Rayne (XXI)

My first painted mini of 2014, and my 42nd Anima Tactics mini in all.

While it is not my best work (the face is disappointing), I have enjoyed painting this model (the jacket is pleasing and looks better in hand), and that is always a bonus! I hope it bodes for a good year ahead on the minis painting front.

Rayne, also known by the designation XXI, is a Wissenschaft Warrior who forms part of Team Assault Group, along with Lorenzo Cortes (aka VIII) and their mysterious Leader, XII. As I have been finishing Rayne, I have been thinking more and more that I want to get this Team finished sooner than later, although to make things  a bit more balanced, I also ought to try and finish a Church or Black Sun Team too.

In game terms Rayne looks to have an amazing Charge among other abilities; it does not have an especially high Damage value, but it is Attack 13 without enhancements, meaning with Gnosis or buffs, pretty much any target is fair game, even Dodging enemies.

In addition the Team option is an excellent return for 5 Levels of Advantage Card, and she also has Neokinesis, suggesting synergy with Dereck Shezard and Celia if they then take the Neokinesis Magnus Plot Card. I can see a Party with those characters featuring in a game or two this year (probably in Rob's hands since he has enjoyed playing Wissenschaft).


Running Totals
Anima Tactics Minis: 149 (added: Lilian Virgil; and Dagger - one of which has now been assembled and undercoated...)
Anima Tactics Minis Painted: 42 (41 different models)
Painted Minis Percentage: 28.2% (percentage of AT minis owned and painted)
Anima Tactics Range: 148 (including 2 LE minis)
Percentage of Whole Range Painted: 27.7%

Celia

Gotta paint 'em all! Yet another Anima Tactics mini painted by me, hot on the heels of Genma, and this one feels like more of a milestone than any of the preceding 39 did. I know that sounds obvious, but 40 minis painted seems like a nice, substantial number (heck, it is more minis by far than my last WH40K Grand Tournament army which was a meager 27 models; all Terminators mind you...). There is a sense of satisfaction having hit 40 minis painted for the range where just over a year ago I had been stuck at painting none of these.

So this is Celia; there is also a limited edition version, but that will be purely for painting and is never likely to be a gaming piece (except maybe at home). Celia is a Wissenschaft Warrior and is, I think, one of the older models in the line. That said, despite having quite a simple selection of abilities and Actions, and being an older unit, she still looks pretty useful to me.

In line with many non-Gear Wissenschaft units, Celia looks potentially quite fragile (no Armor, fairly low Life points), but this is made up by a decent Defense value and an excellent enhanced Dodge. Her special Attack looks a very good option too. She suffers from low Damage value, but using her main Attack she is likely to hit most targets, and using a Gnosis roll will have a good chance even against many Dodging targets. So using her against against targets with decent Armor or Life Points is less than ideal, but against more vulnerable options she looks like she could shine. I am also rubbing my hands at the thought of eventually trying her out with Dereck Shezard and Rayne as masters of Neokinesis; a true speed team with great Action Point recovery potential in the right circumstances. And compounded that both Celia and Dereck saw cost breaks in the recent update from Anima Studios Project/Cipher Studios/Edge Entertainment.

Speaking of 'circumstances', a Party featuring heavy use of Neokinesis demands that the Neokinesis Magnus Plot Card is used to maximize returns; I really need to think about the game-based timing issues required for that!

This year I have painted quite a few Anima Tactics minis (by my standards that is!), and if I can get another one done before 2013 concludes, that would make 36 for the year, or an average of 3 per month which would be a nice achievement I think.

Running Totals
Anima Tactics Minis: 147 (added: nothing, but still awaiting that recent order)
Anima Tactics Minis Painted: 40 (39 different models)
Painted Minis Percentage: 27.2% (percentage of AT minis owned and painted)
Anima Tactics Range: 148 (including 2 LE minis)
Percentage of Whole Range Painted: 26.4%

Clover

Well given my general slowness in painting, consider today's posts (this one and the next; Grey - click for link) as my likely peak in terms of any speediness in churning out Anima Tactics minis in quick order. I said I wanted to complete 12 more minis in the 12 months after my progress report - not sure if these should count as they were already under-way, but they are are done.

I had not intended to complete Clover at this time, as since he is a Leader he is primarily intended for games at Level 250 and upwards, basically around 5-7 minis I think. Well as i was deciding what to paint after Hiro, I thought I was going to paint Genma, but after splashing a bit of paint on Clover I knew quickly how I was going to tackle him and he was completed pretty quickly by my standards (those standards mean that I can quite happily start a mini and put it to one side to finish anything up to a couple or more years later...). Once I laid down the basics for coat, shirt and trousers it was a pretty swift job from start to finish over a few brief sessions over a few days. I lack the determination these days to sit for prolonged periods of painting, so doing 30 minutes here, or 60 there is how I tend to approach my painting at present.

Clover is one of the Leaders of Black Sun. The Black Sun Organisation is a corporation that specializes in Undead constructs of various Types.I have picked up some of these Undead and will get around to them in good time. One thing that has occurred to me is that I will try and include black-green as a motif among all my Black Sun Units. Other Organisations will get their own motif colours.

In the mean-time I do not expect that Clover will get a run out until I have gotten to grips with the game - I think Leaders will be 'off-the table' so to speak, that initial games will be in the 100-200 Levels range as we learn, until we feel comfortable with the game.

Still, it was a nice feeling to get another mini done. What I have noticed is that all so far have been Warriors; I need to get some Mystics (Including Summoners), Prowlers and Summons done to see the available depth of game-play in Anima Tactics. I have been doing some sorting towards that end, but need better weather to spray some minis up.

Running Totals
Anima Tactics Minis: 61
Anima Tactics Minis Painted: 4
Painted Minis Percentage: 6.6%

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.