Everyone remembers their first Conquest!

I won’t bother showing how it was done, the excellent Gerry Can video will do a much better job than I can. Have to say I’m really pleased with the results, makes the units look a lot more vibrant. Now to do the rest of the units!

In Conquest a hero in a unit is placed on a 4 spot rank base and whilst it’s perfectly functional its not particularly elegant. I have been using a plinth design a friend of mine created which is cool but with the new retinue rules you can now add characters to the heroes base to assist.

Seeing as i have a printer and Tinkercad i thought i’d see if i could come up with something.

So, two things. first design is a plain square with either 1,2 or 3 base holes. Quick bit of measuring and done. I’ll attach the files should you wish to use them. (No i wont, just realised you cant!! happy to share if required!)

Then i thought could i create a more scenic base using the printer to create the stucture. so this i what i did.

Then moulded a shape using brown stuff, primed, textured, paint, drybrush and softone said texture and finished with a dip in the flock mix!

Bit of backstory on this one. There I was happily trucking along on the Path of Conquest, riding high from a battle report and getting the core of the army painted when lockdown v3 kicked in. I was really looking forward to expanding the force and doing another battle report as this had really helped give me a push to keep going. With that out the window my motivation took a hit and i struggled to muster up the energy to paint more units.

In an attempt to break the funk i thought it might help if i just painted up a character to get me going again so i dusted off my mounted lord and had a think.

Now the the knights i had painted so far were quite plain and i wanted my lord to stand out  a bit from the ranks so i decided to go with golden armour with resplendant yellow and blue livery.

Firstly i primed the horse and rider in gold as it had worked nicely on the unmounted version and then the problems started!

Yellow, always f++king yellow! Now once again no matter what i did i couldnt get it to work and after multiple attempts i threw the whole thing to one side and decided leave it alone for a bit and find some other options for yellow.

This involved buying inks, new paints and defacing a bunch of old models!

after getting some satisfactory results with yellow with some Crisis Protocol X-Men i finally found a decent soloution. It still took another few weeks to build up the energy to tackle him again but finally last week i reprimed the skirts with white and got back to work.

Annoyingly this meant i would now have to pepaint the gold armour by hand and on a model that was already annoying me this really turned into a slog and i can honestly say i hated every minute of painting this one and i hate how it turned out but its DONE and i can move on!!

And there he is. All i feel is relief now he’s finished. Honestly every step with this one was a chore and everything seemed to go wrong. Even resorted to trying pigment powders on the skirts to try and hide some of the paint and wash issues but even that didnt seem to work!

One thing i can guarentee is this guy is going to be initating a lot of suicidal chrages in his future!!!

Have to say as annoying as this model was to finish, now its done i do now have a renewed vigour for getting on with my Conquest stuff. Time to grab a Wizard…

For some reason i have a sudden urge to paint teal. Can’t think why…

And with that my Officer is ready to bring some style and guile to the line!

As I move into milestone 2 I’ve decided to add two boxes of Militia with pole arms and an Imperial officer.

First up its the Militia and like the rest of my ranked units I’m aiming to keep it quick and simple. I’m using a Zandri Dust primer to again do most of the work!

First up I painted the shields with the same colours I used on the model, attached them to the unit and based. Just need to do box two!

Turn – 4

This turn the Brute Drones and Abomination finally arrive but fear not dear reader, the Cavalry also arrive for the Hundred Kingdoms!

The Noble Lords strategic brilliance shone through when he won the initiative roll and the central Men at Arms unit moved forward cautiously. (1)

Sensing he needed more bodie the Pheromancer wasted no time in once again recovering forces from dead bodies and the 3 drones that had just been killed were once again risen up. (2)

Sickened by the obscene magiks of the Pheromancer the Noble Lords Men at Arms unit marched straight onwards eager to get to grips with the enemy (3)

Suddenly the ground started to shake and the ominous sounds of heavy footsteps rang across the field as suddenly a huge and foul Abomination charged the field (4)

With their faith in the effectivness of their weaponary starting to waver the crossbowmen decided that they needed to get better shots so they moved into foward looking to get into a more effective range. They still werent there yet but sent a volley into the Pheromancers unit of Drones nontheless killing 2 more drones. (5)

Ignoring the bolts from the Crossbowmen and emboldened by the arrival of the Abomination the Pheromancers drone unit once again started to advance. (6)

Quickly realising that there was a good chance he was going to end up in a despaerate fight against the Abomination the Noble Lord bravely decided to switch units and get into a more central position, his job after all was to slay depraved Warlords not mindless beasts…..(7)

Already unnerved by the unnatural abilities of the Spires leader to raise his fallen units the Crossbowmens nerve was shaken even further by the sudden and shocking arrival of the Brute Drones who marched on roaring at the human army (8)

Just as they felt the urge to flee the field the Crossbowmen heard a loud horn blast to the rear and as the clouds parted the jewel of the 100 Kingdoms, its mightly Knights thundered onto the field glinting in the sunlight. The day was surely saved! (9)

Finally the lowly Drones, overly excited by the arrival of the hulking Brute Drones foolishly decided to adance as well (10)

Turn -5

With everyone on the table the pressure to prepare the army stacks starts to ramp up with trying to anticipate whos going to activate what and the all important initiative…

This turn the Spires neferious scheming gave them the advantage and they took the initiative.

The Abomination strides forward yet agasin. his imposing presence adds pressure to the right flank of the Hundred Kingdoms (1)

Sensing a chance to hold up the Abomination and avoid it getting to charge the Men at Arms are sent to deal with the fould beast, the charge needs a roll of 5 to succeed but its worth the risk to try to hold of the Abomination as long as possible. Unfortunatly the Men at Arms in question werent quite as convinced that the plan was sound and failed the charge (much to the annoyance of the Noble Lord!) and nervously shuffled forward 3′ (2)

Laughing as he could sense the dread in the humans he once again weaved his evil magiks and revived yet another Drone (3)

Emboldened (or not wanting to anger him further) the Noble Lords Men at Arms unit marched forward getting ever closer to the enemy Warlord. (4)

Suprisingly everone the Force Grown Drones with the Pheromancer decided this was the time to press the attack and decided to charge onto the blades of the magnificent Men at Arms. Wether it was the bright sun in their eyes or wet ground underfoot the Men at Arms sustained 5 hits from the ragtag drones and 3 casualties. A further 2 decided this was enough and failing their resolve check left the field. THis was NOT in the plan! (5)

Thoroughly pissed off at the ineptitude of his men the Noble Lord unsheathed his blade and howled a deepley offensive challenge to the Pheromancer who foolishly accepted and stepped his wizened frame into a duel with one of the finest swordsmen in the Hundred Kingdoms. Easily avoiding the Pheromancer clumsy strikes the Nobles blade flashed in a series of deadly stikes causing 3 hits on the Pheromancer but somehow, despite his apparent frailty he evaded 2 hits further enraging the Noble Lord (6)

Desperate to get in on the carnage the Brute Drones once again advance toward the fray (7)

Sensing a chance to finally get into range and with the reassurance of the glorious Knights behind them the Crossbowmen advanced again finally loosing a full volley into the filthy Brute Drones causing 5 wounds which felled one and wounded another. (8)

The other unit of Force Grown drones advanced to support in the centre of the field (9)

Not willing to risk an extreme charge the paragons of chivalry moved up behind the crossbows ready for a more assured charge next turn. they need their Lord to grasp the initative next turn… (10)

Turn – 6

In what felt like a crucial turn the Spires won the initative and declared the Pheromancers Supremecy ability granting all their units a +2 on their resolve tests making them even harder to remove.

First up the Pheromancers Drone unit initated combat on the Noble Lords Men at Arms inflicting a phenominal 6 hits. Killing 3 more and 2 more fleeing the field leaving the heroic Noble with only two men left to support him. (1)

Realising that there was a very good chance that the Brute Drones would soon be plowing into them the marksmen took aim and unleashed yet another volley scoring 9 hits. Unfortunatly they saved four wounds meaning their was one wounded Brute still standing, The knights would need to get in before the foul Pheromancer could potentially heal them. (2)

Seeing the Brutes on the edge of collapse the nearby Drones aimed their spears and prepared to charge the Crossbowmen. Realising the sure folly of such an action they failed their roll and edged a few inches forward. (3)

Realising that his flank was exposed to the Abomination the Noble Lord declared his ‘Turn The Tide’ draw event (4) and activated the nearby Men at Arms to charge the hulking Abomination. Not wishing to displease their lord a second time this time they did their duty and bravely rushed into combat causing 3 wounds but thanks to the Pheromancers use of supremecy this turn there was no further injury due to resolve. (5)

Howling in rage the Abomination then carved into the shieldwall but the armour of the Hundred Kingdoms stayed true leaving only 1 casualty although the grusome manor of his death did cause one of his companions to run away in terror (6)

Assuming the Abomination could hold his own against the Men at Arms he once again turned to the dark arts but this time fixed his gaze upon the stuttering Brute Drones and much to the Crossbowmens dismay healed one back to full health and raising a companion for him (7)

In the middle of the field the Noble Lord could sense he was about to be surrounded and calling out oaths of vengance he rallied his men to strike down 4 of the filthy Drone warriors but once again thanks to their supremecy abilty only 1 further Drone fled. (8)

Empowered by the dark energies of their lord the Brutes lowered their heads and unleashed a devastating charge on the on the terrified Crossbowmen killing 1 with an impact hit, 5 more in the clash causing 4 to fail their resolve leaving 2 brave souls to fend for themselves (9)

Frustated that they hadnt made a move sooner all the knights could do was bravely back up and prepare for next turn (10)

Turn -7

Now most of the regiments were in combat it felt like this would be when the game was won or lost. After a stressful period of constructing order decks it was onto the initiative roll. Which the Spires won. Again. Shit…

So, as i thought, the Drones engaged with the Noble lord sensed a victory and imediately set to work attempting to despatch the last 2 Men at Arms which would finish of our heroic Noble. They managed 2 hits, would the armour hold? Well 1 did leaving our heroes fate to the resolve test of the final soldier. Surely he would never leave such a mighty hero to his doom.

Turns out he would. The cowardly wretch turned tail and ran for his life! Sensing his end was near the mighty noble kissed his blade and dived headfirst into the Drones, if he could finish of these lowly creatures he could take the Pheromancer down with him. He deftly cut down 3 of the wretched Drones and if the other 3 failed their resolve the Pheromancer would perish as well. Alas 1 stood fast and with that, 3 points to @Anderssen and the Spires (1)

Realising that their fallen leader was the least of their problems the other unit of Men at Arms realiesed that unless they cut this rampaging Abomination down fast they would suffer the same fate as their erstwhile leader so gripping their swords and bracing their shields they tried again to get rid of their foe.

Alas the dread had overtaken them and they could only cause a further 2 wounds and once again nothing to the beasts reslove. (2)

Sensing the battle was going his way and free from the threat of the human lord heonce again healed the Brute Drones further sealing their opponents fate. (3)

Resigning themselves to their fate and dismayed at the sight of their noble chivalry leaving them the Crossbowmen couldnt fing the strength to even wound thier enormous foes, perhaps the knights would come back for them… (4)

With a gutteral roar the abomination tore into the remaining Men at Arms and in their demorolised state it killed a further 5 causing 4 more to run from the field. (5)

Realising the only hope lay in killing the Pheromancers unit this turn to get 3 point on the board the Knights lined up for a desperate charge needing a 5 to do it. Obviously having done nothing all game they were well rested and succeeded in the charge. If they coul kill the 2 remaining Drones with their impact hits then there would still be hope and after such a magnificent charge surely they couldnt fail? Well they did, they managd to kill 1 leaving the Knights stuck for another turn whilst the Brutes and Abomination made quick work of the rest of the army.

We called the game there as it was obvious the knights where about to be pinned in place by the other Drone unit leaving the Abomination and Brute Drones to finish them off. Points wise it ended 3-0 to the dastardly Spires! Well done @Anderssen, this isnt over…….

To celebrate hitting my first milestone i decided to test my fledging force in a dust up with another person on the Path to Conquest.

To keep it simple we went with the Head to Head scenario with no terrain. All we needed to do was destroy the opponents units and collect their cards. 1 point for units and 2 for the warlord.

We left out the secondary objectives for this round, this was all about getting a feel for the armis and the games.

So with the horns sounding my heroic Hundred Kingdoms marched in to battle with the flesh crave degenerates that are the Spires un the leadership of  site member @anderssen

TURN – 1

In the reinforcment phase the Hundred Kingdoms got the Mercenary Crossbowmen (my only light unit) and the Spires got two units of Force Grown drones.

I marched on up the left flank whilst the 2 Spire units accompanied by the Pheromancer favoured a more central route.

Turn – 2

No arrivals this turn for the dastardly Spires or the heroic Hundred kingdoms (there is a possibilty of bias in this report…….) this turn.

Degenerate Spires win the initiative and sensing the power of the foe they face  the first unit of Drones on advances slowly on their right side.

Sensing an opportunity to start damaging the unit the Crossbowmen stoically advance forward, raise their crossbow and unleash a volley at extreme range halving the amount of shots.

They manage to score three hits but even with armour piercing 1 the cowardly Drones gain enough protection cowering behind their shields to make two saves.

Sensing the danger the Pheromancer and his unit move forward cautiously hoping his larger creations turn up soon!

Turn – 3

With the sound of swords beating on shields and practised marching two units of Men at Arms arrived to reinforce the lonely Crossbowmen, as for the Spires, their reinforcments were still cowering back behind the lines.

Sensing the scale of the oncoming threat and with none of his mindless creations to back him up the Pheromancers unit skulked backwards to try and stay alive a little longer.

Opposite them the first unit of Men at Arms proudly took to the field looking to support their colleagues.

Stepping to the fore the Pheromancer then displayed the horriffing nature of his darks arts and using Accelerated Hibernation raised up the fallen drone for the other unit.

Frustrated to see their fallen quarry rise back up the unererved (but still stoic) crossbowmen unleashed another long range volley causing 3 hits and three casualties.

As the cheer went up the Drones sensed their lords dark arts and flimsy shields may not be enough to keep them alive and backed away from the onrushing tide.

Finally, with all the pomp and circumstance deserving of his station the Noble Lord took to the field with his Men at Arms and aimed straight for the foul Pheromancer…

Using a similar points value to the OTT team ive sttled on this lot for my first milestone.

Painting wise its nothing to write home about but im really keen to get a fully painted rank and flank army on the tabletop so i have aimed for speed to mak sure i dont get bogged down.

I have traded out the Spires in a few starter boxes hence my initial army will just be using units i already have. Ill explore the hero and unit upgrades over the next milestones.

Next i think im going to get some Militia as i really want to field my Thiest Priest but first i feel a battle report is in order!

So after drybrushing brain matter beige, 50/50 dark tone/ medium wash and a search through my selection of basing materials and its done!

Nothing too special but I’m pleased enough with it so onto the next one!

There was a brain matter beige drybrush before the wash. Flesh tone on the gold the 70/30 medium dark tone wash then a Matt coat. My dark tone is running out so may be a bit pigment heavy as it’s quite dark on the white. Hopefully when in the unit it won’t be to noticeable

just one more to go for a unit!

And with the addition of a mystical green knight the regiment is complete!

After a drybrush it’s on with the wash. 70/30 wash medium and dark tone.

Then paint the rest and dip them in the pot of basing medium

Now the drybrush is out the way it’s onto some washes. The flesh tone on the gold is undiluted.

Quick tidy up and he’s ready to lead!

I have a lot of these to do so first up a test model. Aiming for minimal colours to enable maximum speed!

Originally I was going to paint them all with an army painter dark tone dip but I discovered mines half empty and is a little on the thick side. Not happy with the end result so went with some washes (3/1 Medium to tone) to give a cleaner finish

Much happier with the wash finish over the dip, might take a little longer but I feel it’s worth it. I can get 12 done over 2 nights which is acceptable!

So using the scheme from the test model I managed to get the rest finished up pretty quickly. Whilst not the best paint job in the world it’s the first rank and flank unit I’ve painted in a long time and have to say I didn’t hate it! Next up many men at arms!!

Firstly I’m going to sort a colour scheme. I have an idea in my head so will give it a trial on a single model. I need to find a quick and simple scheme that I can batch paint. So it’s paints that will go down in a single layer!!

Now for the tones, the gold, yellow and green get done individually followed by a dark tone all over

Quick dip in the basing tub and he’s ready. Once the regiment is done I’ll give them all a Matt coat.

As per usual got a bit merry drinking along as @sundancer and @avernos went through the projects! There was a brain matter beige drybrush step which I forgot to take a picture of!

Finished up with a Matt coat, a tuft and some basing mix made by chucking a load of stuff in a pot!