Oldhammer Battle Report: Orcs vs. Skaven "The Bridge over the River Sty"

"Wot's da plan, boss?"

The question was posed by Captain Gritstool with the indifference peculiar to an orc whose finger is knuckle-deep in his nose. Gritstool's leader, General Krapfang squinted into the sun. He was surrounded by his lieutenants, holding a council or war. "Roight," Krapfang said decisively, "I dunno."

The orcs had taken up a position by a stone bridge over the the Sty River. If they could hold off the oncoming Skaven, a rich season of plunder awaited them in the halfling settlements across the bridge. 
The still summer air was pierced by a cry. A goblin ran into their midst, panting and wailing. "Boss, Boss," he said, "da ratters are comin'!"
Krapfang belched with studied nonchalance. "We knows dat, Smarmy," he replied 
"Burt burt burt Boss. Dey's got giant dogs. With skull faces. And rat ogres. Tails like snakes. Skin dat looks like iron. Huge muscles. Muscles on da muscles. Chaos and shit. We're meat."

Clan Moulder's Chaos Hounds (by 24_Cigarettes)

The orcs started wheezing in fear. Chaos? Monsters? This was not what Krapfang had promised them when he had led them into the valley. They wheeled on their leader, demanding to know what to do. There was a long pause. The General was sweating so hard, it was audible.
Finally, Krapfang cleared his throat. "Wot we needs," he said, "is a resurve."
"A resurve?!"
"Yes," said Krapfang with more confidence, "A resurve. All da top generals keep resurves."
"Wot's a resurve?" the orcs asked. Perhaps it was a kind of potion.
"Da resurve stands back. Way, way back. And when da fightings loudest, and it lurks like we've 'ad it, da resurve charges in, and we win," replied Krapfang, "Simple as peein' down yer leg."
"Well, who's da resurve?"
"Me and my bigguns are da resurve," said Krapfang, "Natch."

Swartbad the Black Orc stiffened. Without further preparation, he horked up a hedgehog of mucus and spat it out on Krapfang's boot. His band of Black Orcs was a recent addition to the army. They were large and terrifying, especially Swartbad. He had a face like a cow's arse halfway through a miscarriage. 

"Dat is to say," said Krapfang thoughtfully, "Me, my bigguns and da Black Orcs are da resurve. Da rest of you get out der and make me proud."
"Well boss, if Swarbad is resurve, my boyz should be resurve too," wheedled Gritstool, "Furs fur."
"Yeah boss," said the old wizard Grogeye, "Da Spell Talker is always in da resurve."
"If der in resurve, you can't reckon us to fight," said Smarmy the goblin.
"REE SWERVE" bellowed the Giant Rotwang.
"Fine! Fine!" cried Krapfang, smelling another mutiny, "We're all da resurve. I already sent da Gobboes across da river for flanky stuff. They'll advance and do da fightin'. We'll resurve from way back 'ere and hope da ratters don't notice us."


Welcome to another battle report, the third in my ongoing feud with 24_Cigarettes and his incredible Skaven horde (the first two battles are here and here). In this 1500 point bash, 24_C assembled a beautiful Clan Moulder army, featuring lots of beastmasters with packs of chaos hounds, rat ogres and giant rats, all of them stippled with terrifying chaos mutations. It was a rich and thematic force. My army was similar to my previous offerings, with the new addition of Bob Olley's Black Orcs.


Krapfang's Backwood Bandits

Krapfang's Tin Kan Kommandoes
14 Orc Bigguns (+1 elites) with light armour, shields, spears + standard bearer and musician
(168 pts)

Lead by General Krapfang Toothshyte, Lvl. 20 Orc hero with light armour and shield
(119 pts)

Wielding the Wreckrune, a magic hell-honed, parasitic sword 

(45 pts)

Gritstool's Nasty Gits
10 Orc Boyz with light armour, shields, spears + standard bearer and musician
(114 pts)

Harboth's Black Mountain Boyz
10 Orc Arrer Boyz with bows, shields + standard bearer and musician
(102 pts)

"A resurve!"

Vape Softbladder's Gobbo Greatmob
19 Gobbos with shields + standard bearer and musician
(63 pts)

Lead by Prince Vape Softbladder, Lvl. 15 Goblin with shield
(41 pts)

Smarmy's Swift Backtrakkers

10 Goblin Stikkas with short bows
(35 pts)

Swartbad's Stompers

10 Black Orcs with light armour and double-handed weapons

(110 pts)

Grogeye's Butt Uglies

3 Trolls

(195 pts)

Da Man-Mangler

Lead by Grogeye the Incontinent, Lvl. 15 Orc wizard

(163 pts)

Da Man-Mangler 

6-man stone thrower with Orc crew

(93 pts)

Rotwang Bawbag the Giant

(250 pts)

Baggage Train
4 orcs & 1 goblin with improvised weapons
(0 pts)

Total = 1498 points

Set Up

Clan Moulder won the dice roll and chose the north side of the map for deployment. They took the field in a tight fist of a formation, with two units of rat ogres and one pack of chaos hounds in the very centre, flanked on either side by skavenslaves. A powerful Clan Moulder warlord wielding a magic sword accompanied one of the groups of rat ogres (denoted on the map by an asterisk). The force was rounded out with a huge swarm of giant rats. Most of the units had chaos mutations, but the chaos hounds were especially worrisome with a fearsome appearance that gave them fear +2. 

The orc set-up was very different. Krapfang dispersed his forces widely in an effort to keep them from breaking out into animosity inspired brawls. He was especially eager to keep anyone from interfering with the crew of his stone-thrower, The Man-Mangler. 

The Orcs prepare to hold the bridge over the River Sty

Turn 1: The Better Part of Valour

Like Fabius Cunctator, General Krapfang's strategy was animated by one idea: avoid battle for as long as possible. Time would allow his superior missile troops to whittle down the enemy, and may even permit some sort of daring flank attack. So on the first turn he sent his light troops scurrying forward on the left and right, while his centre remained motionless. Although Harboth's Arrer Boyz landed a few arrows among the giant rats, the crew of the Man Mangler showed typical orc competence and lobbed their stone well short of the chaos hounds. 

The decrepit orc wizard, Grogeye, cast "Cause Frenzy" on the unit of trolls that he himself was leading, with the intention that if the chaos hounds did get close, the trolls would try to fight with them (or at least vomit on them). This simple spell would have a dramatic impact on the outcome of the game.

Would you hasten to fight this army?

Clan Moulder had no wizard, and their only missile weapons were two Warpfire Throwers embedded in the units of Skavenslaves. So their turn simply consisted of charging forward and chittering in a most unseemly manner.

The Trolls consider hiding under the bridge, as their ancestors used to do

Turn 2: Destructive Even in Error

In the second turn, Krapfang continued to hold back his main strength. His flanking forces advanced, but their arrows were ineffectual against the battle-hardened Skaven. His hopes rested more and more on the Man-Mangler. However, the crew once again forgot to carry the three when calculating their trajectory, and missed. And yet, a weapon like a six-person stone thrower is so destructive that it hurts even when it misses -- in this case, the errant stone grazed a couple Skaven units, wiping out two Rat Ogres and one Chaos Hound.

This was not enough to stop Clan Moulder. In an effort to delay the pain, Grogeye cast Windblast at the Skaven General and his unit of Rat Ogres. 

On the right flank, Goblin skirmishers snipe from cover at the Skaven

The magical wall of wind indeed halted the Skaven General, but he sent the rest of his units ahead. In a worrying development, the seething mass of giant rats forded the River and moved to intercept the flanking force of Goblins.

On the left flank, the swarm of Giant Rats crosses the river, scaring the sheep

Turn 3: Gotterdammerung!

This was such an action-packed turn, I've broken it into two maps, one for the Orc's turn and one for the Skaven's.

The moment of truth had come for Krapfang. Any hope of dismantling Clan Moulder before they arrived had vanished. It was time to charge or be charged. Or at least it was time to order someone else to charge... which meant sending in "da uglies" - three trolls and a giant.

With surprising good fortune, the trolls passed their stupidity check and fear check and charged the Chaos Hounds. Bewitched by Grogeye's spell, they also entered a battle frenzy. Next to them, Rotwang the Giant charged the oncoming Skavenslaves. Meanwhile, on the far left flank, Goblins and Orc archers charged into the swarm of giant rats, hoping to panic them with a pincer movement.

Goblins and Orc Archers attempt to surround a seething horde of Giant Rats

But before any of these melees could resolve, there was some missile fire. The Goblin Archers fired at the melee between the Giant and the Skavenslaves, confident that their tiny arrows couldn't hurt Rotwang no matter how often they hit him. Actually, they hit him quite a lot. Indeed, it was their finest hour. Although none of their enemies were injured in the barrage, the Goblins dealt the Giant 2 wounds -- forcing him to make (and pass!) a morale check. 

On the upside, the Man-Mangler finally landed on target, transforming 3 rat ogres and 2 handlers into strawberry jam.

The Trolls charge into the Chaos Hounds, while the Giant sends his opponents fleeing away

All eyes were on the combat between the Trolls and Hounds. With astounding dice rolls, err, skill, the Chaos Hounds savaged the clumsy Trolls, dealing 5 wounds -- almost enough to kill 2 Trolls and more than sufficient to rout the unit -- except that Trolls were in a frenzy and would never retreat. To add to insult to injury, the Trolls made their regeneration roll, suddenly erasing all the damage that the Skaven had done.

Although Rotwang had a few arrows lodged in his buttocks, this didn't stop him from eating a few Skavenslaves. Unsurprisingly, the surviving slaves decided they had better things to do and took off for the nearest sewer.

The battle hung in the balance. Clan Moulder decided to shatter the orcs in one all-out assault. The Skaven General and his Rat Ogres muscled their way through Rotwang's Windblast and swung into the side of the Trolls. The General smote one Troll with his enchanted sword, hideously sucking the life out of him. Meanwhile his Rat Ogres and Chaos Hounds devoured a second Troll. Following up on this coup de grace, the General moved next to Grogeye himself, ready to execute the wizard as he cowered behind the last Troll.

The charge of the Skaven general and his Rat Ogres

Meanwhile, the sole surviving Rat Ogre from the other unit charged down the line and crashed into the Black Orcs. And on the western side of the river, the Giant Rats were locked in an existential struggle with the Krapfang's flanking force -- with the rats scoring many wounds, but the orcs miraculously fending them off with their flimsy shields.  To add to the violence, the remaining unit of Skavenslaves belched out a blast from the Warpfire Thrower, melting 5 unsuspecting Goblins.

The Orc Army was thrown to the edge of defeat. But the Goblins stayed calm, despite the gouts of liquid fire coming at their rear. The Black Orcs fought the raging Rat Ogre to a stalemate, thus avoiding an automatic rout. The Trolls again regenerated from the dead, and due to their frenzy, refused to break before the terrifying Chaos Hounds. Apparently, there is a fund of luck that the gods reserve for cowards like Krapfang.

Turn 4: A Stab in the Back

If there is one thing that Krapfang knows, it's how to slip it into your ribs when your back is turned.

In the previous turn, the Skaven General had advanced almost behind the Trolls in an effort to get at Grogeye. So now, the Skaven leader was facing north, away from Krapfang and his 15 well-armoured Orc Elites. Now was the time to call in the reserves!

Krapfang's Bigguns charge into the confused mass of Rat Ogres, Chaos Hounds, Giants and Trolls

As the Giant wheeled into the side of the Chaos Hounds, and the Black Orcs fought back against the Rat Ogre, Krapfang jumped into action, charging the Skaven leader from behind. The Skaven rolled a panic check to resist this unexpected backstab... anything under a 10 on two dice would make it... and up came an 11. Just like that, the General and his Rat Ogres panicked and routed from the field, initiating a dreadful chain reaction of panic checks for all the other Skaven. At that moment, we called the game. 

Reflections

Napoleon once said that when the decisive moment comes "the smallest body of reserves accomplishes victory". Well, that may be true... but Napoleon never had to reckon on Rat Ogres.

This whole battle ran along a knife's edge. Both sides had to roll so many panic, fear and rout checks, arising from Giants, Chaos Hounds, flank attacks and suchlike... It's a wonder that neither side broke before the 4th round.

For my part, I was astounded at the power of chaos mutations (this being the first time I've ever encountered them): fearful visage, iron skin, snake tails... all of these transformed the Skaven into wicked adversaries (at no extra points cost). For 24_Cigarette's part, I think he was impressed once again at the devastating combination of a Giant and a Man-Mangler. (Indeed, the only thing that could hurt my Giant was my own 30 point unit of Goblin Archers.) Well, that's the nature of Oldhammer! It's not about game balance, or points, or even strategy. It's about a great opponent, beautifully painted lead and a lot of beer.

Bounty Hunters vs. Stormtroopers -- A Battle Report

My friend Nicos and I sat down last night for our first skirmish game of Star Wars Imperial Assault since the release of Twin Shadows. I've often played with Nicos in the past (Darth Vader) using the most deadly force (Darth Vader) that the rules would allow me (Darth Vader). But this time, we were aiming for a more thematic and less competitive session. I opted to play the Mercenary Faction, with a special emphasis on classic Bounty Hunters, while Nicos tried out an Imperial force entirely composed of Stormtroopers. 

The result was the most exciting game of Imperial Assault that I've played.

Matthew's Army: BOUNTY HUNTERS APLENTY

Boba Fett
IG-88
Trandoshan Hunters
Hired Guns x2

Command Cards: Overdrive, Mandalorian Tactics, Blaze of Glory, Emergency Aid, Dirty Tricks, Price on Their Heads, Capture the Weary, Focus, Element of Surprise, Take Initiative, Rally, Recovery, Celebration, Hard to Hit, Urgency.

Strategy: Throw the Hired Guns into the fray in order to draw attention away from the more valuable figures. Focus Boba Fett's and IG-88's withering fire on key opponents and kill them from a distance. Pray that mobility compensates for the bounty hunters' lack of staying power.

Nicos' Army: STORMTROOPERS! STORMTROOPERS! STORMTROOPERS!

Kayn Somos
Elite Heavy Stormtroopers x2
Stormtroopers x2
Vader's Finest (attached to one unit of Elite Heavy Stormtroopers)

Command Cards: Celebration, Covering Fire, Expose Weakness, Fleet Footed, Grenadier, Planning, Rally, Recovery, Reinforcements, Reinforcements, Strength in Numbers, Take Initiative, Rally the Troops, Rank and File, Of No Importance

Strategy: Strength in numbers. The beauty of this build is that every single figure possesses the "trooper" trait, amplifying the power of such Command Cards as Covering Fire, Strength in Numbers, Rally the Troops and Rank and File. This fact also gives Kayn Somos wide scope for his special ability "Firing Squad". 

The Scenario: UNKNOWN TREASURES (from the Hired Guns villain pack)

Deep in the Sewers of Nar Shaddaa, the lagoon of mystery contains a variety of "unknown treasures". These treasures (denoted by the "A" symbol on the map) can be used to heal a figure, give it focus or add movement points. Two of the eight treasures give the player retrieving them 4 victory points.

This is an atypical set up. Most Imperial Assault scenarios require the players to seize and hold certain objectives in order to obtain decisive quantities of victory points. This leads to short and "objective oriented" games, where points are more important than carnage. But in this game, there are only 8 points worth of objectives on the table -- so victory can only really come from destroying the opposing army.

The map itself consists of a large central chamber flooded with water -- this chamber is surrounded on all sides with dank hallways and galleries. The Bounty Hunters won initiative and started in the blue zone, and the Stormtroopers deployed in the red zone in the south-west corner.


TURN 1: Hit and run

From the outset, it was clear that the massed fire of the Stormtroopers would reduce the Bounty Hunters to charcoal if they tried to meet the Imperials head-on. So the Bounty Hunters adopted guerrilla tactics. In the first turn, as the Empire boldly advanced in lock-step formation, the Mercenaries fanned out along the galleries, sniping from the shadows and dodging back into cover. 

Heavy Stormtroopers from Red Squad move into the central chamber 

One unit of elite Heavy Stormtroopers ("Red Squad") charged up the gantry in the central chamber, with several regulars troopers and Kayn Somos behind them. One intrepid trooper even plunged into muck and shot a Hired Gun, but was himself killed by the Hired Gun's "parting shot". 

The Empire also sent a probing force up the western-most hallway ("Blue Squad"). Boba Fett nailed the lead Stormtrooper and then ducked to avoid the Heavy Stormtroopers lumbering after him.  

The turn ended with the Empire dominating the strategically vital main chamber and its all-important computer terminals. 


Turn 2: The might of the Empire

The Empire now had the initiative, and compounded their advantage by playing the Covering Fire card, which gave all troopers (i.e. each and every figure) the stun ability. The Imperials also used the Reinforcement card to replace one of their fallen soldiers. Everywhere one looked, there was ghastly white armour.

IG-88 holds off the Imperials as Hired Gunds drop like flies all around him

With their superior firepower, the Stormtroopers were able to vapourize two more Hired Guns near the main chamber. The more important Bounty Hunters did their best to retreat, waiting for the Covering Fire card to expire. The only exception was IG-88, who managed to injure one of the Red Heavy Stormtoopers wading northwards through the water. However, this wasn't really enough: with Kayn Somos behind them, the Heavy Troopers now occupied the very centre of the board, giving them a deadly vantage on the mercenaries.


Turn 3: Death in the sewers

This was a very bloody turn. Things began on a sour note for the Bounty Hunters, as the Empire played the Seize Initiative card, pressing the Bounty Hunters before they could withdraw to safety. Two Blue Heavy Stormtroopers charged into close quarters, trying to gun down Boba Fett and a Trandoshan Hunter has they crouched in an angle of the north-west hallway. Luckily, the attack went awry, leaving Fett unharmed. 

IG-88 used the Overdrive Card to enter into a shooting frenzy. Seizing a window of opportunity, he fired a series of blasts at Kayn Somos in the centre of the main chamber, wounding but not killing the Stormtrooper Commander. Kayn charged north with the Red Squad and invoked his Firing Squad ability. The ensuing firestorm killed two Trandoshans and nearly fried IG-88.

However, the death of the Trandoshans was a mixed blessing. With them out of the way, Boba Fett had a clear line of sight to Kayn Somos. Laying down the Mandalorian Tactics card, he smoked the Stormtrooper Commander with a headshot. Finally, the Bounty Hunters were doing what they do best -- taking down high-value targets. A Celebration command card punctuated this small victory.


Turn 4: Don't fear the reaper

The game hung in the balance -- both sides were bloodied. Boba Fett started the turn by maiming another Heavy Stormtrooper and then moving to screen the battered IG-88, who was hiding behind a wall. However, the remaining Heavy Stormtroopers formed into a solid block and advanced quicker than anyone had anticipated, thanks to a Rank & File card. This humble command card seemed to turn the fortunes of the game, because it allowed the troopers to see and shoot IG-88, who exploded under a salvo of blaster bolts. Playing their own Celebration Card, the Empire now had a strong lead in victory points, 35 to 28.

Stormtroopers mass to take down IG-88

When the dust settled, two regular Stormtroopers and 2 Elite Heavy Stormtroopers faced off against Boba Fett and a single Hired Gun. And even this Rodian thug didn't last long... at the end of a turn, he was shot in the face by a trooper -- but his parting shot managed to kill his killer, helping to even the odds for Fett.


Turns 5 to 8: Boba Fett contra mundum

Now Boba Fett faced off against 2 Heavy Elite Stormtroopers and 1 regular trooper. At first, these odds seemed even (Boba Fett's 12 Health versus a combined total of 18 for the Empire). But Fett is a true killer.

Boba Fett is a hunter of men

Using his superhuman mobility, Fett played a cat-and-mouse game with the Imperials, shooting and then rocketing away to some dark corner of the sewers. Although the Elite Heavies boasted deadly firepower, they could not catch up to the Mandalorian. It took a few turns, but with a grinding inevitability, Fett bewildered them, then wounded them, then killed them.

Final tally... Bounty Hunters: 40 points, Empire: 35. A very close game.

Reflections

Although both forces were grand to play, they were remarkably unsuited to fighting each other. Bounty Hunters excel at killing heroes and leaders not cleaving solid masses of troops. On the other hand, the Elite Stormtroopers are best when using their own "blast" ability against concentrated forces, rather than trying to pick off isolated figures in a long-distance firefight.

There was a lot to enjoy in the game. I was again impressed by how the cards and rules of Imperial Assault brought out the flavour of Star Wars. The bounty hunters are lone wolves; they're deadly but they don't really assist each other or complement each other's abilities. The Stormtroopers have menacing firepower, but are encumbered by their armour and restricted by their need to stay in formation. And in the end, of course, it was nice to see that Boba Fett really is a stone-cold badass. The best part of the evening, however, was the clash of strategies: the hit-and-run guerrilla warfare of Bounty Hunters Aplenty, versus the disciplined squad tactics of Stormtroopers! Stormtroopers! Stormtroopers! 

Who says that you need a bunch of rebels to make Star Wars fun.

Star Wars Imperial Assault Conversions

"Aren't you a little short to be a stormtrooper?" are the first words that Leia says to Luke Skywalker as he tries to rescue her from the Death Star. Her next line is even better. After Luke again tries to introduce himself, she merely asks, "You're who?". It's one of my favourite scenes from the movie (I like Leia best when she acts like a Princess)... and to commemorate it, I've just converted and painted this miniature for Imperial Assault. 

It was a dead easy job... off came a Stormtrooper's head with a hobby knife. In its place went the head of the Skywalker miniature from the Basic Set.

My next conversion was a little more complex: I transformed the "Hired Guns" from Rodians (i.e. Greedo) into the Aqualish race. I've always had a soft spot for the Aqualish... I believe my first Kenner Star Wars figure was "Walrus Man" (also known around my house as "Bum Face". I was not a witty child). Like in my previous conversion of the Mon Calamari Saboteurs, I utilized some heads from WOTC Star Wars miniatures. But I also wanted to add my own flare. After reading up about the Aqualish race, I discovered that they have a subspecies named Ualaq with four eyes and three fingers. Combined with their tusks, the four eyes give these aliens a spider-like visage that it almost disorienting. So, this is what I set out to create.

I used some greenstuff to make his primary eyes even more bulbous, and then added in the secondary pair. I also used greenstuff to reshape the hands. When it came to painting, I wanted to make him as creepy as possible, so I gave him the light brown pigmentation of a Crab Spider. They eyes were easy to paint: black, with a coating of gloss varnish. It's not exactly the porpoise-like face of Ponda Baba (the true name of Bum Face in A New Hope)... but it at least looks thoroughly alien.

And here's a shot of him with the unconverted Rodian bounty hunter.

I've put more pictures of these conversions on my permanent gallery of Star Wars Imperial Assault miniatures for the Rebels, Imperials and Mercenaries. I hope you enjoy!

Star Wars: Hired Guns, Wookie Warriors and Stormtroopers, oh my!

Consider the Rodian. An alien in the classic form: green skin, pointed ears, antenna like sausage rolls. Maybe they are slow on the draw. Maybe they are not. In any case, I am glad that they are here. Fantasy Flight Games continues to produce miniatures for Star Wars: Imperial Assault at a stately pace, and I paint them as fast as I can get my hands on them.

The latest is a an odd assortment. But my favourite are the Rodian "Hired Guns". Mrs. Oldenhammer-in-Toronto often accuses me of favouring "dreary" colours when I paint. And so, for these space thugs, I decided to use the pinkiest pink I could contrive. Who knows, perhaps to a Rodian bubble-gum pink with red accents is an attractive combination.

My favourite part of these miniatures is the rules that go along with them. The FFG does a top-notch job of capturing the flavour of Star Wars, and this is a homage to Greedo, the hapless bounty hunter. The Hired Guns are expendable by design -- they're at their best when used as cannon-fodder, because before they die, they have can take a parting shot at the hero who zapped them first. Watch out, Han.

Also in this new release is an alternate Stormtrooper model. It's not the most radical redesign, but it's an improvement on the earlier model, which always looked to me like the trooper had a gamy leg. In any case, I'm just glad to see FFG expand the Stare Wars range with variant models since it adds vibrancy to the game. I hope they keep it up.

New Stormtrooper in Variant Pose

Stormtrooper in Original Pose (note the gamy leg)

And finally, there are the Wookie Warriors. These ones give me concern. The models are uninspired, with clunky weapons and an uninteresting, symmetrical pose. There's something about their expression that suggests that they're about to tackle a spaghetti eating contest rather than a squadron of Stormtroopers. But the sculpting is not the worst part. 

I won't belabour the rules-talk those who don't play Imperial Assault as a skirmish game, but suffice it to say that these hairy killers have instantly become best value on the table: durable as a Soviet tank and fierce as a grizzly bear. Single-handedly, they make the Rebels the most powerful faction in the game. I have trouble imagining why in tournament play, a competitor wouldn't simply field a force with as many of these Wookies as possible. They'd tear Darth Vader to ribbons. 

To put it another way, the Wookie Warriors are the first sign in Imperial Assault of "rules inflation", where players are encouraged to buy new supplements and models because they're slightly more powerful than last year's offerings. This sort of rules inflation is all too familiar to Warhammer players. Indeed, I think it's one of the reasons that Oldhammer is so popular... it's a return to the pristine currency of a bygone age. Well, that's a topic for another day...

Does he look angry? Or merely a little hungry?