DieCon

Hardcore: Down to the Wire

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With just a couple days left before Privateer Press Weekend at DieCon X here in St. Louis, I’m still scrambling to finish a few last minute figures before Saturday’s Hardcore event.  Surprise surprise, it’s down to the wire with me scrambling to finish a everything up in time.  It really shouldn’t be a surprise, though. … Read more

The Crunch Time Cometh

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Hierophant WIP
Hierophant WIP

It’s already that time of year again. In a few short weeks Privateer Press Weekend at DieCon X will be upon us.  This year the event will feature another Hardcore event again – the first ever official one for Warmachine MkII.  There’s not much time left, but I’m behind on getting prepared.  This feels oddly familiar.

I have a few lists I’m tossing around to play, but I haven’t even really settled on if I’m playing the Protectorate or Legion.  The Legion models I’d want to use are already painted, but there’s still a few key Protectorate ones – like the Hierophant and Covenant – that I needed to get to.

It’s been a while since I last picked up the brush; maybe even a couple months.  Painting has always been an enjoyable hobby for me, but lately it’s always seemed like there’s something else I rather do with my free time.  Still there aren’t many chances to play in a Hardcore event, so it’s time to buckle down and get to work.

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St. Louis Privateer Weekend III: June 4th – 6th, 2010

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Ye be warned… For the past 2 years the best players from around the nation have descended on St. Louis to participate in one of the most intense and grueling Warmachine and Hordes competitions known to man and beast, including the first official MkII Hardcore tournament. The St. Louis Riverdogs are pleased to announce our third annual Privateer Weekend at DieCon X June 4th through the 6th. This will be the premiere event for the Midwest prior to Gen Con 2010. Privateer Weekend consists of 3 days of spine crushing, cortex smashing fun coursing over more than 7 events. The terrain is amazing. The competitors are top tier in both skill and personality. Here lies the ultimate in gaming. Featured events over the weekend include a specially designed train event by the Iron Agenda podcast, two Steamroller 2010 competitions, an ongoing Tide of War competition, Iron Kingdoms knowledge tests hosted by Capt. Saultydog, and our main event, the first official Mark II Hardcore tournament on Saturday. If this wasn’t enough, the weekend will also feature various painting competitions and a diorama competition.

Complete schedule and details are available on our site,  or keep up to date by following us on Twitter. See all the fun-filled convention activities and preregister at the DieCon home page. Registration for DieCon X is only $26.00 until April 15th. After that, registration increases to $31.00 – still an amazing bargain. Online payments will be accepted via PayPal. Those particpating in Hardcore will have an additional 5 dollar fee which goes towards a personalized 2010 Official Hardcore dogtag. Remember to select “PP Hardcore” under the list of Saturday events to reserve your spot today and enter your requested personalization at that time. Our schedule is listed below…

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Ride the Blightning! – A Hardcore Tourney Report (Part 2)

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Ride the Blightning!

  • Thagrosh, the Messiah
  • Carnivean
  • Seraph
  • Nephilim Soldier
  • Raek
  • Shredder
  • Harrier
  • Forsaken
  • Shepherd
  • Strider Deathstalker x2
  • Warmonger Warchief
  • Warmongers x4
  • Swamp Gobber Bellows Crew

This is the second and final installment of my Hardcore Tournament report from Privateer Weekend 2 at DieCon 9.  You can find my list-building discussion here and the first part of my Hardcore coverage here.

I started Hardcore with a loss to the Protectorate of Menoth, but they say if you fall off the Blightning, you get right back on and try again.   After a round two win against Khador I was hoping it was the start of a streak.

Once again I’ve included the list I used for reference and have tried to recreate what each of my opponents were running to the best of my recollection.  I can’t guarantee what I have for my opponents’ lists is 100% accurate but it should give you a rough idea of what I faced each round.

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Ride the Blightning! – A Hardcore Tourney Report (Part 1)

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Hardcore is a lot like riding a bicycle; you never forget how to fall off.

At least that’s how I felt preparing for Privateer Weekend 2 and my second Hardcore. I knew what to expect from the time clock and how to handle the short turns, but the competition at Hardcore is a notch above your standard Steamroller event.  So I needed a secret weapon…

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The Frostfang Brood Gets Hardcore

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At the first Privateer Press Weekend at DieCon 8 I assembled my Protectorate of Menoth forces to take a stab at the Hardcore tournament format.  I was happy with my army’s performance and would have been happy to run it again but I wanted something different.   This year I turned to my Legion of Everblight forces, the Frostfang Brood, to see if I could lead them to similar success but first I had to build an army.

For me the first step in building a Hardcore list was to decide what I wanted to accomplish.  Every round of a Hardcore tournament is an assassination game so there’s no building lists for scenario victories but it’s not uncommon for players to gear their lists towards winning one or more of the four Hardcore medals:

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Privateer Press Weekend 2009 Mercenaries Update

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Orin Midwinter
Orin Midwinter

As work on my Legion forces progresses I’ve also been putting some work in on the Mercenaries I’m painting to be given away at Privateer Press Weekend this year.  I still have a lot of detailing and a little bit of re-working  to do but things are looking good as far as meeting my deadline.

First up is my Orin Midwinter, who I think is coming together well.  I shaded his robe by adding black to P3 Skorne Red and left him on the dark side to fit his fluff.  The trim, sash, and shoulder pads still need some work but I went with black to keep a sinister feel on the model.  Orin’s staff is P3 Brass Balls shaded with brown and black inks and highlighted by mixing in just a tad of GW Mithril Silver.

After I finish the the rest of the model I think I’m going to do some source lighting on the end of this staff and his left eye.  I have some P3 Arcane Blue that I’ll probably use – it’s an interesting greenish blue that looks like it’s good for this sort of effect.  I’ve tested it on some other models and I think it would look good applied to Orin.

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St. Louis Privateer Press Weekend II: June 5th – 7th, 2009

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ppw09-reznik

ppw09-rhyas

The St. Louis Riverdogs are pleased to announce our second Annual Privateer Weekend at Diecon 9.  This will be the premiere event for the Midwest prior to Gen Con 2009.  Privateer Weekend contains 3 days of spine crushing, cortex smashing fun over more than 8 events.  The terrain is amazing and includes specialized scenario tables.  The competitors are top tier in both skill and personality.  The gaming will be second to none.  Featured events over the weekend include three steamroller competitions, an ongoing Tide of War competition, Iron Kingdom knowledge tests hosted by Capt. Saulty Dog, and our main event, an official Hardcore tournament on Saturday.  If this wasn’t enough, monsters will also be running loose throughout the city as we host 3 monsterpocalypse events over the weekend.

Check out http://diecon.gamestlouis.com for our complete event schedule and follow the link to Diecon 9 to see other convention activities and pre-register.  Or check out http://www.diecon.com for a summary of all convention events and to preregister.  Preregistration can be done by paypal for $26 for the entire weekend!  Those wishing to participate in our Saturday’s official Hardcore tournament should select PP Hardcore under the list of Sat Events. There is an additional $5 fee for the Hardcore event that will be paid on site but those who play in hardcore will receive a specialized dog tag for participation.  A summary of our event schedule is below.

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WIP – Mercenaries for Privateer Press Weekend

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As I mentioned before, the local Warmachine community held Privateer Press Weekend at DieCon 8 last year here in St. Louis.  This year we’re going to be doing it again.  And like last year I’ve been tapped to paint some miniatures to be given away as door prizes to attendees.  Last year I painted up … Read more