'Free' At Last....

By 'free', I mean the final releases for Anima Tactics have finally begun to surface. This news has been posted on the Soda Pop website about Ninja Division releases for Gencon. From their news story (link):

Four new Anima Tactics models, Nimrod, Sarsha [sic], Anaxamines, and September will be released at Gencon. All Anima models are metal cast.
All items will also be available at the Soda Pop Store while Gencon is running. If you want a chance to get these items early mark your calendar for July 30 – August 2!

I am very pleasantly surprised that Sharsha 'Friedgunde' is included in the releases; I had privately known the sculpt existed but did not expect it to see released by CS/ND - so well done to them for deciding to release it.

Unfortunately the news story does not answer what is happening with Legion and the Limited Edition Celia. I hope they both get released; for the time being I am assuming they will, and adding Sharsha to the list of expected AT minis (which numbers 160 including these 4 minis, Legion, L.E. Celia and the 2 Kickstarter minis: The Bearer and The Nameless).

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%)

It Has Been A While And Here Is Why....

It has been more than two months since I last painted anything from the Anima Tactics range. That saddens me because that means my enthusiasm for what I feel is one of the strongest ranges of minis I have ever seen has waned.

I know why, and it does relate to the discontinuation of the range as announced by Cipher Studios. I think it is harder to be enthusiastic for a 'dead' game/range, or maybe that is just me.

I had hoped that as announced we would have begun to see the last of the unreleased minis (such as Nimrod, right), but almost 8 weeks after Soda Pop Miniatures started being the online stockist in place of Cipher, they acknowledge that they have yet to receive stock for the remainder of the range from Cipher (they currently have less than half of the product SKU's as far as I can see), let alone those unreleased minis that were promised.

I will complete my project. I am determined and sure of that. I just expect it will now take longer than previously anticipated unless I can get some unexpected motivation. I will have a look at what I have part-painted and under-coated and see if there is anything quick and easy to get done soon, just to get something going on the blog again. Please bear with me.

Team Les Jaeger

My first three Teams were finished within less than twelve months, and the fourth...has arrived over twelve months after the third. <sigh>.

So far the only Team comprising 4 units - The Colonel, Reindhold, Kirsten and Kyler - Team Les Jaeger is one of 3 Team options for the Azur Alliance. Despite having more members than most other Teams, this one only comes in at 165 Levels, meaning that fielding 2-4 additional units in a 300 Level game is very feasible, especially with the discount that Azur can take on Prowlers (knocking 10 Levels off the Team cost).

Forming Team Les Jaeger turns The Colonel into a sort-of Arbiter, able to give Orders (small extra Actions) to the Team at no AP cost. So while many other Teams feature individual benefits for specific members, this one is dependent on The Colonel to buff the rest of the Team.

I haven't used Azur yet in any significant size of game, but now I feel I have enough to make a decent game of it with them (possibly bolstered by Wanderers Kagemaru and a Shinobi or two), so hopefully in the next few months Team Les Jaeger will make it to the table.

Kirsten

Another mini done, and hopefully I am now regaining some lost  painting momentum for the project, after finishing Cordelia earlier this month and now Kirsten. I won't get ahead of myself though!

Kirsten has been part-done for a few months, and it was only in the last couple of weeks I was able to overcome whatever was blocking me from simply getting her finished off, so two satisfactions for me this time: another unit painted, and something completed that has been long-gestating in painting terms. Not my best standard of painting, but now done, which for me is the most important thing.

This silent assassin is described as an enigmatic killer in the ranks of Les Jaeger. She also completes my first Team in over a year, and over six months since I finished the third of four members of the Team (The Colonel). I will put a post up of my Team Les Jaeger in a few days time.

In game terms, Kirsten is a cheap Prowler unit for Azur. Her attacks can all potentially inflict Poison States, and in addition she has a ranged counter-attack and move and fire options in her armoury, as well as a potentially deadly one-shot area of effect attack against all enemies within line of sight within 12 inches; stack the right buffs on her at the right time and this fairly inexpensive unit could make a mess of clustered enemies. As a consequence, I think an Advantage Card buffing her Attack value does have real value, such as Supernatural Weapon or Cursed Weapon, but only if her player can plan properly to get maximum benefit. However, since it is vital to get her in the right position with maximum AP, then cards such as Fate Clock and Clock of Cronos also have real value, as does support from units such as Juliette Kaim.

I am not too sure what I will be painting next for Anima Tactics, but hopefully the current momentum will be sustained, especially as I am quite far behind my year to date target. Anyway, please stay tuned to see how the project progresses.

Running Totals
Anima Tactics Units Owned/Units Painted: 164/72 (43.9%)
Anima Tactics Range/Discrete Units Painted: 159/67 different units (42.1 %)
Year to Date Target: 2 of 9 units (3 per month target; 22%)