Escalating Tensions: 500pt Dwarfs and Elves (aaand maybe Ratkin and Salamanders)

In an effort to get a friend of mine (see: wife) into the hobby, I'm going to put up some battle reports and list designs up here, hopefully with commentary from her as well.

To start out, she has picked Elves - partly because that's the 2nd Mega Force I acquired, partly because "Whoo, Elves!", which is rather self explanatory. I've put together a 500 point elf list that's a pretty fair go-around of what to expect from the Elves, and created a Dwarf list that is as close to fair as I can get without throwing common sense out the window and giving myself a deliberate handicap (which she does not appreciate - a victory should be a victory, not a handout).

But anyway, the lists!

Empire of Dust: 1000pt Army List and Miniatures/Modeling Musings

I'm on a new army binge apparently, and it's an interesting exercise to see what I can make for as cheaply as possible. I also work at a game store in my spare time, so having plenty of 1000pt armies for people to try isn't a bad idea.

List after the break:

Forces of Nature: 1000pt Army List and Miniatures/Modeling Musings

I've been eyeing Forces of Nature for a while now - they have a LOT of potential as a defensive army, yet they can pile on the speed, have universal pathfinder, and plenty of Crushing Strength. This makes for a very mobile and fast army that can beat opponents to favorable positions while retaining plenty of killing power and endurance.

List after the break!

Dwarfs: Mantic Dwarf Starter Army, a trial army list

I've always been a big fan of Dwarfs - they were my first fantasy minis army, and the general theme of tactics for the short, tenacious buggers fits my play style very well. Kings of War's Dwarfs are very similar to Warhammer's, in the sense that they are slow, have heavy armor, and generally good ranged weaponry and war engines.

Where they differ is primarily in the variety of regiments they have access to - Bulwarkers are very good at cavalry defense, Sharpshooters are a long range sniping option with a powerful hit, Earth Elementals fit the dwarf theme very well but add in a solid bit of movement shenanigans, and Berserker Brock Riders... they're dwarf berserkers riding giant, angry badgers! High speed, lots of attacks, and hitting power like mad, they're a great tactical asset in any dwarf list!

Rather than go into any more detail on the Dwarf units (there are so many!), I'm going to start with a basic 1000pt list. I'm basing the list on what comes in the Mantic Dwarf Starter Army, which is a pretty nice way to start an army. I'll be doing another for the Mantic Dwarf Mega Force, but only after I've gotten a few games in with the Starter Army List to gauge it's ability.

List after the Break!

It Begins!

With the release of 2nd ed Kings of War, I've decided to start a blog. Simple as that.

Here at Tales of Mantica, you might see just about anything in relation to the game - short stories, artwork, minis, painting tips, battle reports, army lists, you name it. Feel free to submit things to Tales of Mantica, we'll be happy to have contributions!

That is all for now.