Arias Vayu

Another Summon, I wanted to finish this as a counterpoint to painting my first Al-Djinn and the second. I had actually started Arias Vayu before both the Al-Djinns, completing the Elemental Crystals first, then started tackling the bulk painting on the main mini at a later date. Of course things didn't work out as planned, and the Al-Djinn's have been finished for a while. Suffice to say, I found parts of this unit very tricky, fiddly and frustrating to paint, and I also struggled the skin, which I tried to do with a different colour to my usual choice to create a sense of difference. All of which means that while I may double up on many or most Summons, I have absolutely no plans to paint another Arias Vayu. Ever. And yes, that is despite the fact that I do think it is a lovely model!

The five minis (Arias Vayu and the Elemental Crystals) are treated as a single unit for rules, although the Elemental Crystals are treated as distinct and separate models. Obviously I have not yet tried out Arias Vayu, but I suspect there will be a little bit of understanding required of best strategy needed to get the most out of this particular unit. At 55 Levels, the indication is that Arias Vayu is one of the more potent Summons, yet there is an inherent unpredictability at the same time.

Arias Vayu is able to (randomly) call upon one of five abilities of the Elemental Crystals each Turn, so positioning is key to minimize the impact of pure luck; Gnosis is pretty much a must-use with Arias Vayu, I think, to help try and achieve favourable results, and a unit like High Saint Eleinai (Church Leader) can really help here with her ability to use Gnosis after a die roll is made.

I need to get more Summoners painted up to make the most of the growing array of Summons I am painting, but i have been saying that for several months now. Covel and Belith seem increasingly much-needed! Embarrassingly, both have been part done for months.

Running Totals
Anima Tactics Units: 163 (added: nothing new but I have two minis on pre-order)
Anima Tactics Units Painted: 62 (58 different units)
Painted Units Percentage: 38.0% (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: 38.2%
Year to Date Target: 21 of 27 units (3 per month target; 75%)

Alis Testarossa

This mini has been in the painting queue, part-done, for quite a while now, so I am happy it is now finished. I am also chuffed as it takes me past 300 Levels of Church units.

Her background describes Alis Testarossa as a scion of a  prestigious dynasty, one the most influential noble houses of Argos, the rebellious and stubborn Alis was always a source of problems because of her impetuous behavior. Aged thirteen Alis began to manifest supernatural talents, and was sent by her family to the tutelage of the Church where she joined the Knights of the Saint Order.

Alis Testarossa benefited from a cost reduction in the Saga III & IV update, and at 35 Levels is one of the least expensive Warrior units in the game. She is not the hardest hitting, but with Speed 8/12 (meaning she Runs or Charges 12 inches), the option to sacrifice LP to gain Flight, and an Action that removes her from the board to be placed in contact with any enemy unit in the following Turn as a Charge, which means she can be the scourge of back-line units, which tend to be weaker support types, or of units that have exhausted AP so have no Dodge.

There really is only one Advantage Card choice in my opinion, which is Raphael's Gift. The reason being that three of her four Actions require her to be Flying, and to be Flying costs 3 LP per Turn. Raphael's Gift partially off-sets this, allowing her to recover 2 LP. That said, I expect she will still be a little tricky to use, so maybe she will get some game time in the next few days....

Running Totals
Anima Tactics Units: 160 (added: High Arbiter Aizen; and female Azur Agent)
Anima Tactics Units Painted: 55 (53 different models)
Painted Units Percentage: 34.4% (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: 35.1%
Year to Date Target: 14 of 18 units (3 per month target; 78%)

Type-020: Verrier

It has been a long lay-off from painting for me (due to working on the recent Pulp City Kickstarter), at least relative to my productivity in 2013. Therefore I am pretty pleased to have painted a few minis over the past few days.

I have managed to paint some Anima Tactics and non-Anima Tactics stuff that I hope will ignite some overall painting momentum, with a view to getting back on track.

This weekend I finished three minis including this one, and in the past few days I have prepped several other Anima Tactics minis: Luther Delacroix; another Al-Djinn; and Freya. While I already had a lot of stuff prepped, I am hoping completing 'some things' right now helps spur me on to getting some serious painting done in the next few weeks and months - time will tell of course, as ever!

This model has been in my pile of blisters for a few months, but having some time off work this week freed up a bit of painting time, so I had a small surge of motivation and assembled and painted this quite quickly by my standards; it effectively 'jumped the painting queue', but having not finished any painting for several weeks I am okay with that. While not my best work, I am happy with the results especially for a quick turnaround.

In game terms, one Type-020: Verrier can be taken per every 150 Levels of a Party. As an Undead unit you cannot attach Advantage Cards to them, so the key choice regarding the Type-020: Verrier is which upgrade to use. I suspect my primary choice will be the Queen until I get to grips with Guidance Points and Controllers; the Queen option allows lower-Level Undead to ignore the Uncontrollable rule. The options allow this unit to be fielded at Levels between 30 and 40. I have another Type-020: Verrier waiting in the wings (pardon the pun!), although not yet assembled, but with this unit finished and the next (to be shown in a few days), my Black Sun force is really growing; I expect to show a new Party picture very soon, and hope to get them on the table in the next few months.

I am also closing in on having a complete collection of the minis. There have been a couple of recent releases which I have yet to pick up (Gear Mk. Trithemius and October), so by my count I need five more minis for the complete set. Getting closer, although the paint total still falls short!

Running Totals
Anima Tactics Minis: 155 (added: Luther Delacroix; Mijhail Mashen’ka; a second Type-020: Verrier; and a second Type-004: Hellhound/ Hellhound)
Anima Tactics Minis Painted: 44 (43 different models)
Painted Minis Percentage: 28.4% (percentage of AT minis owned and painted)
Anima Tactics Range: 150 (including 2 LE minis)
Percentage of Whole Range Painted: 28.7% (this includes the two new releases)

Elhaym, Maiden Of Light

The Elhaym, also known as Maidens of Light, are light elementals, believed by some on Gaia to be angels.

This one is my second Summon unit, (after the Wrath of Nature), and to be honest I am less pleased with the painting on this one than the previous Summon. I believe that sometimes a mini just does not turn out how you want or expect, even with awareness and acceptance of one's limitations as a painter. Maybe it is the choice of painting in pink, which is a colour I am still learning to work with, but I found this a struggle to finish. Admittedly I did rush it a bit at first in a desperate bid to finish for those recent games, but even so I found it a struggle and want to paint another to do a better job (hopefully!). Whatever the reason I just wish this was better.

I really like the model (and before you ask, yes I have dropped it already, and yes, the wings did fall off...), I just don't think it is among the best Anima Tactics minis I have painted so far (not that there are too many to choose from...).

As I start to accumulate more painted Summons, it highlights the need to get some more Summoners painted up. I currently have Valis Ul Del Vilfain and Sarah Reindhold, but the latter is a poor Summoner choice in my humble opinion, so more options are necessary. I do have Genma, Covel and now Belith in the painting queue, however that can be a movable feast as to what gets to the front of the queue and gets finished, so who knows which will be finished and when.

I think Summons are one of the cool things that sets Anima Tactics apart from a lot of other low-model count skirmish games, so are very much something I want to make use of and have a variety of options for.

Game-wise I have yet to see enough yet to judge how effective I think the Elhaym may be. I was very impressed with the Wrath of Nature in the game in which we used the Summons, but it may be that the Elhaym is trickier to use effectively - time will tell!

Not too much to say on Advantage Cards, except that while Summons cannot usually have them, Familiar is probably a must-have in most situations (Optional Leader Covel and maybe Genma excepted).

On the painting front, well despite me wanting to get some more Summoners painted, I reckon the most likely unit to be completed next will be Janus Faith as I managed to get quite a bit done with him over the past few days.


Running Totals
Anima Tactics Minis: 115 (added: Anna Never; Aoi Inukai; Azur Agent (Male); Belith; Celia; Cenette; Duncan Reid; Empire Agent (Male) x2; Odin Goldsmith; Shinigami Ayl; XII; and Lilith - yep another splurge or two...)
Anima Tactics Minis Painted: 17
Painted Minis Percentage: 14.8% (percentage of AT minis owned that are painted; this has dropped due to the big influx-  time to get cracking!)