Hamsta's Path of Conquest, The Spires

I have been keeping half an eye on Conquest for about 3 years now, casually observing online articles and casting half an eye on the latest models at the UKGE each year, but about the time GW destroyed the Old World, I decided I was done with army scale games, and moved my time to skirmish games for my hobby time, and boardgames for my gaming time.

My local board game group collapsed a few years ago, freeing up my time to get back into building and painting miniatures on a larger scale, but the old WHFB scar was still sore,so i just painted more skirmish stuff. With a few gentle nudges from friends, recent forays into Age of Sigmar, Flames of War and even the new 40k, started to pick at that old wound, but didn’t quite scratch the itch, or maybe I was looking for something somewhere between skirmish and army scale.

This brings us to the early summer of 2020. Whilst much of that year should only be spoken of in hush tones around campfires, or used as a warning to scare children into eating their sprouts and brushing their teeth, 2 stars did, for me at least, began to align in the bleak night skies.

A dark, ominous, BLACK star ,which we shall name Cancer, and a bright, gleaming, Golden star, we shall name the Path of Conquest.

Suffice to say, between throwing up, sleeping, and medical appointments (chemo and surgery), I have found myself with a relatively open, work free, 6+ months ahead of me. All this at just the time when the Path of Conquest began. I am not a religious man, but that does not mean I am blind to the workings of the unknown. Call it Fate, call it The Force, call it Kharma, call it what you will, regardless, I shall answer the call.

Step 1, was obviously the single most important step… choosing a faction. This is always a tedious process, which forces me to ignore the heart felt pleas of my progeny (Daddy, will you play a game with me? Daddy, can you help we with my homework? Daddy, its been 3 days, can we have something to eat please?)  and spend my time dribbling over picture of models, reading expertly crafted background lore, and watching a backlog of OTT videos on faction lore, playstyle and gameplay.

The Dweghom it is then… yes, the Dweghom is the one faction… i will NOT be collecting. All those flames and stocky armour… no no, not for me.

I must admit, from the teaser art and cavalry model silhouette shown so far, it is the Orcs that call to me the most. Noble savages, finding their feet in a harsh and unforgiving world. But alas they are not yet out, so they shall have to wait.

Next up would be the Nords. I have long had a vision of a band of savage Northsmen, charging into battle, waving banners bearing a strong resemblance to ManOWar album covers. But not being part of the 2p set, would mean a full army of these would cost WAY more than I was prepared to spend at this point.

Now the 100 Kingdoms has a certain appeal, giving off more than a little vibe of my old WHFB Bretonnians than I can ignore, combined with the absolute steal that is the 2 player starter set, my choice was made. So it seems the Noble House of Picard shall ride to war once more.

Then things got complicated.

Upon receiving my 2P starter box and bonus units (thanks OTT Store for your awesome service as ever), I was impressed with the model quality of not only the 100k, but also that of The Spires. The pics don’t, in my opinion, do the Spire models justice. They seem a lot flatter, and lacking character when compared to the other factions, but holding them in my hands changed this opinion. So I tweaked my plan and decided to build both the Spires and The 100 Kingdoms for the Paths event.

The Spires should lend themselves well to contrast, dry brushing and wash techniques, so i can crank them out fairly quickly, allowing me to spend more time on the 100k.

Then things got REALLY complicated.

Having now read even more of the background, spent even more time dribbling over photos and watching even more videos… the voices in my head continued to whisper of the Northlands, oft the coming storm, the wrongs done to these noble barbarians of generations past, and the harsh vengeance they would reap. So whilst casually placing an order for some minor additions to my 100k and Spires (too allow me to legally field the 2 bonus units I got with the starter (more on these in Step 2 no doubt), I ACCIDENTALLY added £250 worth of Nords to the basket and didn’t notice until I hit the buy button. I’m on a lot of medication you understand.

So now I will have 3 Paths to follow;

The 100 Kingdoms as planned.

The Spires, just because.

And The Nords, because who doesnt love that Jotnar!?!

And so it begins…