcane might of the Changer’s flock. Blue flames and ebony lightning arced and flickered across the battle field as entire war bands were annihilated in seconds. Units of rotting and filth spewing marauders clashed against feathered mutants and horrors whose features changed like melted wax. The blue flame spat out horrific creatures out of nightmare, their pink rubbery hides shimmering in the afternoon’s sun. A kaleidoscope of colors would flash across their skin whenever they would open their massive tooth filled maw and belch gouts of iridescent flame that would utterly disintegrate whomever it touched. Kayzk the Befouled and his knights of corruption thundered across the battlefield smashing into the pink horrors. Eldritch blades emblazoned with blasphemous sigils of rot and ruin tore through the flesh of the daemons with ease and sent them screaming back into the realm of chaos. The legion of the maggot lord hurled themselves with renewed vigor at the basalt ruins of the ziggurat upon watching the horrors dispatched by their lord’s elite cavalry.

The two armies had been embroiled in battle for hours as Tamurkhan finally sighted his quarry. Floating upon a blazing disc of blue and orange flame stood a two headed mutant hurling fire and lightning into the melee. Two sets of eyes turned and focused on Tamurkhan and the rot lord smiled and a deep rumbling laugh began to erupt from his belly. Little pockets of corruption spewed out of mouth and lungs as an unholy bellowing laugh shook Tamurkhan’s befouled form. The bubbling, wet laughter could be heard over the din of battle as it echoed across the battlefield. Eyes turned towards the massive bulk as it launched itself from its rocky overlook and hurled its mass into the battle below. The toad dragon smashed into the earth, its bulk crushing dozens of warriors both friend and foe. Bubebolos slithered its way across the battlefield, smashing aside thousands as Tamurkhan’s roars of challenge echoed across the melee. The chaos sorcerer turned both heads and raised all three of his arms and hurled incantation after incantation at the massive monster thundering towards him. Bolts of eldritch energy bounced off the toad dragon’s hide harmlessly and the ropes of liquid flame that the sorcerer hurled seemed to do little or no damage as they slapped wetly against the toad dragons hide. Tamurkhan was almost upon him when the sorcerer tried to fly away on his blazing disc. Bubebolos then exhaled a cloud of unspeakable foulness that consumed the sorcerer and his disc. A cry of absolute horror was cut short as the sorcerer’s skin began to slough off his bones and he fell from his now corroded disc and landed on the battlefield with a wet plop. A roar of triumph from Tamurkhan caused the remaining forces of the Changer to break and panic. Within the hour the forces of Tamurkhan had overrun and annihilated their enemy and they stood gathered around the azure flame that burned within the center of the blasted ziggurat.

Tamurkhan then turned his gaze eastward towards the Mountains of Mourn…

Scenario Rules for Campaign Phase 1 – The Champions of the Dark Gods

Special Scenario: Altar of Battle (3 CP to the victor)

The Scenarios: (roll a D6 to determine what battle you play – or you may elect to play the Special scenario instead)

D6 Result

1-2 Battle line (1 CP to the victor – see the Warhammer Rulebook)
3-4 Blood and Glory (1 CP to the victor – see the Warhammer Rulebook)
5    Meeting Engagement (2 CP to the victor – see the Warhammer Rulebook)
6    Battle Royal* (2 CP to the victor) as a Grand Battle (if the models are available) or a Storm of Magic scenario (2 CP to the victor) as chosen.
* - Narrative scenario from the Warhammer Rulebook

Special Rules for all scenarios:
Chaos Wastes: The battles in this phase take places in the Northern Wastes under the baleful influence of the winds of magic and watched by the Chaos Gods.
When a Miscast result is suffered by any Wizard, this may be re-rolled but the second roll must be taken even if it is worse. Additionally, if Power Drain is the result of the re-roll, treat the result as Dimensional Cascade.

Victory Effects:
Victory effects will be listed when the final scenario is released.

Special Scenario:
The Altar of Battle

The lightly shaded areas denote the deployment zones.

 

This scenario represents the final stages of the nightmarish battle at Zanbaijin. Here Tamurkhan and the other Chaos lords vied for favor of the Dark Gods.

Armies:
This scenario is for two, four or six players, forming teams of equal numbers.

The Battlefield:
The table is set up using the rules presented on page 142 of the Warhammer Rulebook, with a bias given towards ruins, fallen statues and impassible pillars. In addition, the center of the table should have a single large temple ruin (using the Temple of Skulls terrain piece would be ideal). The ruins will serve as the Altar of Battle and will have its own special rules and serve as the objective.

Deployment:
Each player rolls off (re-rolling ties). The player with the highest score immediately selects a table edge and deploys their army within 8” of that edge, and then the second highest player selects a table edge and deploys their army within 8” of the edge and not within 12” of an opposing army, then the third and so on. Should there not be enough table edges, then the players will select a friendly player’s side to deploy on. Any player may hold up to half the units in their army in reserve if they wish.

First Turn:
The player who set up first has the first turn. In the event that there are more than two players involved then the special multi-player turn sequence shown on page 407 of the Warhammer Rulebook is used instead.

Game Length:
The game lasts for six turn or until a previously decided time limit.

Victory Conditions:
The Altar of Battle has special victory conditions based upon gaining Victory points other than the usual way (see below). Victory points are also counted for each side rather than player (in multi-player battles).

• Destroying a unit of making a unit flee off the table: 1 Victory Point
• Per enemy General killed: 1 Victory Point
• Being in control of the Altar of Battle at the end of the game (fleeing units can not claim or contest an objective): 5 Victory Points
The side with the most Victory points at the end of the game wins.

Scenario Special Rules:
The Altar of Battle

This ruin is a focal point for the swirling vortex of power that surrounds Zanbaijin. In order to control the altar, a side must have a unit within the ruins and no enemy units may also be present within 12” of the ruins center.

Any unit upon entering the ruin for the first time is assailed by malevolent spirits. The unit must take a Leadership test on 3d6 and for every point it fails the test by it takes a Strength 2 hit with no armor save allowed. This is a magical effect and it only occurs the first time the unit enters the ruin.

Once a side is in control of the Altar of Battle, that sides Wizard’s gain a +1 to their channeling attempts and may call down the Wrath of the Gods upon their enemies. This is treated like a Bound Level 5 direct damage spell. Select any point on the battlefield and place the Large Template. Once placed rolled a D6, on a 2+ any enemy model beneath the template takes a Strength 4 hit. On a roll of a 1, the opposing player gets to place the template instead!

Narrative Battle:
The narrative battle for this scenario – The Battle Royale is represented by the Battle of the Azure Flame detailed in the story above. Other than the location – it follows the same rules as detailed on page 406 of the Warhammer Rulebook.

The campaign officially begins February 22, 2012 however if wish to start early you are more than welcome. Please make sure to report your battles to me in person, at john@thedeploymentzone.com or message Sylvos through the Ordo Fanaticus forums (http://www.ordofanaticus.com/forum).



Thanks!

How important is the Deployment Phase? Part 2

How important is the Deployment Phase? Part 2


In the first part of this topic I wrote about how critical deploying correctly is when playing a war game. During Episode 7 of The Deployment Zone podcast, we again discussed this topic at great length where we spoke about not only how critical it is to deploy correctly but also some methods of deploying. In this post I plan on describing some methods that I use when deploying both my Eldar and Wood Elves. In addition to describing those methods, I will be touching on how army composition and build will also determine how you deploy.

Warhammer 40k:
The first game system I’ll be discussing is Warhammer 40k. I currently have two fully painted armies in 40k, my Ulthwe` Eldar and my Black Templars and a few partially painted armies like Space Wolves and Dark Eldar. Each of these armies not only functions differently but also requires a different deployment strategy to capitalize on the army strengths. I will only be touching on the Eldar deployment in this post, I may discuss the deployment methods for the Black Templars, Space Wolves and Dark Eldar in another post but for now we will stay with the Eldar.

In Warhammer 40k 5th edition there are three types of deployment options and also three mission types (unless you play one of the expansions or the Battle Missions book). I will first go over how I use the Eldar since that is a completely different play style over the Black Templars. The nicest thing about Warhammer 40k is that if you mess up your deployment it does not automatically guarantee you a loss or a difficult game.  The ability to use vehicles and other movement options makes the game is much more forgiving when you deploy poorly.

Regardless of the mission type (Annihilation, Capture and Control or Objectives), I will deploy my Ulthwe` Eldar like it was an Annihilation mission if I know I have the first turn. I have discovered that with the Eldar, when you are playing 40k you need to treat the game as an Alpha strike where you surgically remove the key units first then you are able to accomplish the mission goals.

In the pitched battle scenario, I place my relatively static units near the center of my deployment zone while the fast moving skimmers are put to the far corner near some form of cover. The plan behind this is when my opponent places all of their big units or guns directly across from the skimmers, first turn I can zip 36” across the board and suddenly my opponent’s entire army is out of position. This tactics is exceptionally helpful against footsloggers and elite armies that have to get into close combat as quickly as possible. The entire idea behind deploying in this fashion is to not only ensure that my opponent deploys poorly to counteract my deployment, but to also secure a strong flank where if they turn to face my skimmers they have now provided their flank to my long range weapons or other units.

When the mission is Spearhead (my personal favorite), I will aggressively deploy on the line with all my transports and war walkers in order to get in my opponents face as quickly as possible. That or if I know that I am facing an army that has horde-like traits, I will line up on the line and my opponent will attempt to do the same in order to reach me easily at which point I will fly back 36” and bombard them with fire as they cross the board. The goal of deploying on the line is to draw my opponent into placing key units near my key units so I can quickly assault and remove important models. It also allows me to hopefully pincer my opponent by flying the skimmers behind the army and bombards their units with long range fire from the opposite corner.

Lastly, the Dawn of War mission (I despise this deployment type) where I deploy only one unit which is generally either pathfinders or a unit of Storm Guardians in their transport right on the line so that my opponent is forced to deploy near their edge. I will then fly back on turn 1 as everything enters the table and attempt to secure a flank. If I am going second, I still deploy aggressively but rather than lining up on the line for all three deployment types, I will intentionally deploy near one side of the board where it appears I am out of position and then on my turn (provided I survive whatever bullshit alpha strike 40k allows you to unleash in the first turn: Imperial Guard and Grey Knights I’m looking at you) I will use the advantage of speed and mobility to zip across the table and decide where the battles will take place. Essentially, when playing Eldar and using their transports/jetbikes/skimmers you have the opportunity to use speed to your advantage. Only the Dark Eldar surpasses the Eldar in mobility and even then the Eldar have the other benefits which can and will be covered in tactica articles in the future.

If I am going second in any of these scenarios, I will deploy almost the same but when placing units on the board I will attempt to place them in 50% or more cover. Many Eldar players deploy using the “Reserves game” where they keep certain key units off until later turns. I personally despise using this type of deployment because with the exception of my War Walkers, I do not use reserves unless I am forced. Every turn that a unit in reserves is off the table is another turn that the unit has lost effectiveness and utility.

I chose these types of deployment strategies because I needed to find a way to capitalize on the speed, mobility and the elite aspects that Eldar exemplify. I center my deployment around setting up lightning strikes where I will hurl 3 wave serpents full of Warlocks and Guardians directly at my chosen target from the opposite side of the board. Using appropriate war gear, I can outfit my transports to move 36” in a turn and if necessary contest any objective in the 11th hour. At some point in the future I will record a battle with my Eldar and post the video up to display the deployment types.

When the new edition of 40k drops this summer, I am almost 100% certain I will have to once again alter how I deploy in order to keep up with the new rules and the mission types. That said - we will now lead into the next section of this post – Fantasy.

Warhammer Fantasy Battles:
Where the deployment phase in Warhammer 40k tends to be rather forgiving, in Warhammer Fantasy it is absolutely punishing if you deploy poorly. Deploying poorly does not necessarily mean you are going to lose but it definitely makes the rest of the game rather difficult to get back into position and have your army operate well. In Warhammer Fantasy 8th edition there are six different battle missions where each scenario uses a different deployment zone and victory conditions. I deploy relatively the same for almost all the scenarios due to the fact that just like my Eldar, the Wood elves have the advantage of mobility and speed which far outstrips most of the Warhammer Fantasy armies. The six battle missions are Battleline, Dawn Attack, Battle for the Pass, Blood and Glory, Meeting Engagement and the Watchtower. Of the six battle missions only one of them has a random deployment method which is Dawn Attack, but even then you can still maintain a good strategy for deploying by rolling for each unit and then making the decision as to where they will be placed in their designated area.

I have provided a very basic example of how I deploy with my Wood Elves in order to move and reposition quickly against most opponents. Even if my opponent is very fast, I am still able to get into position with most of my units before the opposing player can cut me off. This type of bait and switch deployment is called “Shifting Flank”. The images below should give you an idea but I will briefly describe what the thought process and methodology is behind this type of deployment.

As you can see the army is deployed just off center and then spreads out heavily on one flank. This deployment will work for all of them with the exception of Dawn Attack due to the randomization of where units go. This will also work well for Meeting Engagement since the diagonal deployment allows you not only shift quickly to one flank but if your opponent has lined up along the opposite 12” line with you, you can easily fly over them and have rear charges set up for the next turn or march block. Getting back to the description, with the army heavily located on one flank (especially the archers) my opponents generally will place their most devastating units directly in front of the units on the right side.

Once the first turn has started for the Wood Elves, I immediately attempt a swift reform with what units I can and with every unit except my archers I move the full movement (either 10”, 18” or 20”) to the opposite side of the board and suddenly my opponent has his entire flank exposed or a good portion. This is exceptionally devastating when my opponent is unable to realign his forces for at least 2 turns in the meantime I have forced certain fights to happen before my opponent was ready or the unit would be steadfast. This type of deployment took many, many games to finally master and now that it works well I am able to really capitalize on the first two to three turns in most games and gain the advantage early on. I can move my very effective melee units where I need them while still peppering key units with spells and ranged fire. The eagles and mounted characters are then able to either flank or rear charge engaged units or hunt warmachines that plague the Wood Elves. The shifting flank does have its issues and against Ogre Kingdoms, Beastmen, Skaven and other Elven armies where you will have to move and act quickly if you deploy in this fashion and wipe out key units otherwise these armies which have movement that matches yours can cut you off before you are able to fully capitalize on your deployment.

Another deployment strategy is using the units appropriately such as my Waywatchers. I have already posted a tactics article on them about how they can be used effectively. I almost always try to remove the heavy cavalry or other mounted units with waywatchers. I encourage the use of the Shifting Flank deployment method for any Wood Elf player. The ability to take flying units, fast moving cavalry and very mobile forest spirit and elven units are a distinct advantage that not many armies can use.

I do hope this article has been helpful and has provided an insight into how my games with Wood Elves go. Please feel free to leave comments and thank you for reading.

The Deployment Zone's - Tamurkhan, Throne of Chaos Campaign

Tamurkhan, Throne of Chaos Campaign Outline:

I will be running the Deployment Zone’s – Tamurkhan, Throne of Chaos Campaign starting February 22nd and ending on May 9th. There will be no “home” location since this is a multi-site and multi-region campaign event. Details below as well as some questions I’ve answered prior to this post already:

Storyline and Introduction: (summarized and taken from the book Tamurkhan, Throne of Chaos)
There was a great gathering of the exalted champions and warlords of the armies of chaos upon the plateau of K’Datha in the ruins of Zanbaijin the Fallen City. Followers of three of the four Gods of Chaos were present and soon joined in battle to fight for supremacy over the ruined city and win the favor of the Gods. The brazen-armored warriors of Hakka the Aesling, champion of the Blood God, fought the horse-mounted reavers and marauders of the Yurtsak under the leadership of Sargath the Vain, paramour of Slaanesh. This battle was joined by the witch-cabal of Urak Soulbane, Arch Sorcerer of Tzeentch. The three armies fought for days as the bodies piled high and the stink of death hung heavy over the ruined city of Zanbaijin.

As the grand melee had reached its zenith, a fourth army crested the edge of the plateau and looked down upon the battle below. A monstrous horde filled with nightmare things, dripping rot and decay, carried an aura of miasma and pestilence about it. Bile Trolls, worm-men and hideous, nameless things dripping rot and slime roared in unison as the leader of this rotting host stepped forth. Like the other chaos warlords, the newest champion to arrive had heard the call to K’Datha and the whispered promises of power as well.

A great storm sent by Father Nurgle himself wreathed the fallen city, plunging the battling armies into darkness and obscuring the sun. With a roar that seemed torn from the very throats of hell, the fourth army descended upon the city to join in battle and win glories for their patron, the Lord of Decay. Tamurkhan the Maggot Lord, his form bloated and distorted with disease and mutation, was at the head of his nightmare host as they smashed into the followers of Khorne and Slaanesh embattled below. The witch-cabal fled the battle sending flashes of arcane flame in their wake as the rotting host descended, their general Urak seeing portents of doom for his army.

At the height of the battle, the clouds were rent asunder and caustic rain fell in sheets that putrefied the flesh of the fallen and created rancid sloughs of liquid that mired the forces of Khorne and Slaanesh as Tamurkhan’s horde slammed into their flank. Tamurkhan’s horde broke the back of the Khornites and dispersed the forces of the Blood God quickly. The horsemen of Slaanesh fought their way through the rotting host till their leader, Sargath the Vain stood before the champion of Nurgle. Sargath looked upon the withered, rotted figure slumped unceremoniously upon the vast, hulking bulk of Bubebolos the Toad Dragon. The rotted figure spewed out his own vile insults as Sargath roared out his challenge. The toad dragon opened its gaping maw and spewed a blast of unspeakable foulness at Sargath. Sargath immediately leapt into the air while his mount was reduced to a screaming pile of ooze, his miraculous jump clearing the vile ooze but the fumes instantly corroded his pristine white armor, and landed upon the back of the massive toad dragon and stood before Tamurkhan seated upon his saddle. The champion of Slaanesh speared Tamurkhan’s heart with his rune blade. Sargath’s roar of triumph was cut short as Tamurkhan began to laugh and his form bulged and finally burst asunder like rotted fruit. A large, grey child-sized maggot with rows of twisted teeth and black multi-faced eyes leapt forth and buried itself into the neck of the champion of Slaanesh. Within seconds the maggot had disappeared and Sargath’s body began to jerk spasmodically as the champion of Nurgle had found a new host. The toad dragon bellowed a roar of triumph as its master climbed upon his back once again and took his seat.

The marauders and horsemen, seeing their general defeated broke and ran and the forces of Tamurkhan swept through the remaining forces of Hakka the Aesling and claimed the city of Zanbijin for Nurgle. By right of conquest, the remaining forces swore fealty to the rotting lord as long as he promised them glory and riches in the name of Chaos.
And so began the tale of the Chosen of Nurgle, Tamurkhan the Maggot Lord, and his quest to sit upon the Throne of Chaos…
Tamurkhan and his lieutenant, Kazyk the Befouled, organized the rotting host and marched northward. As the rotting host crossed the Altayan Hills, the Dolgan warlord Sayl the Faithless, a malformed yet powerful sorcerer-lord, made a play and swore fealty to Tamurkhan and swelled the rotting host by tens of thousands of Dolgan warriors. Instead of plunging west into the lands of Kislev and the rich prizes of the Empire, Tamurkhan took his forces even further North and East towards a place of nightmares in the Chaos Wastes, the Gallows Tree.

The Gallows Tree was a twisted, nightmarish mass of limbs that served as a living gateway to the horrors beyond in the Realm of Chaos. It was said that within the nightmarish space lived an unclean hag-daemon who would bestow blessings and secrets to those that pleased her and death to those who did not. Tamurkhan brought his massive army to the foot of the gallows tree and left his horde encamped at its base as he walked into the bowels of the tree and into the realm beyond. Tamurkhan spent many days within the tree and while he was gone, his army swelled even larger every day.

Tamurkhan finally emerged from the depths of the Gallows Tree several days later and much to the rejoicing of his followers. All could see that the Maggot Lord had been marked by the Chaos Gods. The once white armor of Sargath was now rusted and befouled, swarming with bloated parasites. The new body that Tamurkhan inhabited had been ravaged during his journey but it was clear that the Lords of Chaos had chosen their new champion. In his hand, Tamurkhan bore several scrolls and he gathered around him a score of the most powerful champions and sorcerers in the horde into a war council and shared with them the revelations he received while in the Gallows Tree.

Tamurkhan declared a war upon the lands of Men; he referenced the legendary Throne of Chaos that would yield dominion over the world and untold glories to be heaped at the feet of the Chaos Gods. Tamurkhan shared the visions bestowed upon him, the forges of Zharr, the Mountains of the Mourn, the Blasted Lands and finally the ripe underbelly of the Empire. As he spoke, the gathered warlords grew enticed by his promises of power and as Tamurkhan’s raspy voice filled the chamber, the fate of the horde was sealed. And with a final, guttural roar, Tamurkhan declared war upon the lands of Sigmar and the Empire and the deafening cry of war from the gathered masses caused the very ground to shake as a new storm of chaos had begun…

Campaign Guidelines, Rules and Structure:
The Tamurkhan, Throne of Chaos Campaign is a six part point based narrative campaign setting which will be using the rules from the Warhammer Forge book Tamurkhan, Throne of Chaos. The entire campaign is set to take place over the course of 12 weeks with each phase of the campaign being two weeks long. The difference between a narrative campaign and your standard campaign is that at the end of every phase, the side that has the greater amount of campaign points will directly impact the next phase. There will also be special scenarios and abilities unlocked as each side wins a phase and finally at the end there will be a drawing for prizes via a raffle for all those who participated.

The Sides:
There are two sides to the Throne of Chaos campaign. One represents Tamurkhan and his horde, and the other represents his opposition he encounters and various armies and enemies that oppose him.

Chaos Horde
The armies played by the Chaos Horde should be drawn from the Chaos Army books (Beastmen, Daemons of Chaos, Warriors of Chaos and the Legion of Azgorh – i.e. Chaos Dwarves) or one of the Forces of Destruction which were outlined in the Warhammer Basic Rule Book. (Orcs and Goblins, Vampire Counts, Skaven, and Dark Elves)

Opposition
The armies played by the Opposition to the Chaos Horde should be drawn from the Empire and the rest of the Forces of Order (Bretonnia, High Elves, Wood Elves, Dwarves, and Lizardmen).

The armies of Ogre Kingdoms, Dogs of War and Tomb Kings will have the option of choosing a side when they join the campaign. Once chosen however, the player must stay with the chosen side through out the campaign.

The Points Cost:
Games should be played to a mutually agreed points cost, with a minimum value of 2,500 points recommended per side for games in phases one through five, with Grand Battles of 3,500 points a side recommended for games played as part of the sixth phase.

Army Restrictions:
Please try to make the armies friendly and fun. However there are no restrictions on what you may bring. Special characters are allowed but with the following caveat: Special characters are worth double their victory points to your opponent and will provide 1 Campaign point to the opposition’s side if slain. It is a time of heroes and the most renowned would show up to fight, however legends do die…

The Phases:
The campaign is separated into six phases; each phase will be narrated and will roughly correspond to the story told in the Tamurkhan, Throne of Chaos book. Each phase will last two weeks with each battle earning points for each battle won per side. The side that earns the most points per phase will win that phase and have a direct impact upon the storyline and the final conflict at the end of the campaign. Each phase will have a special scenario outlined which will be worth more campaign points as well as a Storm of Magic scenario too.

The Grand Finale:
Phase six of the Throne of Chaos campaign will represent the cataclysmic final conflict fought in the shadow of the great city of Nuln. The results of the previous phases will determine what bonuses are attributed to either the Chaos Horde or the Opposition.

The Scenarios:
Each phase will be dedicated to a specific section of the Throne of Chaos storyline and there will be special rules per phase for each side as well as special scenarios and rules for choosing the scenario. Each phase will have its own unique scenario which shall be designated as the narrative scenario.

Scenario Options and Scoring:
Every phase there will be a choice between three normal scenarios, one Storm of Magic scenario and one Narrative scenario to play. The three normal scenarios will vary per phase as far as availability. Each scenario provides campaign points to the victor and their side. The campaign point value is determined by the type of scenario and at the end of the phase the side with the most campaign points wins that phase. Some scenarios will be worth more campaign points than others and the value will change from phase to phase.

Reporting Wins and Ending a Phase:
Every phase will last two weeks beginning on a Wednesday and ending on a Tuesday two weeks later. Players will have three options on reporting their side’s campaign points.

1. Private Message on the Ordo Fanaticus Forums to me (Sylvos) or email me at john@thedeploymentzone.com with you Ordo name or real name.
2. Have your game club/store designate one person to report it to me via The Deployment Zone email address (john@thedeploymentzone.com)
3. Inform me in person when I am at your game store/area/club.

The Wrap Up:
At the end of this campaign, Tamurkhan and his horde of chaos will either win and ravage the Empire of Man and a new age of Death and Decay shall reign over the land…or the good guys win and the world stays the same only lots of stuff to bury. Everyone who participates will have their name entered into a raffle and every game that you play also earns you an entry into the raffle. One person will win a Battalion of their choice and two others will win a $50.00 and a $25.00 gift certificate. You must play a game during the campaign to qualify for winning a prize.

Questions and Possible Issues:
1. How many games do I have to play a phase? - You only need to play one game per phase and if you happen to miss out on a phase it’s ok just try to play in the next phase.

2. If I play multiple games in a phase do I get to use all my totals? – No, only one won game will be recorded as far as campaign points in a phase. You could technically play 2 games where you win one and lose one and still would be able to report the game that you won in.

3. What if I don’t have someone from the opposite team to play against? - That happens sometimes, If you and your opponent are on the same side (Chaos or Order) and play each other, then you both earn half the amount of campaign points you would have normally earned. (i.e. if the two of you both report a win with the points then it equals out to the same as one person reporting a win).

4. Aw man, I just signed up for another guys campaign but I want to play in yours too but I don’t have the time, what do you recommend? – Why thank you for such a thoughtful question. No one likes to have to choose between two neat ideas or friends. If you are currently in an existing campaign or one is starting up at the same time as this one, you may still participate in both. All you have to do is report if you won a battle for your side and the same rules apply if you end up playing someone on the same side as you.

5. Yeah but in this other guys campaign our scenarios aren’t the same as the Tamurkhan ones, what do we do about that? – That’s also just fine, non-Tamurkhan scenarios (each phase will have the approved scenarios listed) will be worth 1 CP (Campaign Point) to the victor. The goal is to foster participation and gaming without diminishing from the efforts of other people’s campaigns and enjoyment.

6. Do my armies have to be painted? - No, the entire point of this campaign is to get members of the Ordo Fanaticus ready and prepared for OFCC by having them play games and enjoy themselves. I full expect people to have half-assembled units and proxies in some of their games as they try to figure out what works best for them.

7. Wait, you said this is to get folks ready for OFCC? Does this mean I can use my OFCC list with monsters and stuff? – Yes. Dogs of War are also totally viable to use.

8. How are you going to report the wins? - I will be providing a summary every two weeks on the Ordo Forums, my blog (http://www.companyofthedamned.blogspot.com)and also on the Deployment Zone podcast (http://www.thedeploymentzone.com/).

9. You mentioned prize support, is there an entry fee for this campaign? - Nope, the only cost is your time involved.

10. Where do you sign up for it? - I will have a list on the Ordo Forums of those who have signed up for it and what side they have chosen to be on.

11. Where will we find the special scenarios? – I will be posting the current phase’s scenarios and explanations the day of the new phase on the Ordo Fanaticus forums and my blog (http://www.companyofthedamned.blogspot.com/)

12. Lastly, do I need to have a copy of Tamurkhan to play? – Absolutely not, I will be providing all the information you need to play via blog and forum posts. I still recommend getting the book however, it’s awesome.

I'll be providing updates via this blog, the podcast and the Ordo Fanaticus forums.

How important is the Deployment Phase? – Part 1

How important is the Deployment Phase? – Part 1
The Deployment phase is one of the most critical phases in most war games. It has the potential to set you up for utter victory or complete failure. The deployment phase requires more strategy than most people give it credit and it can easily determine the winner before any dice are even rolled. The type of war game also has a direct impact of how important the deployment phase is because in some games half the battle is fought in the deployment phase.

During the deployment phase, you and your opponent will attempt to place your units in the most advantageous position to either engage or avoid the other’s best or worst units. In some game systems the deployment zone is a static area from battle to battle while other game systems make use of different types of scenarios that require players to deploy their forces outside the standard 12” line. Through the use of scenarios, game designers have managed to alter not only where the players place their units but also the methods and tactics involved in those decisions. Scenarios accomplish two points, they provide a different area of deployment to players and it employs different winning conditions which directly impact deployment and game play.

Let’s take a look at some of the game systems and how deployment is performed. In some historical games, players will write down where their units will be placed and then reveal their decisions during the deployment phase. If the other general has done a better job of setting up and devised a better deployment strategy, then sometimes the game is decided before any dice are rolled or miniatures even placed. In games such as Blood Bowl where you set up your teams on a fantasy football field, if you properly set up your team you can easily score a touchdown with minimal effort while denying your opponent the chance to stop you. Also, games like Blood Bowl require a redeployment after every half or touchdown which means that there is a lot of strategy involved in deploying one’s team to gain the advantage.

Now when you have war games that provide you with different deployment scenarios, the importance of properly deploying is even more critical. Warhammer 40,000 5th edition currently has 3 basic scenarios and missions in the main rule book. Each of these missions has a different objective in order to secure a victory and also each scenario alters the deployment zone and the method in which troops are deployed. The players have to appropriately deploy their troops, decide who is in reserve, figure out who is scouting or outflanking and then let their opponent do the same before they begin the battle. All of these actions are part of the deployment phase where the stage is set for the upcoming game and a good portion of the game is already decided once the die is rolled to seize the initiative. Warhammer Fantasy has the same type of situation where you have six different scenarios for basic battle missions then a slew of narrative and special battles detailed in its core rulebook. The scenarios alter not only the victory conditions but also the size of the deployment zone and the method of deploying (from alternating units to one player deploys entire army). In Warmachine and Hordes, not only do their scenarios alter deployment and objectives but the very force organization can change the deployment zone for the army. All of these variables make it easy to error in how you deploy your army and complicate the tactics you had planned to employ that game.

Some armies are slightly more forgiving when it comes to making bad decisions in the deployment phase. You generally see this in Warhammer 40k due to the large amount of fliers and fast moving vehicles. You can maneuver and reposition a little bit easier than you can in Warhammer Fantasy but it doesn’t change the fact that your army is still out of position and your opponent has a serious advantage.

In Part 2 of how important is the deployment phase, I will be providing some deployment strategies for the armies I play as well as the methodology involved. You will also see how a poor deployment strategy can severely punish you in game. I will also try to provide deployment examples for all my armies rather than just the Wood Elves and Beastmen. We will be discussing this topic tonight while we record episode 7 of The Deployment Zone. Thanks!