Dead Man's Hand

These lovely figures are the "Daughters of the West" set by Great Escape Games.  Each is a character in her own right and that made these fun to paint. Its hard to come up with a back story when you're painting 70 figure warbands for SAGA but it worked for me here.

These fellows are part of the Dead Man's Hand Rogues collection.  Speaking of a story, the Preacher looks to be channeling the abolitionist John Brown.  I can't wait to get him out on the tabletop, even if it is just for a bit of color in a gunfight.

My friend John Stentz hosts a Halloween-themed game of DMH every October. We played  "Dead Man's Hand, Dead Again" with Cowboys versus Zombies last year. This  year was "Night of the Undead Man's Hand" with Outlaws versus Lawmen versus zombies.  You read that right.  Each turn, 3 zombies spawned from a grocery store in the middle of the table and moved to the sound of the nearest gun!  It was a target rich environment with Oktoberfest beers, pumpkin pie and lots of laughs. It's a testament to the game that 3 years on, Dead Man's Hand in still in  rotation and I'm already looking forward to our next Halloween showdown.  

I've got two new SAGA warbands under way. The US Grand Melee is next March and I've got 4 months to paint and train up with a new warband.  I'm split on taking the Spanish or Mutatawwi'a. Whatever I take, it'll be another epic event, courtesy of Eric Hagen and all the great players who turn out. This gaming life is a good one!

Norse Gaels Set Sail

I started painting my Norse-Gaels in January of 2014 and just finished them two weeks ago. 72 figures is a lot for a SAGA warband but I wanted all options. With new warbands in the painting queue and others resting, I put these up for sale.  Since they went to a local player, I'll get to see them at our SAGA events.  Bonus, the $ will fund my airbrush setup now that I've picked out my hardware.

The Gripping Beast & Footsore Irish figures mix very well.  I recommend both for anyone painting Norse-Gaels.  I painted up a warlord with Dane Axe and one without.  A priest is very handy with this warband too. Hearthguard with Dane Axe and without.  When running 20-30 warriors with Dane Axe, I tend to take my hearthguard without axes.  I tend to leave my levy javelinmen at home.  Maybe the new warlord will give them a workout?  Warriors without Dane Axes are javelin-armed and have a lower armor class to shooting.  Shooty warbands go after these lads first so be prepared. I do love the Footsore scuplt with the head! Warriors with Dane Axe.  I like to max out on these.  Buffed with abilities like Howling Axes and Slaughter, these fellows are deadly in 5 and 6 man units! 

I took these Norse Gaels to my first SAGA Grand Melee and they performed very well.  Painting and playing them was a blast but now they're off to serve a new warlord. Cheers, boys!

Camel Caravan

I wanted a camel caravan for my SAGA Crescent & Cross baggage train.  After a bit of searching, I chose this lovely set by Castaway Arts.  After a long delay, I finally got them through the painting queue this weekend.  They're not as exciting as fighting figures but they are quite colorful I think!

I also finished more Moors. These are Artizan Designs figures. When I run Moors,  I use an all foot warrior build with 4 Naffatun.  I activate every unit with "Song of Drums."  Its the only trick I've got so far. One day, I'll figure out how to properly run Moors in SAGA but that day is not today.