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Tamwulf

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Hello everyone! I just moved to the Vancouver area in late August for work/school, and wanted to introduce myself: Thomas "PG_Tamwulf". Yeah, the infamous Tamwulf. Some of you may have read my rantings at the PP Forums every once in a while, or seen my picture or read one of my articles in No Quarter (it's been a long time... I sort of got black listed. Long story). I've been playing Warmachine since, well, the Butcher was just revealed and the new hotness was Magnus the Traitor and his box set. I became a PG in 2005 (or maybe 6? Or 7? Eh, thereabouts). I'm also good friends with a lot of the PG staff (and ex-staff as well), so I have a pretty unique insight into the game and how it's played/developed. You could say I'm "tapped in".

 

I've been stalking around the various game stores in the Portland/Vancouver area checking out the Warmachine/Hordes scene, and well, I'm a bit disappointed to say the least. Am I missing something here? Is there a Facebook page with all the local Steamroller or Leagues posted? Mark III just came out, and this is a FANTASTIC time to be playing the game. Has it died around here? I really wanted to get into the Crossroads of Courage league, but I've missed season 1. :( I'd love to see about getting enough people interested to maybe run a late, short Season 1 and get into Season 2! The Commander books will be debuting before we know it, and then there is the looming Errata being dropped in January. I'd love to discuss these topics!

 

Over the next few weeks, I'm going to try and make contact with all the local PG's and maybe figure out a way to revive the Warmachine/Hordes scene around these parts (Rose City Warmachine? Not sure what the moniker is for these parts). If your a PG, please let me know!

 

If a local store is running events, and I mean RUNNING events, not just "Warmachine/Hordes night is the third Monday of every other month when there is a full moon. Oh sure! We get lots of players!", please, let me know! Or point me to the place where they are at. I'm talking Steamrollers, Organized Play Leagues, etc. etc.

 

As a side note, I love to run events. I'm not much of a player anymore, and if anything, I frown on the ultra hype competitiveness that some people enjoy. To each their own! I do, however, love the game, and embrace it- even if it's at arms length sometimes. I've got a lot of experience building and rebuilding play groups (thanks Air Force for moving me every 3 years for 23 years!), and I'd love to help out and make the Warmachine/Hordes community a living, thriving group in the Portland area!

 

 

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Tam I know you and me got to play some Kill teams up at Mythic Realms one night.

 

I am starting to get into warmachine and am playing in a league over at Dice Age Games. Not sure about the different types of leagues since I am fairly new to it, but it has patches for weekly play as well as special patches for achievements during the league.

 

I get 1-2 games a week in over there when I have time. they do help to work around my schedule and let me play my league games on a different day since I work late on the league night. 

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Purajg that's awesome! I'll have to give them a second look. When I asked "Who is the PG? When was the last Steamroller? How about a League?" I got a lot of blank looks and the standard "we have a Warmachine/Hordes game night on the second Wednesday of every other month during a full moon" style response. LOL Do they have a fixed League night/time when they play, and who is running it?

 

Thanks for the response!

 

Oh, and hey! If you want to get some more games in, let me know. I'm down for some fun. I play just about everything but Skorne, Convergence, and Protectorate. Though I'm looking at starting a Protectotate army. It's long overdue. Right after my Cryx army I guess. Ugh. Too many factions! LOL 

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I want to say its every other Wednesday night. I typically go in on Fridays to get my games in. by the sounds of it turnout is small but its still going at least.

 

the person leading the league is a gentleman named John. he is a regular that is often there painting in the afternoons.

 

They also have a signup sheet on their announcements board for a Campaign that will be starting in the near future. (some campaign from No Quarter)

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More details please? What time? Is it organized? Is it a League?

Mondays 4pm-10pm, though I've seen very few games being played at 4pm, with 5:30 being the more genuine start time. Mostly disorganized play. They sometimes do mini-tournaments occupying a single night for multiple games. Although there isn't a require point level, the majority of players are playing at 75pts (plus the WB/WJ allowance of their caster/warlork, so around 100pts per side). There is one of those PP endorsed players present (journeyman, I think), though I'm not sure who it is.

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The Warmachine crowd here is pretty healthy. As mentioned, the usual nights are Mondays at Guardian and Thursdays at Portland Game Store, with a few folks showing up Saturdays at Red Castle or hitting Dice Age. Down in Sherwood, Glimpses of Warfare and Wonder does Tuesday nights, and I believe Haven Gaming in Salem meets every Friday. We usually have a tournament every month or so; the latest ones were a 35-point Mangled Metal at PGS on Sunday and the I-5 Team Championships at the Portland Convention Center on Saturday. Next one, IIRC, is at Portland Game Store on 11/20 - a 50 point Foodmachine event.

 

Events usually get announced on the Cog Collective Forums, but these days most conversation happens through the GroupMe app.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Events usually get announced on the Cog Collective Forums, but these days most conversation happens through the GroupMe app.

Yeah, the online forums are very infrequently updated, since most of the members use the app more than the site. It can be depressing to post on that site, only to be responded to months later or not at all. It is a good group, if you can manage to get them to respond.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Finally showed up to Guardian Games on Monday. Came to the conclusion that I'm really, really rusty at the game, and that there are far too many Cygnar and Retribution players here. :happy: Might have to fall back on my tertiary faction- Khador or even finally start that Protectorate or Cryx army I've been thinking about... 

 

Asked the guys about Press Gangers, and they mentioned a name that was unfamiliar to me. Shot an e-mail off to the Quarter Master at Privateer Press and he confirmed that he has no Press Gangers on his books except me for this area. So if you are a PG in these parts, you might want to shoot James an e-mail to update your status.

 

The GroupMe app is wonderful if you are already in the group. I kind of value my privacy a bit, so having "random" WM/H players ping me for a game feels intrusive to me. Also, the guys said they run Steamrollers all the time, and other events too, like there is a Foodmachine event happening in December. I said great! Where are the details? Who is running it? When? How many points? etc. etc. And I got a lot of blank looks. Apparently there was a huge event last month, a Team Tournament at a convention center around here that had 30+ players. Again, I asked where was this advertised? Was it advertised? Who organized it? And again, lots of blank looks. I'm seeing a pattern here. :dry:

 

If you are here and in the group, you are plugged in and know when all the events are happening and where. If you are new to the area/outsider... well, you're SOL. I'd like to try and help change that. I certainly love running events more than I like playing in them. So I'd be more than happy to help run anything in these parts. Time for some more exploration...

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Finally showed up to Guardian Games on Monday. Came to the conclusion that I'm really, really rusty at the game, and that there are far too many Cygnar and Retribution players here. :happy: Might have to fall back on my tertiary faction- Khador or even finally start that Protectorate or Cryx army I've been thinking about... 

 

Asked the guys about Press Gangers, and they mentioned a name that was unfamiliar to me. Shot an e-mail off to the Quarter Master at Privateer Press and he confirmed that he has no Press Gangers on his books except me for this area. So if you are a PG in these parts, you might want to shoot James an e-mail to update your status.

 

The GroupMe app is wonderful if you are already in the group. I kind of value my privacy a bit, so having "random" WM/H players ping me for a game feels intrusive to me. Also, the guys said they run Steamrollers all the time, and other events too, like there is a Foodmachine event happening in December. I said great! Where are the details? Who is running it? When? How many points? etc. etc. And I got a lot of blank looks. Apparently there was a huge event last month, a Team Tournament at a convention center around here that had 30+ players. Again, I asked where was this advertised? Was it advertised? Who organized it? And again, lots of blank looks. I'm seeing a pattern here. :dry:

 

If you are here and in the group, you are plugged in and know when all the events are happening and where. If you are new to the area/outsider... well, you're SOL. I'd like to try and help change that. I certainly love running events more than I like playing in them. So I'd be more than happy to help run anything in these parts. Time for some more exploration...

From what I have heard in Groupme, You've been approached by a couple PG's already that are within the Portland/Salem Meta. I am an ex-PG salem meta and welcome to the community.

 

These events you are referring to are posted on the forums http://forums.cogcollective.com/viewforum.php?f=7, Cog Collective is usually the main funnel of information for Salem/Portland meta's. Eugene metas run through Damekshop, http://damekshop.com/forum/, and then the majority of all communication is through Groupme. GroupMe is pretty useful IMO and can be muted if you value privacy. If you want to be more informed, just on the Cog forums and make yourself known. Ordo forums do need some love though so if you wanted to champion this forum, that would be wonderful.

 

We have a pretty good, thriving meta in Portland. Great group and active. Should be good opportunity to create a new playgroup in vancouver.

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Finally showed up to Guardian Games on Monday. Came to the conclusion that I'm really, really rusty at the game, and that there are far too many Cygnar and Retribution players here.

The factions vary, as do the players playing the factions. As with 40k, the GG leagues seem to be a little more cutthroat than other hobby stores. Not sure why and I don't think it's intentional. Your not rusty, they're just very sharp... Don't take it to heart, just play what you want. 

 

I play infrequently and am mostly bad at warmahordes, but it would still be neat to play you on one of these Mondays. I won't plan for it, but if happens, that would be neat. I'm often in GG, I'm the tall one...

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  • 2 weeks later...

I can't speak much for Portland, but we used to have a small group of people up here in Vancouver, WA for awhile but but it seemed to die out. I tried to "run" the league over at Dice Age for awhile and we just didn't have enough regular people and enough of a dispersion of skill levels. I went down to Guardian Games a few times and they seemed to have more - as well as a few other places in Portland.

 

It's a bummer because Warmahordes was really enjoyable to me, I just couldn't find a big enough regular group to play with. I do know that there are a few guys who still play at Dice Age Games in Vancouver, but it isn't what it was back when I played there regularly a few years back and I think it's every other week on Wednesday.

 

I think if it had a resurgence Warmahordes would still be my game of choice, but I'm just not sure how a game can get new life breathed into it enough to support a decent population of people playing it.

 

Edit - I should clarify that this is from a Vancouverite point of view, it isn't always tenable to drive down into downtown Portland and over that bridge for game nights. Towards the end most of my games came from finding specific people and meeting up somewhere local for a game.

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Our team/club of five meets infrequently to play, but we have two drawbacks:

1. We're spread out - Portland proper, Fairview, Newberg, Salem, and Powell Butte.

2. We play a lot of different games so we don't get enough experience in Warmahordes.

 

Personally, my MBA program has been really inconvenient for me as most journeyman leagues around the Portland area ran on Mondays and Thursdays, when I have class. Next semester class is on Mondays and Tuesdays, so it opens up my week a bit, and I know I can get one or two people to come.

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At GG, I think the normal level of play is 75pts (plus warcaster/warlock bonus, so about 100pts of models), so the game costs quite a bit to get into. And regarding models, the privateer press models may be getting better, but they are still vastly inferior to GW kits, even very dated GW kits. And Privateer has been increasing costs per model so this game is very close to, if not exceeding 40k entry prices.

 

Warmachine and hordes players also, as average, seem to do less conversions, proxies, or actually painting of their models (especially painting their own personal paint scheme). The local group doesn't even use terrain (2d cutouts). It's more of a chess crowd. Which, when you consider entry costs, this is a really expensive game to play just as chess set. It's also way less visually appealling. 

 

And, as far as I know, GG doesn't give discounts to warmahordes purchases. They have no formal league, as the league itself is internally managed by the regulars. Basically, the main thing GG offers is a spacious and well maintained place to play....

 

As to why the numbers may be decreasing, I think the all of the above are all factors. We do have new players, so the game isn't by any means dying, but I think all of the above are huge contributors to why the game isn't larger.

 

So, anyway, if you want a big crowd for warmachine, basically, you need to fix some of the above while meeting the minimum standard that GG affords their warmachine players (spacious, good bathrooms, no huge pressure to buy things, free tables, nice staff). 

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  • 3 months later...

I see quite of bit of play at Red Castle Games. Saturdays will usually see about three to four games going at once. RC offers a discount on stuff that is special ordered but that is about it. However, it is a nice welcoming venue with a friendly staff. I personally favor it over GG ( GG is a massive venue with only one restroom, crummy concessions, and poor access to food, and crummy parking).

I haven't played in about four years but I have been thinking about busting out some of my Protectorate stuff. Maybe I will see you there. :D

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On March 22, 2017 at 11:16 AM, Sugarlessllama said:

GG is a massive venue with only one restroom, crummy concessions, and poor access to food, and crummy parking

For clarity, does RC have more restrooms than GG? Or do you just mean that GG has lacking restrooms by proportion? 

I agree with your points of evaluation for GG, though none are really issues for me. GG has excellent public transit access, a reasonabley clean restoom without a long line, and, although they have food and alcohol, it isn't pushed on me. 

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  • 11 months later...

The Portland Warmachine community is still going strong, though you wouldn't know it from the Ordo forum. I'm not sure where people play in Vancouver, but Mondays at Guardian Games, Wednesdays at Rune and Board in Hillsboro, and Thursdays and Saturdays at Portland Game Store in North Portland are the regular Warmachine nights that I know of. There's also usually one tournament a month. The next one is the Ticket Takedown at Rune & Board on Saturday the 31st; first prize is a ticket to Lock & Load.

Tournaments and other events are posted on http://forums.cogcollective.com/viewforum.php?f=7&sid=df2b54ecbdb4d92cd43acd9a2e5fb0ac

The rest of the Cog Collective forum tends to be pretty dead, though. Most of the club chats on GroupMe; show up at a game night and someone will be able to add you to that if you like. 

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On ‎3‎/‎26‎/‎2018 at 11:35 AM, jesselowe said:

The Portland Warmachine community is still going strong, though you wouldn't know it from the Ordo forum. I'm not sure where people play in Vancouver, but Mondays at Guardian Games, Wednesdays at Rune and Board in Hillsboro, and Thursdays and Saturdays at Portland Game Store in North Portland are the regular Warmachine nights that I know of. There's also usually one tournament a month. The next one is the Ticket Takedown at Rune & Board on Saturday the 31st; first prize is a ticket to Lock & Load.

Tournaments and other events are posted on http://forums.cogcollective.com/viewforum.php?f=7&sid=df2b54ecbdb4d92cd43acd9a2e5fb0ac

The rest of the Cog Collective forum tends to be pretty dead, though. Most of the club chats on GroupMe; show up at a game night and someone will be able to add you to that if you like. 

Ok. Thanks. Getting my work/life schedule sorted out, but I'll see if I can hit up one or more of those days/nights.

I stopped at Dice Age Games in Vancouver earlier. Looks like there are people who want to play, but nothing organized. This may be a case of having to rebuild the community here.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On March 24, 2018 at 11:31 PM, Terarin said:

Sorry for the thread necromancy, but I'd like to know if any of the info and dialog above are still valid. I'm just now moving to the Vancouver area and I can't figure out if anyone still plays Warmachine and Hordes. TIA.

Not sure that Ordo has any rules against thread necromancy. And you are on topic, so I think it's fine. 

The GG group is still meeting on Mondays. I also see players coming in on other days to play. The GG crowd is very compeditive, as their "casual" league is used to prep for tournaments. 

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