Raziel Archetypum

My rate of painting has fallen off a cliff once again. This month has required a lot of attention for the course I am doing and as part of the Pulp City creative team. For some reason, I just have not made even the odd five minutes for painting to keep things ticking over.

I started this one at the beginning of May to try to rectify that, but soon lost all momentum. With the bank holiday weekend I decided I needed to get a mini finished, and this made the most sense in terms of stage of completion. My enthusiasm for painting, which is limited at the best of times, has pretty much gone out the window.

The Raziel Archetypum is a step up in raw power from the weaker (lower Level) Undead that Black Sun can draw upon. As with most other non-unique Undead, there are some options in terms of upgrades, and when assembling the mini I chose to give it Dual Raxxors (the huge swords). The paint scheme reflects my usual approach to Black Sun foot soldiers.

I am hoping to get some games in in the next month or so, so a Black Sun Party could well get a run out before too long I hope!

Running Totals
Anima Tactics Units: 158 (added: another Hellhound and another Wrath of Nature; also I have 4 minis on back order....)
Anima Tactics Units Painted: 53 (51 different models)
Painted Units Percentage: 33.5% (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: 33.8%
Year to Date Target: 12 of 15 units (3 per month target; 80%)

Tiamat

Tiamat is described as the youngest of the four 7th Heaven Knights that serve the Empress, and as a lazy womanizer, but with a peerless talent for fighting.

He is also my fifty-first completed mini for Anima Tactics as my painting rolls on. Tiamat utilises the same basic Empire colour scheme that I have used elsewhere (although there will come a variation when I eventually come to the likes of Samiel and Iosara), with the addition of red as a flourish which should help him stand out a little against the rank and file. I may repeat that red flourish on other Empire Leaders as it should help keep them looking a little distinct.

Tiamat offers me a bit of flexibility for building up my Empire towards a reasonable size Party (i.e. 300 Levels), since he is an Optional Leader, meaning I could still add a unit like Griever if I wanted. With Tiamat I now have around 275 Levels of Empire, so a couple more units are probably needed to make viable Party configurations. It could still be a while before I play a game with Empire, except maybe at a lower Level game such as 200 Levels (usually around 4-5 units).

In game terms, Tiamat looks like a decent fighter, although not in the class of some more combat-focused units; balancing that he has some support capability, with Actions that can disrupt enemies (World of Wires and Starlight Romance - and the latter is an area effect which is very potent) and has an Action that offers exceptional Haste for a paltry cost of 1 AP (basically better than most if not all Neokinesis). He has a fairly low Armor compared to some Empire units, but is very mobile so covers some of their perceived weaknesses.

Running Totals
Anima Tactics Units: 156 (added: nothing, but currently several mins are on order...)
Anima Tactics Units Painted: 51 (49 different models)
Painted Units Percentage: 32.7% (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: 32.4%

XII

Phew, painting slump averted, I hope! Especially as it was three and a half weeks since Rayne was finished (well except for fixing her eyes).

He is described as the reserved and solitary supervisor of the Crows of Wissenschaft. The majority of Agents of the organization have never seen him, much less know him. He is a shadow that crawls in the dark, someone who appears inexplicably in different places of the world and leaves without a trace. Many say that he is no more than a ghost, a legend whose mantle is taken up by a different person over and over again.

I like this mini a lot, but then any regular reader knows I say that about most of this range, so nothing new there! I blocked out the base colours a couple of weeks ago then just struggled to paint anything. Finishing a Pulp City mini in the past couple of days helped reignite my motivations, which meant I was able to paint the majority of this in a couple of hours. I love the sword gun type weapon, which is a staple of some Japanese console rpgs.

If the picture looks a little odd at all, it is because I needed to do a quick fix to sharpen up the image. I also noticed I need to tidy up the purple sleeves where they meet the gloves.

In game terms, XII is naturally an accurate model with good Attack value. He also has a potential two to three hit combo of Actions he can use, so even lacking high Damage, against low Armor units I imagine he could be devastating. For Advantage Cards I am thinking either Supernatural Weapon or Piercing Weapon and Clock of Chronos; the former will add to his overall Damage potential, while the latter will try and ensure he can maintain those aforementioned two or three hit combos. No Primal on this guy, as the Damage boost would most likely be wiped out in a single Turn.

He is also a member of Team Assault Group, and the last unit I needed to paint for that Team, so it is nice to have another Team finished. I am hoping I can get some more games in of Anima Tactics in the next few months, and hope XII takes to the field alongside the rest of his Team.

Running Totals
Anima Tactics Minis: 151 (added: Hecatondies Zero Sigma and a second Elhaym, Maiden of Light)
Anima Tactics Minis Painted: 43 (42 different models)
Painted Minis Percentage: 28.5% (percentage of AT minis owned and painted)
Anima Tactics Range: 148 (including 2 LE minis)
Percentage of Whole Range Painted: 28.4% (this is going to look different as I go forward with some new releases due soon)

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%

Faust Orbatos

Sudden change of gears here! Black Sun unit after Black Sun unit, then...a Wanderer. Faust Orbatos is one of the earliest models in the range, and one of the few not sculpted by main sculptor Juan Navarro Perez, instead sculpted by Bobby Jackson, and the difference shows. The chunkiness of the sword would not be out of place on a 1990's GW Chaos Warrior IMHO, and does not really do the original concept art justice. That said, it was reasonably quick to paint by my standards (which as ever has the caveat of not saying much!), and allowed me to try a variation on my 'gold' outwith my Empire units where I will stick to my usual approach as far as is possible.

In game terms Faust Orbatos is one of the earliest models rules-wise I would guess, since he was an early model produced, but looking at his card he largely stands up well I think. He has a Ki action which is unlikely to see use, simply due to its relatively low Effect value compared to the typical range of Resistance and alternative units' Effect values that now abound in the wider game. However his two Attacks look devastating. The old version of his card lists these two Attacks as +5 for 3 Action Points (which is great), but apparently the errata says it should be +6. Either way, opponents are pretty much forced to Dodge or be hit. He has good Armour, reasonable Damage and LP, and is pretty fast. At 60 Levels he is quite expensive to include in a Party, but is is a mobile 'tank' with deadly Attacks which is unusual to say the least. I will be very interested to see him in a game sometime.

Advantage cards that make sense to me are Raphael's Gift (keeps in the game longer, and mitigates one of his actions); Supernatural Armor; Alinor (to keep him in contact with foes); Heart of Gold (extra LP - nice!); and the usual standbys for Warriors of Elemental Weapon or Primal. Supernatural Weapon seems a little redundant I think.

Faust's background posits him as the last member of the renowned Orbatos lineage, a man marked by a dark destiny. After the destruction of his entire family, he now wanders the world looking for his destiny, even if it takes him to the depths of hell.

Not sure what will be painted next, as painting this was purely down to sudden inspiration, but I hope that either Kira, Genma or Covel could be finished soon, but time will tell on that. Still, more than anything, another one down!

Running Totals
Anima Tactics Minis: 147 (added: still nothing!)
Anima Tactics Minis Painted: 35
Painted Minis Percentage: 23.8% (percentage of minis owned and painted)

Valis Ul Del Vilfain

Okay, another one down! And this time around another Optional Leader, meaning that my Organization Party opportunities rare starting to become more rounded. With a Summon and a Wanderer I can make a 300 Level Wissenschaft Party.

I have again carried over the usual black purple colour motif that I use for Wissenschaft onto Valis Ul Del Vilfain, and with this I enjoyed how the scales on her coat came out, even if the photographs do not show them off that well.

With plans to paint up some Gears soon (Theurgia arrived today!), I accept that the big robot-suit things will have a different scheme to the Crows and Arias of Wissenschaft, so ultimately there may be two primary schemes for the Organization.

Valis Ul Del Vilfain is a Sylvain princess employed by Wissenschaft, and is both a capable fighter as well as being a very effective Summoner; her Summons are brought into play for no Action Point cost if engaged with an enemy model. That will typically leave a couple of Action Points to use for something else like movement, Dodges or even an Attack.

We got our first games in today. All were pitched battle type games, and Valis Ul Del Vilfain only featured in the final game (as we stepped up through Levels for each game); and I have to say she was pretty devastating, dropping her Summon into the battle-zone while adding her own formidable attacks.

Running Totals
Anima Tactics Minis: 102 (added: Morrigan; Jiang Pao; Lin Pao; Nero; Feng Yi; Damien; Theurgia; and (female) Empire Agent)
Anima Tactics Minis Painted: 16
Painted Minis Percentage: 15.7% (percentage of AT minis owned that are painted; this has dropped but i am happy because my next mini is almost finished, just needing some tidying up over the weekend)

Lostaroth Marchosias

Lostaroth Marchosias is the high executioner for the Church, or something like that; whatever his background (the Saga III and IV book has not yet been released, so I am not sure to be honest), The moment I saw this model I thought: "Yep, he looks pretty bad-ass!"

I think this is the kind of great sculpt that I associate with much of the Anima Tactics range, and a model that looks like he could take some unfortunate enemy down - painfully.

Stats and abilities wise, there are some apparent similarities with Dereck Shezard, although the latter looks like he has a straight up unbuffed more devastating attack against a single target, while Lostaroth Marchosias looks more than capable of taking out a cluster of juicy targets.

My Church Party is building slowly now, and Sarah Reindhold is probably next up for that Organization. Before then though, I hope to finish Bella and Yuki since both are reasonably far along (Bella is very close to completion I feel, but needs some careful attention to complete with some very fiddly straps etc.

Lostaroth Marchosias was a key choice as he is an Optional Leader, meaning he can be fielded at his base version for 60 levels or as a Leader for 65 Levels. As I build up the collection that will add some depth of options to Party-building.


Running Totals
Anima Tactics Minis: 72 (added: Frederick Adler; Yuri Olson; Claire Adelheid)
Anima Tactics Minis Painted: 8 (the real '6th' mini to make 9 will be counted when the whole Team it is part of is finished)
Painted Minis Percentage: 11.1% (even with the new acquisitions I have made progress - woo!)

Note, yet again I have acquired more to add to the list, but at least I have stayed in line with a painted percentage increase!

Dereck Shezard

Click to embiggen

Wow. That took longer than I thought, or ever anticipated - finishing and posting my first Anima Tactics mini that is.

I only started Dereck Shezard very recently, despite having a couple of other minis in an almost completed state, but he got painted pretty quickly and I am glad I have finished one of these at last.

I love the visual ethos of the Anima Tactics range, and as a fan of games like Final Fantasy VII, FF VIII, Wild ARMS and others from the 90's, it is a game that pushes so many of the right buttons for me. I wish more of the minis were single piece casting like this one, but alas that is not the case. It won't stop me painting my way through this line, but it will slow me down, and as an admittedly very slow painter already, that is surely a funny notion.

I want to get playing this game sometime early next year, which means I reckon I will need around 6-12 minis at minimum to get started. And while I have plenty of the Anima Tactics line to do that with, my painting inertia will be the biggest hurdle without doubt.

Anyway, I am fairly pleased with this one; not my best paining ever, but some touches I am rather happy with. Hopefully Hiro and Kingsley Warlock will move into the 'finished' pile sooner than later. Watch this space.

Game-wise I have no idea yet! But his nickname is 'Godkiller' and he is one of he higher Level models in the game, and he is not a Leader which seems to bump the value of some characters up a little in comparative terms, so in all I expect he can kick some bottom when needed to do so.