Nimrod

Nimrod has been painted over the past couple of weeks, and marks my 75th painted Anima Tactics unit. It also marks another lull has occurred, at almost five months since I painted Sharsha. This year I have set a goal of 12 painted Anima Tactics units which is achievable, but only if I can gather sufficient motivation.

Once I started the painting I was briefly side-tracked finishing a few minis for another game, but managed the bulk of the mini over two sessions, with little bits here and there to finish off. In all it felt fairly straightforward, although I am not totally happy with the face, but I consider it finished, especially given how few Anima Tactics minis I have painted in the past year.

Nimrod is a Level 40 Prowler for the Church. At that Level, of the painted units I have so far, he would substitute for either Grey, Luzbell or Saint Astraega, and like all of them he offers something unique for a Party. What Nimrod has is threat to Hidden and Intangible models; suddenly Stealth is not the great protection it ordinarily is. His Actions are likely to leave Nimrod stranded, so timing his Attack or Charge will be crucial.

In terms of Advantage cards, Covert Operation to give Advanced Deployment looks good; Clock of Cronos or Fate Clock at least leaves the option of a defensive Action Point (for Dodge); or Gnose to get Nimrod into position.

Running Totals
Anima Tactics Units Units Painted/Owned: 75/169 (44.4%; added - nothing)
Anima Tactics Discrete Units Painted/Range: 71/163 different units (43.6 %)
Year to Date Target: 1 of 12 units (1 per month target; 8%)

Sharsha 'Friedegunde'

Months have passed, and I have finally completed a new Anima Tactics unit! Spurred on by my Zomtober painting exertions, I was determined to use this month as a spur to getting other tangentially related stuff painted, and for me, Sharsha 'Friedegunde' fit the bill. While she is not an Undead, she has abilities that reference life after death and I thought it would be interesting to use my zombie-skin recipe on her with her patchwork body.

Sharsha is of course one of the four recently released but long-awaited final minis from Cipher Studios/Ninja Division, and I was pleased that they finally surfaced - although two more minis remain yet to be released: Legion and the new Limited Edition Celia.

The initial painting was pretty quick as I went back and forth between this and other minis I have tackled for Zomtober. I am hoping that in the last couple months of 2015 I can at least get one or two more Anima Tactics units finished.

I haven't played the game in quite a while, with enthusiasm seriously dampened by the Cipher decision about the game, but hope to maybe play a game or two soon or early next year. It would be nice to get Sharsha onto the table if I do. In game terms, Sharsha is having to compete with Organization-specific units as well as other Wanderers for the coveted Wanderer slot in a Party (except Black Sun who she cannot work with). Therefore she has to offer something exceptional, and with her Power Token management adding extra options such as instant AP recovery (theoretically allowing for 7 AP expenditure once per game), Healing, coming back from being reduced to 0 Life Points, and increased Speed, then I think arguably she does.

For Advantage Cards, I think the ideal choice is Orb of Power so she starts with 1 Power Token, and meaning she should be up to 2 or 3 Tokens by the end of her first Turn if she also uses her Pure Anger Action twice - that sets her ready to use Limit Break (AP recovery) and just 1 Power Token short of being ready to use Beyond the Grave which allows her to return from being reduced to 0 LP.

Running Totals

Anima Tactics Units Units Painted/Owned: 74/169 (43.8%; added - Sharsha, Nimrod, Anaximenes, September and another Ahriman. Lord of Darkness)

Anima Tactics Discrete Units Painted/Range: 70/163 different units (42.9 %)

Year to Date Target: 4 of 18 units (3 per month target; 13%)

Adolf Brunner

Another Anima Tactics unit finished, this one after a break of three and half months. In my last post I explained why momentum had dropped off this project; well since then there really is no update: Ninja Division/Soda Pop are still waiting for additional stock from the other side of Ninja Division, namely Cipher Studios. Which means fans of the range are still waiting for those last few releases. I will be pleased if they ever appear, but each month I have increased doubts.

Despite all of that, I managed to get to some renewed motivation for painting Anima Tactics and wanted to start and finish a mini quite quickly, and suddenly Adolf Brunner seemed the right option. I thought if I kept going over a few sessions he could be manageable.

Painting-wise, I decided on the sandy blond hair to evoke the idea of German WWII fictional villains from pulps etc.

The painting was actually quite straight-forward due to the simplified colour scheme I opted for, and it is nice to have another mini done, although I am way behind my target for the year.

In all I am pretty happy with how the mini has turned out, especially as my momentum for this range had ground to a halt prior to completing this one. Hopefully it won't be another three and half months before I finish my next Anima Tactics mini.

In the Anima background Adolf is described as a nasty piece of work, a cruel supernatural scientist who has risen in power and influence.

In game terms Adolf Brunner is my 10th Azur unit, which isn't bad considering I have yet to play them as an Organization!

Adolf Brunner specialises in Magic Effects and can return to the board even if taken out. He is also part of the Team The Puppet Master (the boss of it basically) along with Frey and Freya. Like many Azur he has a relatively low Levels cost which was reduced after the cost adjustment in 2013.

Maybe one day I will give my Azur a proper game.

Running Totals
Anima Tactics Units Units Painted/Owned: 73/165 (44.2%)
Anima Tactics Discrete Units Painted/Range: 69/159 different units (42.8 %)
Year to Date Target: 3 of 18 units (3 per month target; 17%)

Cordelia Rosalind

That took a while. Far too long. Not the mini, but finishing painting any Anima Tactics mini/unit.

It has been almost three months since I last finished an Anima Tactics mini, and admittedly for fans of the game, the recent news from Cipher Studios was very disappointing. I remain absolutely determined to paint this whole range, and will be pleased to look back on that feat should I succeed. Hopefully I can regain some momentum now that Cordelia is painted; I would love to be past the half-way point of the whole range by summer/autumn.

The future of Anima Tactics does not totally appear to be over, but I wait to see what comes next if anything after the assurance of the 'last few releases. By my estimate there are 7 certainties or almost certainties:

Anaximenes; Legion; Nimrod, September; Celia special edition; the Bearer; the Nameless.

While I also reckon there is a slim chance of one or two other previously not-indicated units being in that final mix too. We shall see. Nonetheless, it leads me to think that there will be 159 discrete units (including limited edition variants etc.), so I will be using that in my target/goal information going forward, adjusting the value as more information comes out.

On to this latest addition. Cordelia Rosalind is another Wissenschaft Prowler, combining an array of ranged attacks with Stealth. I loved this model when I first saw it, and that has not changed, despite that it was a bit of pain to get the parts to fit satisfactorily. Cordelia is pretty formidable in her sniper function, and I dare-say she will get some use in future games.

I now have up to 555 Levels of Wissenschaft, so could easily field a 600 Level force with a Summon or two for Valis Ul Del Vilfain. That kind of Party would make for a big game and would be far in excess of the 300 Level games I have played so far. If I ever get the time, it could be fun.

Running Totals
Anima Tactics Units Owned/Units Painted: 164/71 (43.3%)
Anima Tactics Range/Discrete Units Painted: 159/67 different units (42.1 %)
Year to Date Target: 1 of 9 units (3 per month target; 11%)

Church Agent (male)

Unit number 70 - done!

These Agents are the special forces available to the Church's highest circles of power. Many are trained from childhood to hunt down and destroy supernatural threats to humanity, while others use their divine gifts to further the work of the Church.

I started this mini along with another Church Agent and a couple of non-Anima Tactics minis at the same time, to take advantage of the fact that all were using red as a predominant colour. What that meant was that in a few days I managed to paint 3 minis, and so I have inched further forward with my Anima Tactics painting total. This mini was started once previously, and stripped of paint when I was unhappy with my progress. There is some pitting at the back of the mini I am unhappy with, but that will stay as it is, as I just do not want to strip and repaint it again. More importantly, it is my first Church unit completed (since Alis Testarossa) in almost 6 months!

As mentioned in a recent post (click for link), it looks like Agents may get a change to their rules, so I am very interested to see what will happen with Church Agents. once all the Agents cards have been revealed, I will probably get a set printed via Artscow until such time official cards are printed.

As the year draws to a close, I don't think there is any hope of achieving my target of 36 Anima Tactics units this year. However, I may get a couple more painted possibly, and if I can match the same total next year and the year after, the project will remain steadily on course. That may need me to paint 'smarter', doing what I have done with Deimon and Luther Delacroix and painting a couple of units in tandem for speed,

Running Totals
Anima Tactics Units: 164 (added: nothing and still no sign of that pre-order from months ago...)
Anima Tactics Units Painted: 70 (66 different units)
Painted Units Percentage: 42.7% (percentage of AT minis owned and painted)
Anima Tactics Range: 152 discrete units (including 2 LE minis; including September as he *still* is due for presumed release)
Percentage of Whole Range Painted: 43.4%
Year to Date Target: 29 of 36 units (3 per month target; 81%)

Luther Delacroix

Scion of the Delacroix family and now its head, Luther is also the vice-president of Black Sun.
  I prepped Luther Delacroix a while back, and only started painting him a few days ago when I realised I could save time working on him simultaneously with Deimon. Doing so helped me sustain some recent painting momentum I have had, which was great from a personal perspective. Like the Azur Agent I painted last week, Luther Delacroix took around a week to complete from base colours to finishing, side-stepping the copious time many of my minis spend in the dread 'painting queue'!
  Finishing Luther also takes me so much closer to Anima Tactics unit number 70, which I feel is pretty good going for two years worth of painting. I still think I am looking at around three years to paint all the Anima Tactics minis I have remaining, and that objective remains intact.
  On the mini itself - while I really like the overall look, and especially the pose and concept, I really think the clothing folds are over-done and over-emphasized. A small quibble, and something that could have made a very good model great IMHO. Despite that, overall I do like the mini a lot.
 Luther will be much more about managing Undead units in his Party than Clover, so offers a different type of Leader. In turn, I can imagine each of these Leaders may favour a different kind of Party selection. Luther especially may benefit from a plethora of Type-005's.

  In terms of Advantage Cards I think Orb of Power would make sense since it give Luther a free Power point immediately in the game, which he can then add to by using his Magic Skills. Alternatively maybe something like Protective Shield which allows free Dodges and therefore would allow Luther to reserve precious AP. I would like to get some Anima Tactics games in soon to try out the burgeoning Black Sun line up that I have.
  With Luther and Deimon now done,  I think it really is time for me to try and fill out the ranks of other Organizations, especially Empire and Church to give me more options for both. But then again, whatever I plan, I seem to do something else! Nonetheless, I would love to get a least a couple more Anima Tactics minis finished before the end of the year since I have fallen quite far short of the goal I set for the range.

Running Totals

Anima Tactics Units: 164 (added: nothing and still no sign of that pre-order from months ago...)

Anima Tactics Units Painted: 69 (65 different units)

Painted Units Percentage: 42.1% (percentage of AT minis owned and painted)

Anima Tactics Range: 152 discrete units (including 2 LE minis; including September as he still is due for presumably 'imminent' release, and has been for a long time)

Percentage of Whole Range Painted: 42.8%

Year to Date Target: 28 of 33 units (3 per month target; 85%)

Azur Agent (male)

After turning around Akio Kageshima within a week, this mini has been finished in a slightly quicker period of time. I was painting something for a different game when it occurred to me that the other model had a very similar colour palette to what I would use for an Azur Agent, so while waiting for parts of that much bigger mini to dry, I started in on this. The Azur Agent was under-coated black, which means it has been waiting painting for quite some time, and of course I decided to use my regular Azur colour scheme, with the added accents of the white cuffs. It has surprised me just how many Azur units I have painted this year, especially as I have not finished at least one I thought would be done by now!

In the game background, the Azur Alliance is a rival power to the Empire of Abel, and the Azur Agents are the private army of the Supreme Archon.

In game terms an Azur Agent can be fielded multiple times depending on game size, and are customisable. Agents cannot really be min-maxed to match equivalent named units, but they can have a role in a Party. Of course they can simply be used as Al-Djinn Ash Slaves, but used in an Azur force something to consider is fielding them in the same Party as Kerberos who gives them a bonus to their Attack value. Even then though, there are simply more efficient options available since most Azur Prowlers are in the 35-45 Levels range, and the Azur Agents simply cannot match their capabilities, so I am not too sure I really see the game 'value' in them right now. Even worse, they kind of compete against Shinobi in terms of how they can be built, and comparing typical builds for both working off Stealth-based Attacks, the Shinobi will have a cheaper AP Action and be harder hitting, but the Azur would probably be built to be faster. So right now in the game it is hard to see that they can be used to their fullest potential. Hopefully that may change in the future.

On the Anima Tactics painting project front, I have several minis that could be finished quite quickly If I can muster the focus, so hopefully the last few weeks of this year will prove fruitful.

Running Totals
Anima Tactics Units: 164 (added: another Grimorium; still no sign of that pre-order from months ago...)
Anima Tactics Units Painted: 67 (63 different units)
Painted Units Percentage: 40.9% (percentage of AT minis owned and painted)
Anima Tactics Range: 152 discrete units (including 2 LE minis; including September as he still is due for presumably 'imminent' release, and has been for a long time)
Percentage of Whole Range Painted: 41.4%
Year to Date Target: 26 of 33 units (3 per month target; 79%)

Samael Agent (male)

Forming a shadowy network of operatives, Samael Agents are tasked to unleash chaos and confusion across all of Gaia in the name of the Fallen Angels of Samael.

With this mini, I have been painting it bit by bit through the week, desperately clinging on to my often fleeting motivation! I wanted a quite muted palette, to create a sort of 'fantasy ranger' look to him; green, grey and brown as the main colour blocks all fit that kind of vision I think, with some contrasting brightness from the stave and magical effect. When I finished Dagger, this Samael Agent was only under-coated, so it has quickly leap frogged a number of part-done minis, which is okay - at least something has been finished! It may be a bit rough in places, but I can live with it. The most important thing for me is getting another mini done, and it has also been a useful exercise in  working with the green colour I used here and which I am using for another non-Anima Tactics project.

Until I get a more substantial Samael force together, I think this Agent is most likely to  be used in games as created by an Al-Djinn as an Ash Slave. Samael Agents belong to either Light, Dark or Neutral Faction depending on the abilities. This can have slight impact of things like choosing Advantage cards, as well as how a few units do or do not get bonuses against specific Factions.

Running Totals
Anima Tactics Units: 163 (added: nothing, but I *still* have two minis on pre-order <sigh>)
Anima Tactics Units Painted: 65 (61 different units)
Painted Units Percentage: 39.9% (percentage of AT minis owned and painted)
Anima Tactics Range: 152 units (including 2 LE minis; including September as he still is due for presumably imminent release, and has been for a long time)
Percentage of Whole Range Painted: 40.1%
Year to Date Target: 24 of 30 units (3 per month target; 80%)

The Colonel

The Colonel is the head of Les Jaeger, and a man whose power and influence extends across the entire world.

The Colonel is the third member of Team Les Jaeger that I have painted, and leaves just one more mini (Kirsten) to finish the whole Team; Team Les Jaeger is currently the only Team comprising 4 units.

In game terms, The Colonel is formidable prospect, with hand to hand and ranged Attacks, as well as the option to steal Life Points from allies and a defensive Action, meaning he is potentially quite durable. However as a member of Team Les Jaeger he gains Arbiter status, adding bonus Actions to his Team. Looking at the Team, I really cannot see a good reason to not invest the 5 Levels Advantage Card cost to get the benefits. He also has the Initiative ability which helps with the Initiative Roll each Turn.

This mini has been assembled for several months, and I think it would have remained unpainted had I not finished painting Reindhold so close to having some time off work. I had some motivation and was able to get him finished over three to four sessions. I may go and do a little more tot he flame to create greater hot to less hot contrast. Please forgive the ropey photography.

This takes me to four Anima Tactics units for the month, and with a few days left I hope that I can get at least one more done before the end of August. It will help me recover some of the deficit that has built up!

Running Totals
Anima Tactics Units: 163 (added: nothing new since the last unit, but I am hoping for another couple of releases soon...)
Anima Tactics Units Painted: 61 (57 different models)
Painted Units Percentage: 37.4% (percentage of AT minis owned and painted)
Anima Tactics Range: 152 units (including 2 LE minis;including September as he still is due for presumably imminent release)
Percentage of Whole Range Painted: 37.5%
Year to Date Target: 20 of 24 units (3 per month target; 83%)

Hellhound/Type-004: Hellhound (III)

I evidently like painting these things (after my first Hellhound/Type-004: Hellhound is here; and the second is here)! The main reason for painting a third is that I wanted a couple of 'Summon'-version paint-schemes, and  also because my painting has slowed down. As they are quick and easy to do, it helps me avoid full-on painters block to have got 'something done'.

The funny thing is, I am not sure I have actually used any of them in a game yet! I may have faced one once, but I have not yet selected a Hellhound or Type-004: Hellhound unit in a game that I can recall. That said, now that I have added a few more Summons in the past two or three months, I am much closer to being able to try out a Summon-horde type of list.

Keep an eye out soon for a group shot of all my painted Summons so far, ten models in total, although I really intend one of the Hellhounds more for my Black Sun than as a Summon.

Still, I cannot see me painting any more of these - three is plenty I think - so its is time for me to look for other 'quick-fix' minis for when I experience painting slumps in my Anima Tactics project. That said, I have been doing a bit of work on some other units, so hopefully I can get on track with the project sooner than later.

Of course, I had to get a picture of all three Hellhound/Type-004: Hellhounds together.

Running Totals
Anima Tactics Units: 160 (added: nothing - but I am now waiting on 3 minis; one has been dispatched from the USA, and hopefully the other will be too soon - also from the USA)
Anima Tactics Units Painted: 58 (54 different models)
Painted Units Percentage: 36.25% (percentage of AT minis owned and painted)
Anima Tactics Range: 151 units (including 2 LE minis; added September as he still is due for imminent release)
Percentage of Whole Range Painted: 35.8%
Year to Date Target: 17 of 24 units (3 per month target; 71%)

Al-Djinn (II)

Another Al-Djinn, started at the same time as the first one, but finished separately due to the differences in some key colours. And finishing this one took a little longer than hoped as I have been focused on some writing recently which inevitably ate into painting time.

Given that the Al-Djinn are quite atypical, even among Summons, and are not straightforward attacker or tank type units, and that their support is not through simple buffs/de-buffs or Healing, then I suspect I won't be playing them too often, but you never know. Still, yet another reason for me to get more Dark Summoners painted!

Thinking about the fact that I am not likely to play these units too often, that makes me really wish Anima Tactics had better distribution and support into the UK. I think it is one of the better small-model count skirmishes that UK-based gamers just don't know about, but that is biased by my admittedly very strong liking of the minis and the game as a whole.

There is a strong background for the Anima range, nice rules, crossover into other gaming platforms, and real depth to the minis line (over 150 minis currently with more to come), yet on a few fora I have read comments about lack of awareness of the minis. There has to be enough of an audience to make future new releases sustainable, yet for some reason Anima Tactics seems very much to occupy a niche, within the low model count niche of skirmish games, within the larger niche of war-gaming; or 'a niche, within a niche, within a niche' as a friend once described another game I really enjoy immensely. The kind of game that has a dedicated enough audience for its own needs possibly?

I hope that does not sound negative, I'm just airing some thoughts. I love the game and its minis, and will stick with it. :)

I remain committed to my plan to paint at least one of every mini for the Anima Tactics range (and perhaps should be committed for it...). So please stay tuned to the blog to see how my progress goes! Hopefully another one or two units may appear before the end of this month.

Running Totals
Anima Tactics Units: 160 (added: nothing - but still waiting on 2 minis)
Anima Tactics Units Painted: 57 (54 different models)
Painted Units Percentage: 35.6% (percentage of AT minis owned and painted)
Anima Tactics Range: 151 units (including 2 LE minis; added September as he still is due for imminent release)
Percentage of Whole Range Painted: 35.8%
Year to Date Target: 16 of 21 units (3 per month target; 76%)

Al-Djinn

A little more Anima Tactics painting in the past few days, I started this and another Al-Djinn at the same time, getting the basics on each done to cut down on painting time (although this one was finished first as they don't have identical paint schemes).

"You called, my master?" Al-Djinn are described as spirits whom dared to defy the gods, imprisoned and isolated as punishment for their foolishness. Constrained by the bonds imposed by their imprisonment, they can still use their great powers to alter the destiny of the world.

In game terms they are one of the trickier Summons to use I suspect. That is largely due to their Action that allows them to copy the abilities of another unit. They had a rules adjustment with the 2013 Saga III & IV Update, reducing the maximum Level of a unit they can copy, as well as a Level cost increase for the Al-Djinn themselves, which reinforces that they were probably overdue for rules re-balancing.

The other tactic to use with an Al-Djinn is to create Ash Slaves: Level 20 or 25 Agents (their Level is dependent on whether your take the lesser of greater Al-Djinn option). Each Al-Djinn can create and maintain up to 3 concurrent Ash Slaves. This can allow the Al-Djinn player to exploit the opportunity for extra units to block Charge lanes, protect other units with Intercepts, add a little extra Attack capacity, or protect objectives.

I want to get more out of Summons in games, which means there are a few units I want to get painted before too long (Covel, Belith and Saint Hazael come to mind as Summoners, and I need to get to work on my Alius, Holy Soldiers too; I have started work on Arias Vayu).

Running Totals
Anima Tactics Units: 160 (added: nothing - but still waiting on 2 minis)
Anima Tactics Units Painted: 56 (54 different models)
Painted Units Percentage: 35.0% (percentage of AT minis owned and painted)
Anima Tactics Range: 151 units (including 2 LE minis; added September as he still is due for imminent release)
Percentage of Whole Range Painted: 35.7%
Year to Date Target: 15 of 18 units (3 per month target; 83%)

Shinobi

Ninja! Essentially Wanderer ninjas, Shinobi are non-unique units for Anima Tactics, described as elite assassins said to come from the Eastern island of Varja. I like ninjas (I have painted 8 so far for Pulp City!), and so eventually I would like to paint a few of these (more on why in a moment), and I do currently have another available in the mound of blisters.

Shinobi can be taken once per 150 Party Levels, so usually one or two in a typical Party. Unlike other Agents (so far!), they can be included in Organization or Faction Parties (currently, other Agents may only be used in Organization Parties - not in Light or Dark Parties). However, there is also an interesting wrinkle with Kagemaru when used as an Optional Leader; then his Master Shinobi and Elite Shinobi abilities allow you to field a ninja squadron - he allows up to two additional Shinobi, with all Shinobi having a reduced cost! Use them in an Azur Party with the Shadow Lords Organizational Advantage and suddenly you can have Kagemaru (as Optional Leader) and 4 Shinobi with maximum enhancements, all for 155 Levels versus the usual cost of 200 Levels (basically a 'free' extra unit). Add more Prowlers such as Dagger, Harod, Kyler or Kirsten, and the cost break continues. Assassin force!

All that aside, I would rather have another Shinobi sculpt before investing in a third and fourth. Right  now however, there is no sign of another sculpt appearing but I will remain hopeful as other Agents have had two variants.

On the colour scheme, I had started painting the whole uniform dark blue, but I did not like it, so I dropped the mini into the stripping bath (Dettol; works a treat, and best stuff I have used so far). I re-started using 'black' (dark grey) as the base for most of the mini, and keeping the dark blue to add some contrast, which was a motif I started with Kagemaru. I will keep this colour scheme going forward for other Shinobi, but altering the position of the dark blue to break up the uniformity a little. Most importantly, my 2014 painting target is almost  back on track across all lines after losing a month in February (I want to manage four minis per month, plus another couple somewhere across the year), and for Anima Tactics I want to paint around three minis per month on average; so far for this year I have painted ten Anima Tactics minis, so I am down by two.

Running Totals
Anima Tactics Units: 156 (added: nothing, but currently several mins are on order...)
Anima Tactics Units Painted: 52 (50 different models; technically as September has not yet been released, that is one-third of every mini I have, and one-third of those actually available!)
Painted Units Percentage: 33.3% (percentage of AT minis owned and painted)
Anima Tactics Range: 151 units (including 2 LE minis; added September as he is due for imminent release)
Percentage of Whole Range Painted: 33.1%
Year to Date Target: 11 of 12 units (3 per month target; 91.7%)

Kyler

Another Anima Tactics mini done, and I feel so close to finishing my fiftieth Anima Tactics unit (being careful to avoid getting overconfident mind you!); so here is Kyler. I had a sudden burst of motivation, so the bulk of the work was done in a couple of hours yesterday, using my standard Azur Alliance colour scheme (see my Juliette Kaim for the first mini I did in this pattern).

Kyler is an assassin. Remodeled using Lost Loggia technology, and turned into a psychotic killing machine, this member of the dread Team Les Jaeger  has become one of the most prominent killers on Gaia.

Kyler has benefited from a cost reduction from the 2013 Saga II and IV Update, dropping to 35 Levels, which should help make the four-piece Team Les Jaeger a more attractive proposition. However, I think it will be quite a while before I have enough Azur Alliance units ready to field a useful Party of them. With my chaotic approach to what I paint and in which order, one never knows though!

I suspect Kyler will be best used as part of Team Les Jaeger or possibly not at all, despite that he is pretty cheap. From reading the official Anima Tactics Forum, Azur Alliance are pretty challenging to get to grips with, not least the Prowlers that fill the ranks of the Organization. In games, I tend to prefer forces that get stuck in and perhaps don't rely on significant subtleties of game-play, so Azur Alliance may not be the one for me - nonetheless I will be painting them all (I hope!).

An Advantage Card that is pretty much primed to work with Kyler's Actions is Nullem Lusec; Kyler has a 1 AP Attack called Dancing Mad (Attack 4; Damage 2), which would mean up to 4 Attacks of 6/2 which could be interesting. Alternatively there is Nue which makes it harder to Seek a Hidden unit (such as Kyler when using Stealth).

I now need to paint one more to hit mini number fifty, which will feel like a major milestone, not just for achieving another ten painted, but for getting much closer to a third of the range painted (since I have painted two duplicates so far, that would be mini number fifty two at the earliest). Getting this unit done and other recent completed minis (such as Kira; Arkham; Ahriman, Lord of Darkness; Type-004: Hellhound/Hellhound; and Type-020: Verrier) has been pretty pleasing after painting nothing in February.

Running Totals
Anima Tactics Minis: 156 (added: Maria)
Anima Tactics Minis Painted: 49 (47 different models)
Painted Minis Percentage: 31.4% (percentage of AT minis owned and painted)
Anima Tactics Range: 150 (including 2 LE minis)
Percentage of Whole Range Painted: 31.3%

Ahriman, Lord Of Darkness

My fourth Anima Tactics mini finished in March, and this was done from base colours to finish in a few hours, and completed in one day - something my haphazard painting process normally forgoes!

I had a vague idea of what I wanted to do for this mini for a while, but never made a start. Then I changed my mind, picked up the mini, and wanted to try a couple of new-ish paints in my collection from Reaper. The final scheme then formulated pretty quickly and I quite enjoyed doing a 'quick and done' paint-job. Nothing fantastic about the painting here, but done quickly to a satisfying standard, and yet another mini finished, and a step closer to number 50.

I am particularly chuffed to get another Dark Summon finished as that then frees up more balanced options for games.

Ahriman, Lord of Darkness is a unit that has benefited from the points costs revisions in the 2013 Saga III & IV Update. Costs have dropped to 35 and 45 Levels for the two differing forms. But in all honestly I can see no good reason to use the lesser form as the greater form has 1 extra point of Attack, but more importantly has an extra Bind Point, meaning it can stay in the game longer. Mitigating that Bind Point difference requires for more  than the equivalent cost in my humble opinion, so a no-brainer. And there is more; the higher level version benefits from Intangibility, meaning only enemy units with Magic or Ki Attacks or Effects, or of a Level higher than Ahriman, Lord of Darkness' Atman of 60 (so characters of Level 65 and above), can actually harm this particular Summon - pretty nasty then.

In the background, the Lords of Darkness appear to be the elemental opposites of the Maidens of Light. Since I am planning to eventually paint a second Elhaym, Maiden of Light, it would make sense to paint a second Ahriman, Lord of Darkness. Another purchase to make then!

Running Totals
Anima Tactics Minis: 155 (added: nothing, but thinking of ordering a second Arhiman, Lord of Darkness...)
Anima Tactics Minis Painted: 47 (45 different models)
Painted Minis Percentage: 30.3% (percentage of AT minis owned and painted)
Anima Tactics Range: 150 (including 2 LE minis)
Percentage of Whole Range Painted: 30.0%

Arkham

Another Anima Tactics mini finished and some momentum is gathering it seems.

Arkham is described via the Anima Tactics Oracle as an ex-member of Order of the Magus, who became unhealthily fascinated with immortality and undeath, and who is now one of the main researchers participating in Black Sun's necromantic weapons testing. Surrounded by a legion of spectral ravens and drawing upon dark magic, this dark wizard will stop at nothing to achieve his goal of becoming the ultimate form of undead.

Yet another Black Sun you may say, after the Type-020: Verrier and Type-004: Hellhound, and you would be right! A week ago this was in the same state it had been for months - a couple of basic colours and then nothing else. Suddenly this week I felt the motivation rising to finish it, and one thing I have learned is to go along when I get some painting mojo going! Bit by bit over three evenings and an hour in a morning at the weekend, this has gone from two basic colours to finished, much more quickly than I anticipated.

Finishing Arkham helps round out the Black Sun unit options so I hope I can concentrate a little more on the other organizations before returning, but you never know. Or at least I don't! It alos drags me closer to the next 'Next 10' than I thought I would be a couple of weeks ago, so I may be able to make it to that target by the end of April with a little luck.

In game terms Arkham is a bit light-weight, although he does have a potential threat range of 32 inches thanks to his Raven Flight plus Beam Actions. He also has an Action called Soul Scavenger, which can cause every attack against a single target to inflict Critical Hits for a Turn; to me that sounds ideal against tricky high Defense targets, and maybe against targets with large LP totals, but I will have to see the Action used to weigh it up. He also offers 2 Guidance Points, which are of course useful when managining the rank and file Undead. The Advantage Card that seem most likely would be Control Bound to maximise the impact of Soul Scavenger, or Ring of Erebus which increases range for magical ranged attacks and would add to utility as a back line 'sniper' of sorts.

Running Totals
Anima Tactics Minis: 155 (added: still no new recent additions!)
Anima Tactics Minis Painted: 46 (44 different models)
Painted Minis Percentage: 29.7% (percentage of AT minis owned and painted)
Anima Tactics Range: 150 (including 2 LE minis)
Percentage of Whole Range Painted: 29.3%

Hellhound/Type-004: Hellhound (II)

This is my second Hellhound/Type-004: Hellhound (the first can be seen here - click for link); and painted slightly more in keeping with my Black Sun forces this time, and alongside the Type-020: Verrier I posted a few days ago. Hopefully the upcoming picture of my Black Sun units together will bear that out.

I picked this model out to paint last week almost as soon as it arrived in the post, as I wanted something I could finish quickly and easily and because as much as I don't really enjoy painting that much (I am a gamer first, painter second I think; I want my gaming pieces to be painted though), I did quite enjoy the first one as something quick and easy to do, and this was no different thankfully.

I hope that I can overcome the lull I have been in and get a move on through some more Anima Tactics units sooner than later, I'd like to get to 50 painted models for the game before the end of May, preferably even sooner (although I wonder if the end of April is a goal too far!).

I have a fair number that have yet to be used in games I have played, including the Hellhound/Type-004: Hellhound. Looking at this unit's rules again, especially as a Black Sun unit rather than as as Summon, it looks like a fairly cheap but potentially decent unit to harry and harass weaker support type enemy models. As a Dark Summon it is incredibly inexpensive at a mere 15  Levels.

I have a number of other Anima Tactics minis part-painted as well as dozens undercoated but not yet started. If I was a more disciplined painter I would start cranking through the partly done units I have, however I can be a bit of a gadfly when it comes to getting minis finished so that remains a forlorn hope I reckon. Maybe I ought to shame myself publicly by posting a pic of all the minis that have had some paint splashed on them? Or, then again, maybe not... :)

Anyway, this is my 45th Anima Tactics mini painted, which is pretty good going for a game that typically can be played with around 4-8 units at a time. Still, I really do want to paint at least one of every mini for this game, so that goal remains intact. Please stay with me and with the blog over the next couple of years to see how I get on with that ambition!

Running Totals
Anima Tactics Minis: 155 (added: nothing in the past few days!)
Anima Tactics Minis Painted: 45 (43 different models)
Painted Minis Percentage: 29.0% (percentage of AT minis owned and painted)
Anima Tactics Range: 150 (including 2 LE minis)
Percentage of Whole Range Painted: 28.7%

Kagemaru

Woo-hoo; another one down, and with the last couple of painted minis I am past 25% of the entire available range for Anima Tactics (technically I think that was the last mini, I miscounted and thought there were 150 when I posted Ignis, Fire Demon, but looking again, it looks like there are currently 148 discrete minis). I am also drifting ever-closer to my fourth 'Next 10' post which is cool. So in the past 12 months I have made a bit of a dent into my Anima Tactics collection, and much more so than I thought I would in November 2012.

So on to Kagemaru. In keeping with my random approach to painting this range (except that recent Black Sun run!), here is a unit out of left field. I decided to go for a dark palette livened up with some dark red, dark blue and purple; that way he should hopefully stand out a little against Azur units who I plan to go mostly 'black' for, with a white accent on their neck frills.

Kagemaru is the legendary master of the Asakura ninja clan. So a super-ninja, with mystical powers and a bit of Summoning to boot! As an Optional Leader, he excels in spamming Shinobi into a Party list (with a cost break and raises the number limit), and allows for some unusual builds that still count as Organization Parties, even if lacking many actual Organization units.

Kagemaru has a lot of Actions built around his Stealth; in the games we have played so far Stealth has yet to feature at all, so it will be interesting to see how it plays out. On the looks of things though, he looks like he could be devastating with options of a 11/8 Attack from Hidden/Stealth, or a 16 inch range Charge that is 13/4 for which he does not have to be Hidden. Ouch! Essentially even without buffing Kagemaru, target models are going to have to consider Dodging or take a big hit.

On the Advantage Card side of things, Primal seems ideal for adding to deadliness of his first attack (his first Charge as 13/7 then stacked by a support unit to become more decisive), but I think I would more likely take Clock of Cronos (to ensure he has enough Action Points), or Familiar if he takes a Summon.

In addition, if rumours prove to be true, Kagemaru will form half of Team Twin Shadow with Zenobius which will allow a very ninja-heavy Party if a player chooses!

As for what next in my Anima Tactics painting? I am giving up making any kind of promise or prediction for a while, so let's just see what comes up!

Running Totals
Anima Tactics Minis: 147 (added: nothing, but a couple are on order)
Anima Tactics Minis Painted: 38
Painted Minis Percentage: 25.9% (percentage of AT minis owned and painted)
Anima Tactics Range: 148 (including 2 LE minis)
Percentage of Whole Range Painted: 25.0%

Ignis, Fire Demon

This has been stuck in the dread 'painting queue' for rather a long time. Bits of work were done on it, but very haphazardly from the outset. For example it was initially undercoated in black; then I realised that was a big mistake, so used some yellow spray to re-undercoat  it. Then some of the red base colour got slapped on and I noticed there was some extra gap filling to be done as the red was painted. So it simply got put to one side due to encountering those problems (mostly of my own creation). After very recently painting Maximo Ligori, I had a little bit of renewed motivation, so did a bit of work on Genma (also a very long time in the painting queue - as can be seen from this post here from 20 months ago), but thought to myself, I really had to finish Ignis, Fire Demon.

I did a quick bit of dry-brushing and washes on the red body, and set to work on the flames, before some final highlights to the body of the model. The flames have been the most time consuming, and although a bit of a challenge (reversing the usual progression of dark to light to light to dark from recesses to out aspects of the flame does take a little getting used to for me), I am actually reasonably happy with the results, and very happy it is finally done and finished. Not brilliant, but done, and a real change of palette from the recent Black Sun Undead units and Faust Orbatos and Maximo Ligori.

I had originally envisioned having two or three of these, but given how long it has taken me to get around to finishing it, I think I will stick with one. It is quite a tall model, approximately three and half inches from the base to the tip of the flames, so matches the Wrath of Nature in height (but certainly not bulk!).

With finishing this one, I have painted over 25% of the models I have for Anima Tactics. The next one I finish should take me to exactly one quarter of the available range, unless they suddenly release some more in the next few weeks!

Having more Summon options now means I really do need to get some more effective Summoners painted up (specifically Belith, Genma and Covel), and probably at least one more Dark Summon for a little bit of balance. In game terms Ignis, Fire Demon has seen a cost reduction from the 2013 Update. I know from reading the Cipher Studios Forums some players did not view it as a particularity effective unit previously, but there seemed to be some strong points about it that looked good to me (high Damage, base size, its special abilities), so with reduced cost it does look tastier than before. As a summon, there are no Advantage Card issues to plan for, so the primary decision is whether to take the super-cheap lesser form or the slightly more expensive greater form.

Running Totals
Anima Tactics Minis: 147 (added: still not added anything for a while, but that may change soon-ish)
Anima Tactics Minis Painted: 37
Painted Minis Percentage: 25.1% (percentage of minis owned and painted)

Maximo Ligori

I do rather like this mini; well I like the range immensely. but this one really appeals to me. There is a lyric from a Cult song that goes something like "He's a real heavy dude, in a killing mood" which to me sums up Ligori very well. I think the imagery is just right (sharp edges, asymmetrical armour, brutal looking weapon, chains etc.), and the name is just perfect in my humble opinion. In other words he looks like a 'bad mutha'.

This was a fairly quick paint-job, although broken up into sessions of downtime from some course-work I am doing. The only real tie-in to my planned Azur colour-scheme is the dark/black cloth, but I hope he will still fit in nonetheless. However Azur are definitely down the pecking order of my painting right now, so it will be a while before more are done. At least I think so...

On his Actions and Abilities is where Maximo Ligori gets very interesting if you ask me. This unit is now a few years old, but still fits a useful niche. All his Actions and Abilities are geared to him getting stuck into close combat. One of the key interactions is his Raxxor Slayer Action, which doubles Damage on a Critical Hit; combined with Critical Mastery and a decent base Damage value, and use of Gnosis means he has something like a 36% chance of doing double Damage if I have worked out the probability correctly. Line him up against targets with no significant Armor and less than 16 LP and he has a good chance of taking them out in a single attack unless they Dodge.

The downside for Ligori is that to function optimally he needs to take Damage in close combat, and although he has good LP, his Armor value is not huge. So keeping him alive is important. That makes me think that taking Raphael's Gift or Heart of Gold as Advantage Card would perhaps be the best option. Alternatively good old Elemental Weapon or Primal adds to the one-shot kill capability he can muster.

Not sure when Maximo Ligori will actually get a run out, but I look forwards to it when he finally does.

Running Totals
Anima Tactics Minis: 147 (added: continues to be nothing!)
Anima Tactics Minis Painted: 36
Painted Minis Percentage: 24.5% (percentage of minis owned and painted)