The Shadeborn

 Hidden in the shadows on purpose, because they are the Shadeborn...

 

... and that reason was I was taking them to an event in the local Warhammer store last weekend.

 

So not to hint at what I would bring, letting people guess that I would take either Elathain, the new Kurnothi or Hrothgorn, I instead went for these Aelven assassins.  Because they have reach on their attacks, all do at least 2 damage even uninspired, and their shadow abilities make them mobile as hell for that very fast redeployment should it be needed.

 

Now, I didn't fancy painting their traditional all black and dark grey colours, but instead went from a more misty look, guess I should call them the Mistborne then instead.  Out of the mists they came, the murder hobo's!

 

Battlewise, I have a plan for them, as I figured out a way for an 18 hex (!!!!) charge, and will be coupling them probably to two pure Strike decks for maximal assault capabilites.  But the downside being I need to find some balance in objectives, as the strike decks usually have rather hard and situational high score end objectives. 

 

But never the less I will be looking forward to bring these to the table, as due to reasons somehow they have been waiting so long for paint, even though I also loved the look of the figures! 

 

 

 

 

The Rats: A Witcher Tale

 Straight behind the fourth season of The Witcher, Netflix released this feature film, centering around the Rats.

 

You know, those loving misfits we saw slaughtered by Leo Bonhart at the end of the season...

 

Now, it does answer one of the cliffhangers from that season in it's first minute: Leo didn't kill Ciri (well, as far as that would have been a suprise).  But we do get him to tell the tale of how he ran into The Rats and why he had a score to settle with them.

 

Basically, down on their funds, they took a job which involved on the one hand a figure from Mistle's past, and on the other Leo's "sort of cousin" who runs illegal gambling arena's.  As they plan a heist, and enlist the help of an aged and drunken Witcher called Brehen, their past cross.  Brehen being played by Dolph Ludgren and making a better one then Liam... nah, let's not go there this time.

 

The movie is a great adventure, and the Rats get away, though we know that this is only for a short period of grace, because Leo is on their tail.

 

If you love the Leo character depiction (and who doesn't, this is one of the biggest villains I ever read in a book, and he is portrayed just as ruthless on screen), make sure to check this out.  If you like The Witcher series, you don't go wrong with this series.  And if you rooted for The Rats and where shocked by their fate, enjoy this final trip with them...

 

Good fun to watch! 

Warhammer Underworlds battlereport: Hrothogorn's Mantrappers versus The Blood of the Bull

 Roight, time to give the first base brew of Hrothgorn, build around Hunting Grounds and Emberstone Sentinels a go.

 

Because I have that certain challenge to try and complete this year...

 

Facing me was Tom and his The Blood of the Bull, bringing Pillage and Plunder with Embergard Sentinels along, as he needs to delve for his deamon dice anyways.

 

Both warbands deployed, and I took the gamble of putting Thrafnir in deep.  If I could get turn 1, that would mean elimintating the key hobgoblin.  If not, I would be in trouble as Morudok could get in, and auto-hit due to Grisk being adjacent, flanking and surrounding me as well...

 

And unfortunatly, I didn't get the first turn, as the Helsmith waded in and killed the kitten.  Okay, bit of a mistake here on my part in that I had slept 3hrs since thursday morning (it was friday 23.00hrs), had just played a very tactical AoS intro game (see the report on that one earlier) and forgot my glasses so had a splitting headache from reading cards already all evening.  He should have done only 2 instead of 3 damage, having crit stagger and not crit grievous.  Ooops, but oh well, the poor beast was in a very poor place anyways already. 

 

 Hrothgorn tried to salvage the situation with an early charge in an attempt to push the Helsmith of the feature token, to score Hands Off but missed completely instead.

 

Imnidrin, who had received Great Strength, charged in, wounding the big guy for a mighty three wounds, and the hunter was in trouble.

The first round as such still ended on a respectable 3 -2 for the Blood of the Bull, but I was in a hard spot.

 

Especially as I didn't get priority again, and Hrothgorn was immediatly taken out by Imnidrin before he could get away, leaving me with only those 3 umptees that couldn't inspire anymore.

 

And that showed, their poor attacks faling to hit, let alone wound, against the 3 dice Dawi'Zharr, and soon Zuldrakka took down Quiv.

 

As Luggit and Twhak failed to even hit for the third time this game, we called it as it was 9-2 at the moment, and my opponent would score his full hand.  The clock had passed midnight and it had began snowing again, so we opted to try and drive home safely before the roads became to much of a mirror again.  In which I succeeded as you are seeing this battlereport.

 

But conclusion, there is still work on Horthgorn's brew, and I need to steady my hand a bit, not simple for an inherent aggresive playing Underworlds style.  We will get there eventually, but it will take some more tuning for sure... 

Blood Bowl Match Report: Only Fangs versus Da Maaitie Sjrekz

 And we are off for the 2026 Blood Bowl League, this time bringing my Sukubus Studios succubi team, dedicated to Slaanesh, Only Fangs to the pitch.  

 

And my first game is against Da Maaitie Sjrekz (a wordplay on The Mighty Shrek's) from Stefan, a newcomer in the League.  And I start the league in drop dead last position, as one of the final teams to start it's games... 

 

This Goblin team only starts with a rating of 685, but has all the regular misery you get against them: Fanatic, trained Troll, Chainsaw... you know, the chaotic chaos they bring along.  He used his inducements as such to get 4 temporarily Cheerleaders, 2 bribes, and both Fungus the Loon and Nobbla Blackwart joined his roster for this game.

 

And that will also mean that my Chaos Chosen team, as it is also vanilla starting out on skills, will only smack those stunties over on a single side of the dice due to them having Dodge all round.  Let's hope that my Minotaur,  Sabrina Sabok, keeps that troll occupied as much as possible and go for the quick score to have those secret weapons send off...

 

The match would be played in a Sweltering Heat, something that definitly will be having a big impact on the game as players will be send off for a drive left and right to recuperate! 

 

The game started very, very well though, with Raven Black badly hurting Snerr, immediatly followed by Abella Danger badly hurting Kur, meaning two linemen less opposing me.

  

Sabrina Sabok let out a loud below, and the unguided missile that is a minotaur raged forward, badly hurting Snas the 'Ooligan.

Only to keep going in her crazy spread, smashing the lineman Zork also down to a badly hurted mess of a former Goblin player.

 

The field was wide open now, and Raven Black ran through, the linewoman scoring the 1-0 on the field.  

 

In the resulting bookkeeping, both the Star Players where send off with a red card, as was his chainsaw wielding looney Zraki, the bribe for Fungus failing.  This left him with only a single fanatic on the field who had passed his bribe roll, and a LOT of stress less for my team!

 

Gnoc the lineman managed to make himself infamous, as he hurt Katty West badly during the next drive, the ladies out for revenge on the little guy.

 

Proxy Paige showed this determination, by literally ripping the lineman Skriclic to pieces in a display of erotiscising violence, her moans to be heard high up in the stands as she revelled in orgasmic pleasure doing so.

 

With the clock ready to sound half-time, Tanya Virago went all out over the side of the field, and scored the safe 2-0 for the game, something he probably wouldn't get back from after losing half his team and all his secret weapons after this drive, as the final fanatic was send off as well, no bribes around to save him.

 

The teams lined up for the second half, with the sweltering heat ravaging the lines, but the Only Fangs ladies immediatly set to it.  Val Steele injured Crask, sending another goblin to the badly hurt box, which was getting really filled up by now.

 Tanya Virago followed suit, putting Storr in the medical bay as well as the slaughter of the little gobbo's continued.

 Not content of others seeing to grab all the glory, Raven Black punted out Traz into the crowd, the little goblin getting seriously injured in the process and missing out on next game.

 Peachgardens then tried to get her moment of glory as well, fouling on the Troll with a +5 from assists, but a roll of double 1 only resulted in her being send off the pitch instead, and leaving the troll safe from harm... that was one lady who didn't stand in the spotlight today!

 

But amidst all that ruckus, Cat Coxx ran through, and put a solid 3-0 on the board, and if we could keep this result, an additional league point for the maximum possible score to have...

 

 

The teams set up again, though there where barely any goblins left to come to the pitch, as the sweltering heat kept reducing the numbers of active players during a drive.  

 

 

This resulted in a quick blitz and recovery of the ball on the goblin half, and Sabien DeMonia already put the 4-0 onto the board in a fast display of savageness and opportunity...

 

She followed this up in the final drive with badly hurting Gnoc, yeah, the lineman that had injured Katty West.  Vengeance always comes back in a perfumed tanga slip and pierced nipples!

 

Raven Black threw a pass to Cat Coxx to go for that ultimate try, after the kick-off result had allowed me to make a free move with the unmarked players, which was caught...

 

... but even with a re-roll, she fell over while trying to rush into the endzone, neglecting to score just one more additional goal before the referee blew the final whistle and ended the game. 

 

 

 

Most Viewed Pornstar

 

 

The MVP elected for this match was the fine Abella Danger, always in for some extreme play.  She put in a solid supporting performance after opening the match by immediatly injuring the Goblin lineman Kur, and then helping out her fellow starlets whenever she could!

 

So off to an unexpected good start in the League, with the maximum of 6 points that could be grabbed hauled in.  This propels me after a single game to the for now 3rd place in the rankings, but more importantly a lovely stack of points with the eye on the play-offs.  

I didn't expand my team on purpose to keep the "petty cash" with my next opponent limited, which will be all the strength 5 waving Ogre team, though I did get two skills: Abella Danger gained Block, while Raven Black gained Tackle, which will be handy to punt some Gnoblars along.

 

Now, time to start the team preparation trainings for the next game in two weeks... 

The Witcher season 4

 Season 4 of the The Witcher, and in a way, a new start with the forced recasting of Geralt of Rivia.

 

And let's drop in with the elephant in the room: nope, just nope.

 

Now don't get me wrong, should Liam Helmsworth had been the witcher since day 1, it might have worked, but after the gruff look of Henry Cavill, this version just looks to polished and, well, "pretty boy" compared to what we have been used to in the first three seasons.

 

The story continues with the three arcs implemented in the previous season: Ciri finds herself in a far away land, becoming a member of a rogues group called The Rats and taking the monicker Falka to hide her identity.  Geralt and his growing band of companions still try to get to Nilfgaard to prevent the marriage between Emhyr and (the imposter) Ciri, and Yennefer decides to gather surviving mages to confront Vilgefortz.

 

Now, like in the books (and face it, they should have been called "Chronicles of Ciri" or something instead of the Witcher), the heaviest part of the story goes around the missing princess, and it is also by far the most intresting and intense of the arcs, especially when The Rats are defeated by Leo Bonhart.  Yennefer discovers the truth about the marriage, and sends Geralt on his new way right after he finally had gotten into Nilfgaard, meeting and parting with other companions.  And the mages are soundly beaten by Vilgefortz, though they do cripple his plan for an unforseen amount of time, but at the cost of many lives...

 

Now, while the season has it's highs and lows as such, it does bring us with two awesome characters.  Regis makes his appearance (and Laurance Fishburn plays him well, despite online critique), and the epic, epic, EPIC portrayal of Leo Bonhart (awesome portrayal by Sharlto Copley).  Then there are some great sidecharacter arcs, like Skellen (my favorite character of both book and series btw) and Dijkstra.

 

In the end, you have a good series of enjoyable fantasy, with the only downside for me really being, well, the titular character... 

Babylon 5 ACTA: Omega Destroyer

 The first spaceship of the year, and it is subtle as a brick!

 

Well, it actually also can serve as a brick considering it's weight and shape...

 

But the Omega Destroyer is perhaps the most iconic looking vessel from Babylon 5, bar perhaps the station, but definitly more so then even the White Star.  And it ain't to shabby at all in the game either, packing some serious firepower, high armour and defences, and heaps of hit and crew points.

 

Basically, a brick in the middle of your fleet...

 

An added bonus to the vessel is that it comes with no less then 4 flights of Starfuries, for which I went with Thunderbolts this time, a tat less a dogfighter compared to the Aurora, but with increased firepower to make those strafing runs on enemy vessels.

 

Colourscheme wise, I find these difficult vessels.  If you see them on screen, they are towards the black / very dark grey spectrum, yet in official manuals they look a lighter grey / metallic shade.  I never the less went for the first colouring, going from Dark Rubber as a base colour to Hardened Carapace for the final layer.

 

The Thunderbolts on the other hand have been painted the same grey as my other fighters and vessels, except with red instead of blue details.  It's easy to recognise a Thunderbolt from an Aurora at Fleet Scale, but it becomes a different story between a Thunderbolt and a Firebolt, so I'll be "colourcoding" my fighter stands as such.  Just for easy of play and identification, because the Earth Alliance loves variations on excisting designs after all. 

 

Now to round out this years Third Age fleet with painting up a final Hyperion (yes, a variant), so check back in a few weeks for that one! 

Troll 2

 Troll was a bit of a surprise hit in the past years on Netflix, the norwegian fantasy movie being great fun and a really good film.

 

And in december, the sequel hit, so me and Noshi sat down and gave it a look recently.

 

Unfortunatly, Isaksen provides a prophecy early in the movie, as he states "a sequel never lives up to the original".  Granted, somethimes this isn't true (Empire Strikes Back, Aliens, etc...) but more often than not it is indeed so.

 

We come back to our heroine of the first movie, Nora, now living remotely in the wilds three years after her encounter with the Troll king.  But she is recruited by her friend to come to a goverment facility for a new discovery: another troll is being held there!  She accidentally awakens him, and where the first movie was about a troll just wanting to get home, this one wants to level Norway.  Soon a second troll appears, as Nora had contact with the son of the Troll King and had hid him, and the army must try to stop the monster that seems impervious to all weapons and countermeasures.

 

Add in a crazy old coot... I mean archeologist, and a mystical water source of King Olaf, who was held responsible for removing the trolls in the middle ages from Norway.  And then a document shows up, and it was all a misunderstanding in that the trolls didn't needed to be killed but given a home, but the chruch opposed this.  Epic battle with huge trolls take 2, magical water and finally a sacrifice of one of the leads and the big one is brought down...  

 

Yeah, that's a lot going on compared to the mysterious monster movie that was the original Troll.  They had a big budget (so far the biggest ever in Norwegian cinema) and wanted to go big.  Unfortunatly, it doesn't deliver, and feels more like a copy of King Kong vs Godzilla, but just, well, not that good.

 

A missed chance for sure, seeing how great the original was and what they served us in this second course...