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%)

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%)

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%)

Damaris

I am glad this one is finally done; it has been 'hanging around' the painting queue part-done for quite some time, and so needed completing (even if there are some bits I think could be better, it will do). I have quite a few others in the 'mostly done' phase (which is all too common for me!), so I need to finish some more sooner than later.

Damaris is (yet another!) Church Mystic, but to add variety a male - yep it is a dude! He is also a Summoner (Light and Dark, but not Void), so immediately I am thinking the only unit he is competing with in a Church Party is Sarah Reindhold. Damaris is 5 levels more, but can take Dark Summons which Sarah cannot; he is also *slightly* more durable (12 LP vs. 10 LP); he can also buff and respond to the destruction of Friendly units with a few differing options. Basically he looks to be a more aggressive option than Sarah, and could be the means I have been looking for to get the most out of Lostaroth Marchosias who always seems to die pretty swiftly.

In terms of Advantage Cards, the Container card he comes with buffs his Summoner Level, but I may be more tempted to use Familiar to keep his Summon around longer - I guess it depends on the Summons I would want to use; if say a Hellhound, then Damaris with Container and 2 Hellhounds only costs 65 Levels which sounds okay since they are intentionally pretty disposable. If something like Hamadria, Wrath of Nature or Elhaym, Maiden of Light, then Familiar is the choice I would make.

The pack comes with the spirit 'thing' included. There is no obvious use for it from the Damaris character card or the Advantage Card he comes with, so I have wondered if there may be some new Team coming up in the future, but who knows. I painted the spirit thing ages ago, and I am not counting it against my painting totals.

Anyway, it is another mini done, and I am closing in on my third 'Next 10' post, so that is positive, even if the rate of Anima Tactics painting has dropped over the last couple of months.

Running Totals
Anima Tactics Minis: 142 (added: Raziel Nk-X)
Anima Tactics Minis Painted: 29
Painted Minis Percentage: 20.3% (percentage of AT minis owned that are painted)

Saint Astraega

Click to enlarge-icate

It seems like ages since I finished an Anima Tactics mini so I am glad to rectify that right now. This month has not felt too productive, although I have now painted in just two months (13 models) what I painted in each of three months (January to March; April to June) across all ranges I am working on, so not too bad I guess!

I have turned out 4 Pulp City minis this month so far, which has impacted on my productivity with Anima Tactics. So as I stated up front, I am pleased to have finished another.

Saint Astraega is one half of Team Saint Council with Saint Evangeline, and very much a support unit. As the number of Church units I have completed grows, so to do my options. I am now at a stage where 3 models (Grey; Luzbell; and Saint Astraega) would likely be vying for 2 'slots' in a level 300 Party, and looking at Astraega's capabilities, I think she is edging out Grey, since she may be the model to keep Lostaroth Marchosias in play since I have struggled to keep him alive against Rob in the games we have played; he has definitely been a high priority target!

Since the two key Actions I imagine using require 4 Action Points apiece (Astraega's limit), I think a likely Advantage Card will be Clock of Chronos, although once I can field the Team Saint Council, more options will become viable, since Astraega will be able to replenish Action Points through that card.

This one was started a while back painting wise, but kind of got left behind as I was inspired to finish sundry others. I even made a mistake by starting to paint the stems of her flowers magenta before I actually realised they were not flames!

I have started work on a couple of other Church models (Damaris and Saint Evangeline), so as soon as the next one is done, I will do an updated Church Party picture. In the mean-time I hope I can sustain some momentum as I do love this range of minis.

Running Totals
Anima Tactics Minis: 137 (added: Medeus; and Alis Testarossa; more on order)
Anima Tactics Minis Painted: 27
Painted Minis Percentage: 19.7% (percentage of AT minis owned that are painted)

Luzbell

Click to make enlargified

Another unit completed and my fifth Church model. I am starting to get near to a point to have more flexible options when thinking about Party-building

Luzbell is a slight change to most of the line in my humble opinion, especially the Navarro Perez sculpts, since she lacks the finer detailing of many other models, having simpler areas to paint etc. Still a  nice change and she fits well with the range. Sticking with my Church palette, since she is clearly intended to protect her Party, I feel she is a shield-maiden type even though she is a Mystic; so I decided that she needed some black to tie into the Church Warrior units.

Luzbell possesses a very good Dodge Action; Holy Reflection which is a useful Action to reflect Ranged Attacks onto other models; a basic Ranged Attack; and an option to re-position a friendly model - this latter Action should be especially useful to help manage any Friendly units that struggle to manage their Action Points, as well as those that do not rely on Charge (I am thinking Azriel for one in that regard). Functionally I think she is a good alternative to Grey, but only if there enough other hard-hitters in the same Party. I still need another Level 50 Church Unit I think.

In terms of Advantage Cards I would be thinking of one of the following: Afterimage (a Power that makes her harder to hit at range preserving her Dodge response); Talisman of Eriol (re-roll one die); Bell of Fortune (discard to add +1 to a roll made by the character; the understanding from the Forum is that this may be after the roll is made - useful for her Holy Reflection and Dodge Actions).

Running Totals
Anima Tactics Minis: 128 (added: Limited Edition Celia)
Anima Tactics Minis Painted: 22
Painted Minis Percentage: 17.2% (percentage of AT minis owned that are painted)

I have a number of part-painted minis, and one very close to finishing. Of the part-painted and undercoated/assembled minis there are 46 minis ready to be completed! July is set for doing some minis for Freebooter's Fate, so I may be able to manage 1 or 2 Anima Tactics minis next month. I have another project lined up for August, so I suspect my next big run will be in September, with any painted between now and then as 'bonuses'.

Azriel

Painting slowed down a little this month, but I am hoping that picks up in the next four days, however in the mean-time Azriel was finished today. The shininess from the washed areas should be fixed when varnished.

Azriel is an Inquisitor, so is part of the same branch of the Church as Lostaroth Marchosias. What I plan to do with my Church minis is use red as the unifying theme, with Inquisition models having black as the primary additional colour, and the Saints and similar having white as their additional colour. Grey as a former agent of the Inquisition sits neatly with his grey colour theme between the two. Almost like I planned it (or a happy accident...)!

This is not my favourite Anima Tactics mini by any stretch, although I generally like it; it is just that the sword is unnecessarily thick and therefore 'chunky', especially when compared to the finer-style sculpting of Juan Navarro Perez. Things like this remind of the early 90's and GW-style sculpting  but things have moved on. And so the sword, which should be one the focal things given the size of it, is actually a detraction.

Anyway Azriel is another Warrior, and his arrival means that I can now do a Level 200 or 300 Church Organization Party (with the help of a Wanderer, and a Summon for the Level 300 Party).

Comparing hims to a unit like Drake makes me think he looks fairly competitive, with a relatively cheap (AP-wise) reactive Attack - hurt him close-up and he hurts you back if he is still standing. I am thinking that Equipment cards that could go well with Azriel are things like Nephiros (eliminate a character and recover 1 Action Point); Blood Omen (recover 1 LP per Attack that causes damage); and the weapon standbys of Primal, Elemental Weapon or Supernatural Weapon.

Time for the running total, and as I type these words I have not yet worked out the percentage, but have to acknowledge I have recently had another sizable intake of minis, so a little worried...


Running Totals
Anima Tactics Minis: 94 (added: Konosuke; Takanosuke; Daniella Meris; Janus Faith and Rayne)
Anima Tactics Minis Painted: 14
Painted Minis Percentage: 14.9% (percentage of AT minis owned that are painted)

Whew! Slight increase. If I can finish another couple this week then that should drift up a couple of percentage points. Stay tuned!

Sarah Reindhold

Another one down - number twelve ('gotta collect them all' - I may very well take that literally!).

I understand that Sarah Reindhold is related to the Azur character Reindhold (also known as Alfred Reindhold Webber), but cannot confirm until Saga III and/or IV book is out. Whenever that may be.

In the meantime this is my third Church mini, but has not really been painted towards putting into a Church Party at this time, more simply to keep up my painting momentum. That said, she is my first Summoner, so maybe she will get some use sooner or later. I did mention that I wanted to get some Summoners and Summons painted up, but I have more in mind Samael characters for that aspect of game-play.

Sarah's Actions are all around buffs and de-buffs, and one o the most interesting looking to my eye is her Upkeep Action Nathaniel's Incense which provides a Turn on Turn Life Point recovery. The only way to tell if it is as workable and useful as it appears is to get some games in of course! The down side is her de-buff ability appears to possibly switch off Nathaniel's Incense too.

My colour scheme for the various Saints in the Church will be the white clothing or robes with red shawl so their should be some uniformity as they start to appear.

I am not too happy with the face on this mini; the eyes have been done twice, and I am not doing them a third time - they stay as they are. Also the shininess around the red should be taken care of when I can eventually hit my minis with the Purity Seal.


Running Totals
Anima Tactics Minis: 80 (added: Azriel; Alastor; Saint Aestrega; Vayl)
Anima Tactics Minis Painted: 12
Painted Minis Percentage: 15% (that percentage growth has slowed down with recent purchases; I have another 9 minis on the way - so I need to get 2 done just to get ahead again when they have arrived)

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!

Grey

Yes of course, inevitably yet another Warrior! I promise that at some point some other classes will see minis painted up, honest, as well as some more models for the Dark Faction.

Grey is my first Church mini, and I have lined up a few others from the same Organization so I can try out a Level 200 game to see how Organization Advantages play out.

Grey is intended to be a 'tank' or 'bodyguard' of sorts through reading some tactics posts on the Forums, and looking at his Actions and abilities.  While a fairly decent Warrior looking at his attributes, and for his Level, he has a unique ability that prevents him from taking out enemies, so he needs to be used in tandem with an ally without doubt.

I love the idea of the grizzled veteran, which is picture Grey as, and I painted this mini up in tandem with Clover as a conscious effort to step away from the 'dark palette' of the first three minis I finished.

Red is going to be a motif for my Church units going forwards; I will try and work in at least some red into all of their schemes if possible. While some minis will suit it, others may prove a little trickier, so time will tell on that plan.

The 'studio' version of Grey has him bedecked in white; since my Saints will be in White, I wanted to paint him in a way that would stand out from that, and from the darker hues I plan for units like Lostaroth Marchosias. I am sure it will work out as planned, or vaguely like as planned!

As I finish more and more Anima Tactics units I am getting increasingly itchy to try the game. Hopefully by February or March I will have painted enough to have a few games trying a few different models and Party combinations.

So five models painted for Anima Tactics this month. the down-side is that my percentage painted is about to drop imminently as I have a few more minis ordered and en route. Oh well...


Running Totals
Anima Tactics Minis: 61
Anima Tactics Minis Painted: 5
Painted Minis Percentage: 8.2%