TGG2 Kickstarter Finally ships: The plastic mountain to grow significantly

Raging Heroes' Toughest Girls of the Galaxy 2 kickstarter ships: My pledge choices

Aah, decisions, decisions. Having just taken possession of a Panzergranadier Bolt Action Army, Raging heroes inform me that TGG2 is ready to ship. A hill, nay, a mountain, an avalanche, of plastic heading my way! Luvvit!

So heeere we have it, time to choose those models that you backed on the kickstarted 14 months ago:

Not bad, just 2 months off ETA. Kudos to RH. They kept us informed all of the way!
Great blog, and regular email updates. They shared the whole process with us, step by step.

Just got confirmation that my order in now " awaiting fulfillment" 

So am I too. Indeed, awaiting Fulfillment... 

 More than 3 years in coming, from when I first saw the Dark Elf concept art.

Well done, Raging Heroes!

So first off the stretch goal freebies:

16 stretch goal hero minis. Nice. 

Personally I could do without the 3 "familiars" but what the heck. 

The rest look great.

My motivation for backing this kickstarter was initially to supplement my Warhammer Dark Elf, Slaanesh Daemon and Empire forces. That was before the Warhammer world went up in a puff of smoke to be replaced by you-know what, and Slaanesh was deemed un-PC for soccer moms. 

Well, these girls will have every soccer mom choking on her Earl grey! Well, maybe not completely, but some of the models could come close to being R18 rated. 

My initial idea was to look to filling some of what I deemed lacking/boring/weaknesses in my armies at the time. Well, 9th Ed (Sorry 9th AGE) has nerfed my DE's somewhat, and I had to have a quick rethink of what I intended to order:

I was planning on building a Cult of Ulrich/Hammer-themed Empire army, with Great Hammers, rather than Greatswords. (The post on this, in fact is still sitting, awaiting completion)

So I thought I'd run with the Sisters. I already have a unit that I built for Mordheim, so this is what I went for in my choices:

Erzatz Empire/Empire of Sonstahl: 

 Daughters of the Orphanage, with command

Love this quirky standard bearer

And the musician(s)

Regular Sisters, with command

(Nothing regular about these girls, I'd say)

Sol-Sarya, Priestess of the Sun of Thorns:

Dark Elves. Could really use these nasty girls for anything. Executioners, Witches... many possibilities

Flesh Eaters, with command

Shiveriah, Sorceress

Varaseesh, the venomous:

Alternate medusa ? Again many possibilities

Yscarloth, the harvester of flesh:

Xehzirhya on demon steed

Worm riders and command

Ones I may still spend some money on:

Only didn't get these as there is no option for cross-bows on these alternative dark riders. (and had reached the limit of my pre-paid pledge of a year ago) 

I suppose adding cross-bows would not be not insurmountable. Lovely dynamic sculpts.

Nice sculpts, but no clear use for me (yet)

The ones that didn't quite crack it for me (though I liked the art concepts, but the final renditions of the models don't do it for me):

Copyright of pictures Raging Heroes. Can't wait for my models tpo arrive.

Rage of Sigmar. Coping with the Grief

WHFB is dead. Valuable tips on dealing with it from the realms of Psychology

Slaanesh is dead. The Old World is dead. Stormcast Archers on the Horizon: 

Harbringers of more destruction of what we loved? 

Like any loss, the loss of the Warhammer World and 8th Ed as we loved it, has evoked a significant emotional response. I believe some players have actually rampaged through Warhammer world.

So I turned to Psychology 101 for the answers: So this is what is happening to us at a psychological level:

The 5 Steps of Grief:

1. Denial and Isolation

The first reaction to learning of the death of a cherished loved one is to deny the reality of the situation. It is a normal reaction to rationalize overwhelming emotions. It is a defense mechanism that buffers the immediate shock. We block out the words and hide from the facts. This is a temporary response that carries us through the first wave of pain.This has been happening since the End Times broke, and accelerated once we learned that there will be no 9th Ed.

2. Anger

As the masking effects of denial and isolation begin to wear, reality and its pain re-emerge.
We are not ready. The intense emotion is deflected from our vulnerable core, redirected and expressed instead as anger.

The anger may be aimed at inanimate objects, complete strangers, friends or family. Anger may be directed at our dying or deceased loved one. Emotionally  we may resent the person for causing us pain or for leaving us (Or the ones that caused their death) We feel guilty for being angry, and this makes us even more angry.

Remember, grieving is a personal process that has no time limit, nor one “right” way to do it.

3. Bargaining

The normal reaction to feelings of helplessness and vulnerability is often a need to regain control–

If only we had seen this coming…
If only we had not invested as much time and effort into our armies the are now useless/nerfed...
If only GW had actually listened to its player base…
Lets draw up our own ruleset to survive this/Move to KoW/Keep playing 8th Ed/Modify AoS to suit our needs...

4. Depression

Two types of depression are associated with mourning. The first one is a reaction to practical implications relating to the loss. Sadness and regret predominate this type of depression.

We worry about the costs and waste.
We worry that, in our grief, we have spent less time with others that depend on us.

The second type of depression is more subtle and, in a sense, perhaps more private.
It is our quiet preparation to separate and to bid our loved one farewell.

5. Acceptance

Reaching this stage of mourning is a gift not afforded to everyone.

Death may be sudden and unexpected or we may never see beyond our anger or denial.

It is not necessarily a mark of bravery to resist the inevitable and to deny ourselves the opportunity to make our peace.

This phase is marked by withdrawal and calm. (Think I may there now)

 NB: This is not a period of happiness; and it must also be distinguished from depression.

Loved ones (Read GW-WHBF) that are terminally ill appear to go through a final period of withdrawal. (Has this been going on for the last decade?)

This is by no means a suggestion that they are aware of their own impending death or such, only that decline may be sufficient to produce a similar response.

 Their behavior implies that it is natural to reach a stage at which social interaction is limited.  

The unfortunate thing here is that this has become way of life for GW.

Coping with loss is a ultimately a personal and singular experience - nobody can help you go through it more easily or understand all the emotions that you’re going through. But others can be there for you and help you through this process. The best thing you can do is to allow yourself to feel the grief as it comes over you. Resisting it only will prolong the natural process of healing.

So our outpouring of grief and rage over the loss of a GW Supported 8th Ed with nothing substantial (or acceptable) to replace it has caused a significant grief reaction in the WHFB community. Like the death of a loved one, it also cannot be undone.

Alea iacta est  - attr to Julius Caesar on January 10, 49 BC - crossing the River Rubicon with his army - The Die is Cast. GW has taken a gamble on AoS. Will it work? Only time will tell.

 

So where to from here ?
We have an internal conflict on our hands.
Again the rule of 5.

5 Ways to resolve conflict:

1. Avoidance – People who use the avoidance technique withdraw and detach themselves from the issue. They do not want to assert their own perspectives nor do they want to help others resolve the situation. They just want to “mind their own business.”

• Lets just continue playing 8th Ed
• Rage Quit and move to something else

2. Accommodating – When a person uses this technique, they may do so in order to avoid conflict, (or is powerless to affect the outcome of a conflict), and gives the other person what they want.  A person who uses this style often gives in to others to avoid disagreements, and they may give in to others to the extent that they compromise themselves.

• Ok, lets play AoS there must be something good in it

3. Competing – When someone competes, their only interest is to resolve the conflict their way, rather than clarifying or addressing the issue. They have no interest in the well being or satisfaction of others, they just want to be right or ok

• Lets switch to KoW or some other set of rules

4. Compromising – Compromising is a mutual give-and-take. It is often used when both parties are willing to concede and make concessions. Compromise is a good strategy for when the parties want to resolve the issue quickly.

• OK, lets adapt the rules to suit our needs, or 
• Lets hope GW may in future realise the magnitude of the mistake of alienating their veteran players, and fix it

5. Collaborating – Collaborating is when the parties work together with the goal of resolving the conflict to everyone’s complete satisfaction. The parties approach the situation with a solution-oriented, “team” approach. This approach also results in “buy in” and a higher level of commitment.

• Unlikely any collaborative approach will come from this conflict at present

All (too) Quiet in the Provinces: Army Parade and Review of Projects

I have been very quiet on the Warhammer front for some time, focusing on reducing my pile of lead and plastic.

The torrent of releases and my general avarice when it comes to models has resulted in quite a large pile accumulating. The quick succession of releases in the last 18 months has left our household reeling, and quite frankly, a bit swamped with Warhammer, and a strategic withdrawal subconsciously took place.

Maybe its also because the Lizardman and Ogre General in our house has discovered "Gurlz, Skateboardz, Music Concerts and Social life !" (No particular order) , and gaming has taken a backseat.

Also HOMEWORK has taken over a lot of his time... taking art, so quite a lot of hard grind needing to go into it. I must say though some amazing artwork coming out of those talented young hands!

Certainly the hobby brushes have not been taken up for a while for some of the inhabitants of our mancave...

And  I too  have been diverted from WHFB into FoW for the last few months,first building and then re-fighting D-Day, and then onto Operation Bagration:

See my other blog Wargames Obsession for detail. I have managed to make quite a dent in the pile of (non-Warhammer) models under the desk

Anyhow there are quite a few unbuilt models from out European haul in January still sitting on the shelf. 40K is history, and Luc's Tau are also still up for sale, anyhow, what's left of them (Unbuilt fire warriors, Kroot, etc)

I have resisted buying the New Dwarfs book, and may well sell off my Dwarven Throng, or can I really get myself to part with what really was my first GW Army ? Haven't played them for ages though...

So I have decided to at least make an effort, and parade my armies, as they currently stand over the next few weeks, and a quick update on unfinished projects:

I came across this useful item, that has Dark Ark written all over it, and also,  in small letters (dare I say it, SAGA...)

 

Out came the spray can, undercoat done. Here comes an item that can only lead to interesting gaming...

So I next reached for the camera and Army closest at hand (and mostly complete, ok, bar a hand full of models) No, not my Dark Elves, but my Daemons of Chaos:

Faction by faction, they poured from the Maelstrom across the Frozen Wastes

Khornish Nasties first:

Leapers of the Flame, pouring forth from:

\

Flaming Hounds

Alternate Karnak

Skulltaker

Juggers

Alternate Herald of Khorne

 (Grand Crane, of the -now defunct- Confrontation brand)

Alternate Skull Cannon, with another alternate Herald of Khorne

The Old Guard

All my Khornish Nasties together

Slaaneshi (Minus Seekers - not fully painted); and another unit of Daemonettes, not worth another pic, again with alternate herald and The Mask, more useful, I think in the pred Ed. rules. 

Tzeench Daemons

 

Papa Nurgle and his Garden of Delights

Herald and BSB (Pardon my poor photographic skills - still workin' on it)

Alternate Herald (Bit of a theme developing here? )

Filth Dogs

Epidemius and his offspring

Rotflies