A Tale of OGC Gamers Beastmen Based on the White Dwarf series from 1999, OGC held its own army-building event. Starting with £50 in January 2004, players then had £25 a month to spend until June, for a total of £175. Players would then pit their armies in the Tale of Gamers only Tournament to decide the best winner. This part of the tale follows Mike Brandon’s Beasts… Month 1 I lived Alone…… Painfully he drew open his eyelids, raising his body onto unsure legs. He craned his neck skyward trying vainly to clear the pain in his head. He slowly surveyed the battlefield, feeling a sinking feeling as he saw many of his comrades lifeless bodies. Man intertwined with beast in a cruel and bloody sculpture of war. He raised his weapon and looked for anyone who might be in charge. The minotaur stumbled into his future.       Month 1 and the Doombull’s quest begins. To kick off I thought it best to get all my characters now, firstly a Wargor standard bearer, to compensate for those awful LD values. Secondly a shaman as a characterful supplement for the beasties and lastly a minotaur to be the mighty Doombull. Two problems arose, for one I forgot I needed to model the wargor to carry the standard in the bestigor unit so I’m going to use the Khorngor command standard for the wargor and the wargor as the Khorngor champion, ah well it looks ace. For seconds the minotaur model just doesn’t cut it as a Doombull, so he’s relegated to the normal ranks while the real Doombull can arise next month. Elsewhere I went for a Beast Herd (never would have guessed), and some Khorngor. Problem is I couldn’t fit a Khorngor unit costwise given the restrictions so I’ll need to use the bestigor and pain t them ahem, ‘Khorny’. To finish the Khorngor command, though the standard needs to be a Wargor, doh! On the battlefield the beasts ran off screaming from those gimpy dogs of war, why my Empire don’t fight that well in combat I’ll never know. However some solice was gained when fighting the ever-irritable elves. Firstly a massacre of the High Elves, only a few Ungor died! Then a few games with the Dark Elves, the first ending 0-0, the Elves just running away constantly while the Beasts got some exercise. In a rematch, the elves received a firm kicking, mainly thanks to beasts not fleeing from the terror causing Manticore, What have I learned? Nothing, oh well…… 1st month spending Beast Herd Box £15 2 Bestigor Blisters £10 Khorngor Musician & Standard £6 Minotaur £8 Beastman Lord £6 Bray Shaman £5 Total = £50 2nd month purchases 1 Bestigor Blister £5 Minotaur Lord £10 Minotaur Standard £9 Total = £24   (£1 carried over to next month) Month 2 ….My Mind was Blank…. How could he know what to do? They had gathered around him, at the site of the shattered stone, scores of his kind. The Shaman-one had said the warrior God had given him the key. His brothers had joined him, as had a mighty beastlord leading the powerful axe wielders. The stone they said, had to be restored in the name of some ancient god. After the first battle and the first stone piece was returned he had noted a change, his skin was becoming crimson. The Minotaur wept.      So the journey continues. Month 2 saw the opportunity to fix the Doombull problem, so I went for the huge Minotaur Lord himself, although he’s still getting a great weapon, those twin axes are just for show. Also I’ll add his other brother, a Minotaur standard bearer. For the time being the Doombull will have to be a Bloodkine, I’ll get another Minotaur later (Just pray I don’t forget). With the money remaining I though it best to make the Bestigor/Khrongor a valid unit and went for another blister. And then to my horror it happened. £6!!!!!!!! Games Workshop price hikes strike again, ahhhh this was not part of the great plan! Damn curses of Tzeentch, I should never have joined Khorne. However, rules of observation No. 46 article 12 always check the racks. And there it was, at the very back, a bestigor blister for £5!!! Tale of Gamers rules state, if its bought in the shop, the price is valid, sneaky sneaky!  So with a new gained sense of self-satisfaction I made my best beast man trot back to the train station for the return home. Back at the painting station it was time to make Khorne flesh for the bestigor and Minotaur units. On in to the night the experiments went until I gave up remembering I didn’t have an empty mixing pot. Cue attempt 2, armed with the mixing pot, I created the following creation, 1/6 scorched brown, 3/6 red gore and 2/6 water = Khorne beast flesh. It’s a bit of a weird colour but such is the nature of Chaos…. or bad mixing. It will have to do though…I’m on a budget here. Back to the battlefield and it was time to give those pesky Bretonnian’s a kicking. After the initial horror of realising that GW have messed up the game further, you know the policy, the new army has to be the best, the beasts went to work. I’ve already realised that combat is bad for beastmen, bizarre considering that they have no missile weapons, so I hid in the woods, killed some archers, lost some Gors to some knights and we called it a draw. I’ve got a feeling that my beasts haven’t heard the last of the wine drinking nonces… Month 3 ….I Needed Time to Think…. The forest rumbled with the approaching of the herd, all the denizens of the Arden forest moved in one mass. They had come to see the true beast the one who would deliver them from the invaders. Scores of beastmen surrounded a clearing, braying back the more simple creatures that surrounded them. In the centre of the clearing lay the great minoataur, his flesh and fur turned crimson, he bore a great mark, that which would unite all beasts. But to him it was terrible.      Where next for the mighty herd? Since it’s still early in the tale I thought I’d grab another beast herd now, why? Because I cant be bothered painting it, so it figures that it should get done over the course of the next four months. This gives me all my core with the exception of a single minotaur which I’ll get later, old Doombull will have to remain a Bloodkine until 2,000 points can be reached. Another note is that I like trolls, and after a game with my Tzeentch Chaos Warriors I was very impressed with what the trolls could do, despite initially lumbering around like American Congress. They tore up the Tomb Gits pretty well, but where undermined a deathblow by, you guessed it Magic armour and accursed ward saves. Anyway, I want trolls so I made a start with a river troll, I decided against Chaos Trolls on account that my beasts are from the Arden forest and not the wastes. For Discworld fans it can be called Tethis, I had to have the model with the fish as well, the though of killing elves with a giant cod has a sick appeal to it. No-one was around and I’ve recently been in Poland so the only action the beasts have had this month is on the end of the paint brush, progress is however slow, especially with my exams coming up so I’ll have to make a drive come May, but I managed to get the Minotaur’s done, shown in 3rd month spending  £1 left carried over from last month  Beast Herd Boxed Set - £15 River Troll - £9 Total = £24 £2 left carried over to next month 4th month spending  £2 left carried over from last month Minotaur w/great weapon   £9 Trolls x 2    £18 Total  £27 picture. Again GW refused to stock anything and so Static grass remains but a dream and those infernal black bases will have to adorn my shelf for yet another month. I will however use this opportunity to look at the army list so far…so here goes –  Wargor w/battle standard, heavy armor, great weapon & mark of Khorne 128 points   Level 2 Bray shaman w/ staff of Darkoth and Chaos Armour 145 points   Beast Herd – 12 gors and 8 ungors w/shields – full command 159 points  Beast Herd – 12 gors and 8 ungors w/shields – full command 159 points 11 Khorngor w/ champion and musican 195 points / 3 Minotaurs of Khorne w/ great weapons, champion & standard   223 pts So that makes a total of 1,009 points for £100, which means I’m on schedule. Anyway, everyone’s back from university next week so the beasts should get some action, until next time! Month 4 …. What did I see?… The change within him brought only rage, as his herd ravaged the land and the Doombull slew many foes the shattered herd stone began to change…it grew with an eldritch light. The shamans brayed of a new coming, that soon the Minotaurs work would be complete, but for now the killing must continue. Desperation, rage and fear filled his heart with equal measure, but somehow, some way he knew that if he just kept on killing then maybe the nightmare would end. Well, it’s a mop up this month, and while I try to explain to the shamans that they don’t need to issue the herds with brooms, I will finish off some of the existing units. The Minotaurs get their true Bloodkine model, leaving the Doombull to finally pursue active Doombull duties. Oh and did I mention, my poor Doombull had no elbow piece, the damn thing never came in the blister, still, some green stuff later and I have a cool axe behind the head pose. The trolls were also tidied up, sorry about the mop phrases…., but seriously they now make a nice unit of 3. Thanks to some foraging on ebay I managed to secure some of the classic Hill Trolls, adding a unique look to the army, even though they are dwarfed by the river troll they still look ace. If this seems to make a mismatch looking unit then that’s exactly what I wanted, these beasts are from the Old World’s more wild lands, none of that damn mutation thank you very much. The horrible truth of the army is dawning however, and that is, HOW THE HELL DO I WIN? Most of my most expertly executed plans have ended with Minotaurs legging it and Khorngor crying. Looking at my ToG rivals, Brown’s Dark Elves will probably annihilate me by turn 2, outnumbered by the Dogs of War, Lizardmen stuff is similar only cheaper and harder (much harder), the Bretonnian’s can choose when and which turn to wipe me out on a giant charge. I sought some expert advice in the shape of the GW staff however the same thing keeps coming up, buy some Chaos Knights…BUT THERE SUPPOSED TO BE BEASTS! Anyhow, I still love this army, it kicks crap over every other army in terms of looks, and as Sir Stillman always said, play for fun and supporting the background, not to win!  However there is something sneakily cunning up my sleeve / fur….. Month 5 …Can I believe… The campfire raged.  The beasts fed. Mighty creatures drunk on pillaged man things staggered and clashed all around. The Minotaur sat rocking, before howling towards the sky. The noise around the campfire died, the Minotaur held up a piece of stone, its eyes flickered and for just one brief moment there was a semblance of terror before they glazed back into madness once more. The tale is drawing to a close and its time to add one of the units I collected the beasts in the first place for, the Centigor. These models look absolutely fantastic and have some interesting rules too, including being able to use throwing axes, which I like. This adds a lot of advantage to 5th month spending  Centigor  £25 Total  £25 6th month spending  Shaggoth  £20 Bray Shaman £5 Total  £25 the army too, allowing for an annoying unit to race ahead of the main army and begin harassing the enemy before the big monsters and free moving skirmishes begin running riot. It also makes up a little for not having a Bray-horn that I used to great effect in earlier games, the inclusion of the Dooombull meaning I was denied this advantage. Month 6 …that what I saw that night was real and not just Fantasy… The last piece of the shattered herd stone was replaced and immediately it glowed with ancient runes causing all to stagger back. Suddenly it shattered, and above the trees came a crashing, a monstrous Shaggoth bearing the symbols of the blood god loomed into the clearing answering its ancient call. The Doombull grimaced and raised its axes to the air, there was nothing left but slaughter. The final purchase, and whether it’ll be good in battle or not it has to be the Shaggoth! This amazing points eating model is one of the best models GW has produced, although it was a tough call between this and a giant, being able to give the Shaggoth the mark that themed the army was the decider. It’ll be interesting to see how this fairs in battle, I’m not used to monsters this big! I also tidied up the magic phase with another Bray-shaman to obtain those wild beast lore spells, think of them as calling to the forest rather than magic, otherwise Mr Khorne may not be best pleased. The army is complete though, dead on budget and fitting snugly into 2000 points…its off to war! Beastmen Progress Pictures How the Beasts fared You can find out all about the Beastmen’s performance in the Fantasy Tournament in Motion 2004 section on the website. Here is a quick summary of how they performed… Tournament standing: 2nd place (of 5) Winner: Best Painted army award Khorngor standard: runner-up in painting competition Beastmen (Mike Brandon) Lord - Doombull (Great Weapon, Heavy Armour, Pelt of Dark Young, Rune of True Beast, Mark of Khorne)  289 pts Hero - Wargor (Battle Standard, Heavy Armour, Axe(sword) of Might, Mark of Khorne)        144 pts Bray Shaman (Level 2, Staff of Darkoth) 135 pts Bray Shaman (Level 2, Braystaff, Dispel Scroll) 141 pts Core - Beast Herd (12 Gors, 8 Ungor w/ shields, full command) 119 pts Beast Herd (12 Gors, 8 Ungor w/ shields, full command) 119 pts Khorngor (11 Bestigor w/ Mark of Khorne, Champion and musician) 195 pts Minotaurs (3 w/ Great weapons & Light armour, Champion & Standard, Mark of Khorne) 232 pts Special - Trolls (3) 165 pts Centigor (5 w/ throwing axes and shields, full command) 145 pts Rare - Shaggoth (Great weapon & Light armour) 306 pts Total - 2,000 pts