Reaving in the Marshlands

I've not had much opportunity for painting/modelling recently as I was in another play. However, with that finished I have found a few moments to spare. Whilst I've been focusing a bit more on my Black Templars and trying to get a couple of those major characters painted, I didn't want to neglect WFB completely, so I've painted my Marsh Reavers. I've been looking forward to painting these models for quite a while now - I just love the Bog Beasts they are riding, crawling out of the swamp, and I'm so happy with how I managed to get the Lizardmen Cold One Rider bodies to fit around, with the kilts billowing in the wind. I must admit that they were a real pain to paint fully assembled (I paint everything fully assembled largely because I'm too excited and want to build/play with things straight away; if I didn't I'd have really small armies to pick from to play with). They are modeled with a musician and two normal Reavers, so at some point I might have to see if I can get my hands on three more lizards to make a champion, standard bearer, and one more Reaver to round out the unit fully.

I started making some river sections for terrain, but that plan has been on hold for a little bit as I'm rethinking some of what I'm doing. I will get back to it though as I think it'd really nice to have a river running through the marsh. Also, none of the friends that I play with have any river section, so we've never played over one - it's always good to have some variety in the terrain available.

Having nearly finished the Black Templar characters (The Domus Crusade page will be updated soon), I'm going to spend a bit of time on my Dwarves - they have been quite majorly neglected this year. I have a few half-painted models to finish, then lots of regiments that I haven't started; I think the Hammerers and Irondrakes will be next on the painting table. However, I would also love to get painting the Daemonmaniac for my Fimir - I am just so looking forward to having such a large sized Fimir striding through the marsh. So keep your eyes peeled!

The eyes...the eyes!

Whilst I am working on the Marsh Reavers at the moment, as well as various 40k models, and trying to make some watery/marshy terrain (which will be in my next post), I have got around to completing the Eye Tyrant. I am really pleased with how it has turned out.

I was slightly apprehensive when I first started - a grey undercoat, washed with Carroburg Crimson, and drybrushed with Lothern Blue - it looked far to much like a novelty from a West Ham United souvenir shop. But a few dry brushes of different shades of purple eased the effect really nicely.

I wanted to get blue into the design so that it matches with my other Fimir models - blue kilts, shields, banners, etc. So I made sure the eyes started off with a coat of Kantor Blue, then a brush of Lothern Blue, a brush of Bleached Bone, and finally a pupil drawn on using a micro pen. I think the colours of the eyes give a piercing effect, rather creepy really - after all, it is a daemon summoned from a realm that it really is best not to think about!

Lords within the marshes

Over the Summer I had aspirations to get a reasonable chunk of my Fimir army painted up, but I spent a large part of the holidays in Canada, touring along the East Coast. It's a lovely country and my wife and I had a fantastic time there. Now it's September and that means back-to-school and consequently less hobby time, especially as I'm also in rehearsals for another play. I have, however, managed to do a little bit of work over the last couple of weeks . I have finished the two lord choices in my Fimir army - a Meargh and a Fimm Mistmor - Magella Wisestone and Drust. Really quite happy with how they have turned out.

Magella is mainly a Malifaux model, but with her face cut off and a Lizardman one attached in its place. I really like the pose of the base model, holding a doll with a knife poised to cut like she's using voodoo against someone. The serpents on her base are also from a Lizardmen kit; this helps tie all of my Fimir magic users together as they all have some form of animal familiar.

Drust is based on a Forgeworld Fimir model. I have sculpted a helmet for him with the face of some form of animal/daemon figure. I think this helps to separate him from the basic Forgeworld models. The weapon is also rather key - I run him wielding the Vile Branch Crusher magic weapon, multiplying each hit into d3 hits. As such he needed a rather imposing weapon that needed to look like a tree and root ball. I started off with a piece of twig and then used two paperclips bent around each other into some form of root shape. I used green stuff to form the shape around this armature, sculpting some texture on them to hopefully give a good effect. I then painted this brown first of all, before drybrushing progressively lighter to begin to give it a grey, dead and bleached look.

I have started to paint my three Marsh Reavers and the Eye Tyrant, but I think progress will be quite slow.

Age of Fimir and Summoned Daemons

With Games Workshop having dropped Warhammer Fantasy Battle and introduced Age of Sigmar, I have had a bit of a thought about the continuation of my Fimir project. I've played a quick trial game of AoS and, whilst I think it might be quite fun for quick small-scale, it is not going to replace 8th edition of WFB for me. However, my friends and I might play some AoS games if we have a spare hour or want to try something a bit different. Therefore, I still want the Fimir to have a part to play in the AoS, so I've sat down and drafted some warscrolls:

Take a look and tell me what you think.  

I must acknowledge Mathias Eliasson from warhammerarmiesproject.blogspot.co.uk as the rules I've written are based from his Fimir Army Book that I use for WFB. I haven't had a chance to play test these Fimir AoS rules yet, so if you play with them, please do let me know how it goes.

In other news, I haven't really made much Fimir progress recently. With GW releasing a new Space Marine Codex, I've been paying my Templars a bit more attention. However, the time has come to return to the marshes and reinforce the clan. Whilst there is plenty left to do with the models I already have, both painting and modelling, I am always a sucker for a new project. Consequently I started to think about a few monster elements for my force. In the Fimir Army Book (and now in my Fimir AoS warscrolls) there is a daemon that the Meargh sometimes summons which can add some much needed ranged support - the Eye Tyrant.

On top of the Eye Tyrant’s hovering, one-eyed body is a ring of eye-stalks ending in smaller eyes which can unleash different gaze attacks at enemies. A gaping maw set with many sharp teeth splits its body. In other words, it is the Beholder from Dungeons and Dragons. Being a D&D geek as well, I thought it would be quite cool to include one of these as a daemon summoned by the Meargh of my clan. I found a nice model on ebay manufactured by Reaper Miniatures. I haven't started painting it yet, but thought I'd share what I think is a really well sculpted model.

The other model/unit that I've been getting quite inspired about is the Daemonomaniac. A Daemonomaniac is the product of a powerful daemon being successfully bound within the body of a Fimir of the warrior caste. It has a huge cleaver blade grafted onto one arm, a great axe of Fimul in the other, and its giant tail lashing about crushing whole files of troops.

I love the idea of having a giant-sized Fimir included in the army, I think it just sums at a level of craziness with the Fimir and their daemon summoning. The problem was - how do you construct a Fimir that is the size of a giant? I have scoured the internet for different miniature manufacturers for a suitable base model, yet I kept basically coming back to either the GW giant or the GW Beastmen Cygor/Ghorgon.

These are some fantastically characterful models, but none of them are quite right. All three would need an impressive tail, some work on hands and feet, some head sculpting, etc. I was puzzled about how to progress for quite a while, but eventually made a decision - I'd use the Cygor/Ghorgon kit as the base, not gluing on hair where possible, carving off the rest of the sculpted hair, splitting the hooves to have three toes, using the cygor head without attaching the horns (I originally wanted to use the GW Carnosaur head, but couldn't get one from ebay or a bits site), carve off a finger on each hand to leave three and a thumb, construct some form of giant axe, and use the GW Kharibyss tail. I decided that my Daemonomaniac would have three arms to further individualise the silhouette - afterall, a daemon being bound within is likely to cause some horrendous mutations. It has taken quite a while to piece it all together and carve away the hair, green stuffing over the scraped areas, but all in all I'm rather happy with how the model is progressing.

Triumph and Treachery surround the marshes

A few weeks ago I played a Triumph & Treachery game with some friends. We really enjoy these games as the mechanics make the game really unpredictable as you never know if someone is going to play a card to help themselves or screw you or someone else over. Along with that vendettas quickly come to the fore.

So this time I wanted to try out a few things, so I modified my Fimir army list slightly:

Fimir Army List

• Rictumal - Dirach
• Level 2 caster, Miasma of Malodorous Mists, Lore of Beats, Deployed with Fimm Warriors
• Marroar - Fimm Finmor
• Battle Standard Bearer, Heavy armour, Runic Bellyshield, Froidrach's War Hatchets, Luckstone (that I completely forgot to use!), Deployed with Fimm Warriors
• 28 Fimm Warriors
• Additional hand weapons, Fimm Fian, Musician, Standard Bearer, Fimul's Hatred banner
• 3 Fiana Fimm
• Fimm Fiarach, Standard Bearer, Banner of All-seeing, Great weapons
• 3 Marsh Reavers
• Musician
• 20 Fir Bolg
• Great weapons, Crypt Keeper

Total = 1494 points

Dwarven Mercenaries

• Nurbere - Master Engineer
• Rune of Stone
• Organ Gun

Total = 195 points (allowing me to start the game with two bronze coins, totalling 100, in my paychest)

My forces were facing off against:

• Warriors of Chaos, with Skaven mercenaries
• Chaos Dwarves, with Orc mercenaries
• Wood Elves, with Lizardmen mercenaries

The Meargh had given Rictumal strict instructions, to take the warband and protect the edges of their domain from the incursions of the approaching forces. She had not told him the full story, however, but his daemon friend scouted ahead and informed him. Wood Elves had come pouring out of the forests to the North of the marshland, Chaos Dwarves trudged belligerently, and the brutal chariots of the Warriors of Chaos were quickly rushing to the scene. Clearly this region was of greater importance than the Meargh had let on. Rictumal tried to cast his magical senses to scry for a reason that such forces would converge on this point, yet his magic was not sufficient to explain the intricacies that fate weaves in this world. He looked at the forces arrayed around him and against him, this day would be hard on the Fimir, but they had a few tricks and might of their own.

I didn't take full details to write a complete battle report, but what follows are the notes of significant events in the game for me (obviously there were significant events for the other players, but I'm clearly an innately selfish person and didn't write them down. I do remember a large unit of Chaos Dwarves getting destroyed by the Wood Elves as a result of marginally losing a combat that they had charged into, failing their break test despite a reroll, and getting run down!):

• The Fimir forces destroy three units of Chaos Warhounds, causing the Warriors of Chaos general to swear immediate vengeance upon the marsh dwellers. Consequently the Skaven engineer fired his unpredictable Doom Rocket, aiming for the regiment of Fimm Warriors facing off against the Chaos battle line. Somehow his calculations were uncannily accurate and it exploded in the centre of the unit, killing 22 unfortunate Fimir.
• The unit of Fiana Fimm were charged by the Skull Krushers, killing two of the mighty Fimir. As a result the Fimm Fiarach decides that this is not a combat that he wants to partake of much longer, so he flees.
• The Giant recruited by the Chaos Dwarves was bearing down on the Organ Gun, the Dwarves rushed to shoot the vile beast, but were sabotaged in their attempt, leaving them unable to fire. However, as the Wood Elves used their ranged superiority against the Chaos Dwarves and Orcs, the Fimir's Dwarven mercenaries were able to take advantage of the distraction and, having resolved the effects of the sabotage, were able to unleash all barrels of the Organ Gun to blow the Giant to oblivion before it had a chance to reach them.
• The Chaos Demon Prince was hassling the Fimir lines, laying waste wherever he landed. Marroar, the Fimir Battle Standard Bearer bravely stood up and challenged the demon, putting his faith in the swirling mists around him and the powerful Runic Bellyshield to protect him, and that Froidrach's War Hatchets would give him the might to slay this fiend. Unfortunately the Demon Prince took full advantage of the narrow gaps in defence and cut Marroar down before he could strike.
• The Demon Prince sets his sights on the Organ Gun which had been a thorn in the side of Chaos for the majority of the battle. Charging headlong at the Dwarven warmachine, he failed to spot the cunningly deployed caltrops which caused him to pull up short of his target, sparing the war machine for the time being. Outraged by this failure, the Demon Prince summoned the winds of magic to cast a Purple Sun of Xereus at the unfortunate Dwarven mercenaries. Nurbere, the Dwarven engineer, quickly succumbed to the magical tempest, but the crew of the Organ Gun stood resolutely in defiance.
• A solitary survivor of the Marsh Reavers unit charged boldly to attack the Chaos Dwarf Bull Centaur Taur'ruk, bringing him down with an exemplary display of defence and combat prowess.
• The Demon Prince continued his assassination attempt of the Organ Gun, finally making it into combat and summoning the power of his mighty demon blade. However, his skill was lacking and the Dwarven crew were well entrenched, so the onslaught left one of the Dwarven crew still standing. Further to this, the cursed magic within the demon blade betrayed its master and saw him cut himself down, much to the relief of the solitary remaining Dwarven warmachine gunner.

All in all the game started quite well for me, but led to an almost instant vendetta from the Warriors of Chaos which resulted in very heavy casualties. By the end of the game all I was left with was the Organ Gun with 1 crewman left standing, and 1 Marsh Reaver (and even that I'm not convinced about!). However, the kills had been totting up, especially in the final few turns as I received the points for the Demon Prince and the Taur'ruk. It was a really fun game and just goes to show that despite how badly things can look early on in the game (I thought that I'd be wiped out by the end of turn 3!), if you keep on persisting you can turn things around.

Final paychest totals:

1. Warriors of Chaos - 2150
2. Fimir - 1350
3. Wood Elves - 1150
4. Chaos Dwarves - 700

The Warriors of Chaos charged around the battlefield, collecting grisly trophies of their dominance from this battle. Rictumal's spirit had been collected by his daemon friend and escorted through the shadow land back to the Fimir camp for the Meargh to revive. Gold had been collected and borders defended, but too many Fimir had fallen that day. It would be necessary for the raiding parties to step-up their search for suitable human females if the clan was to survive. The Dwarven slaves had performed excellently, but with no Fimir around to shepherd them back to their hovel they would shake off the enchantments they were under and seek to return to Dwarven society. It would be necessary to hunt them down once more.

Dirach prepares his casting

Just the quickest of updates here, merely to show the other finished dirach model.

I've got a Triumph & Treachery game on Sunday that I'll be taking my fimir to, hoping to redeem themselves from the last debacle against the Wood Elves. T&T games can get a bit bewildering so I probably won't do a full battle report, but I'll certainly make a few notes to pass on the highlights and the fate of the Blade in the Mist.

Forces gather

I had another game with the Fimir the other day, verses a friend's Wood Elves. It was the first time he was using his new army, so I felt that it would be a bit mean to take the Banner of the Mists to completely nullify his shooting. Instead I took this list:

• Meargh
• Level 3 caster, Lore of Fimir (Swirling Mists, Daemonic Possession, The Eye of Balor), Miasma of Malodorous Mists, Channelling Staff, Deployed with Fimm Warriors
• Dirach
• Level 2 caster, Lore of Shadow (Melkoth's Mystifying Miasma, The Withering), Orb of the All-Seeing Eye, Deployed with Shearl
• Fimm Finmor
• Battle standard bearer, Heavy armour, Runic Bellyshield, Additional hand weapon, Deployed with Fimm Warriors
• 28 Fimm warriors
• Fimm Fian, Musician, Standard bearer, Fimul's Hatred, Additional hand weapons
• 24 Shearl
• Shearl Finn, Musician, Standard bearer, Spears, Shields
• 5 Moor hounds
• 21 Fir Bolg
• Crypt keeper, Great weapons
• 3 Marsh Reavers
• Musician 
• Eye Oculus of Balor

We were playing the 'Battle for the Pass' scenario where you're battling in a gorge and I thought at the time that deployment was pretty standard. I had my Fimm Warriors and Fir Bolg on the left flank to support each other against his one combat unit and then hopefully deal with the Treeman. The Moor Hounds vanguarded forward to harass one of his archer units and screen the advance of the Marsh Reavers, who in turn would be supported by the Shearl and Oculus. However, his two units of scouting skirmishers deployed behind me and would just be a nuisance - no shooting makes it very difficult to deal with skirmishers! Also, charging the monstrous cavalry through the dangerous terrain of the forest isn't a brilliant idea, nor are they good for assaulting a building as the mounts can't participate. So all in all, reflecting on deployment, I made some errors right from the start.

Through out the game nothing seemed to quite go right - my dice rolls were very poor, I chose one of my spells poorly, he was dispelling my magic, I was failing to dispel his, I kept rolling a misfire for the Oculus, I didn't realise his combat unit were strength 5, one of his characters negated my flank bonus in the first round of a combat, I forgot to make my tail attacks, thought that you couldn't try to reform if you lost a combat, etc.

In case you couldn't guess, I lost.

...rather badly.

...in fact I got wiped out on turn 4!

In other news, whilst I have been neglecting the painting and modelling of the Fimir for a while as I'm spending time on my Black Templars instead for the ETL 4 painting challenge at bolterandchainsword.com, I have managed to do a few Fimir bits. One of my Dirachs is finished, and the other just needs a bit of work on the base.

Also, the Blade in the Mist have been bolstered by the might of some Fiana Fimm, determined to wreck any foe they encounter. These have been made using the Forgeworld Fimir Warrior models, but modified slightly so that I have a standard bearer (the standard provided by the GW Dwarf Hammerers/Longbeards kit, the banner top is from the GW corpse cart kit), and a Fimm Fiarach (unit champion) who will now be able to stand out from the unit (axe heads again from the Hammerers/Longbeards kit). In game these will likely run alongside Drust, my Fimm Mistmor character. I think I might need to order another set to take the unit up to 6 models, especially as they can make 3 supporting attacks each, then I can convert a musician for the unit as well.

The Blade in the Mists confront Skarsnik's Goblins

I had another game with my Fimir a week or so ago. This time it was a normal one-on-one game rather than Triumph and Treachery rules, this would give me a decent chance to see what the Fimir were like in a straight up battle without having to divide resources between different opponents. My friend decided that he would take his Goblin army as it is full of character - otherwise known as a hell of a lot of squigs! I threw together a rough army list of what I had assembled (though not necessarily painted), along with magic items and it came to 2650 points so we agreed on that as a point limit - a slightly random number, but it allowed us both to have a range of different things in our lists. The game was really good fun and has led my Goblin friend to have a new nemesis in one of my characters, or more accurately in one particular magic item from the Fimir army book - the Runic Bellyshield!

Fimir Army List

• Magella Wisestone - Meargh
• Level 4 caster, Earthing rod, Bloodstone garnet, Lore of Shadow (Okkam's Mindrazor, Pit of Shades, Penumbral Pendulum, Melkoth's Mystifying Miasma), Deployed with Fimm Warriors
• Drust - Fimm Mistmor
• Heavy armour, Vile Branch Crusher, Runic Bellyshield, The Other Trickster's Shard, Luckstone, Deployed with Fimm Warriors
• Rictumal - Dirach
• Level 2 caster, Orb of the All-Seeing Eye, Lore of Beasts (Amber Spear, Wyssan's Wildform), Deployed with Shearl
• Ololamin - Dirach
• Level 1 caster, Miasma of Malodorous Mist, Lore of the Fimir (Swirling Mists), Deployed with Shearl
• Marroar - Fimm Finmor
• Heavy armour, Shield, Battle Standard Bearer, The Banner of the Mists, Deployed with Fimm Warriors
• 29 Fimm Warriors
• Fimm Fian, Musician, Standard Bearer, Fimul's Hatred, Additional hand weapons
• 23 Shearl
• Shearl Finn, Musician, Standard Bearer, Spears, Shields
• 5 Moor Hounds
• 5 Moor Hounds
• 3 Marsh Reavers
• Musician
• 21 Fir bolg
• Crypt Keeper, Great weapons
• Eye Oculus of Balor

Goblin Army List (roughly!)

• Skarsnik and Gobbla
• Goblin Shaman on Colossal Squig (counts as Arachnarok Spider)
• Goblin Battle Standard Bearer
• Goblin Boss on Giant Squid
• Goblin Boss on Giant Squig
• Night Goblin Archers with Fanatics
• Night Goblin Archers with Fanatics
• Squig Hoppers
• Squig Hoppers
• Squig Herders
• Night Goblins with Netters
• Mangler Squig
• Mangler Squig
• Doom Diver
• Doom Diver

Long ago the watchtower on the edge of the marshland had been manned by a determined Empire outpost, even housing a talented wizard. It had long been a target for the Fimir, yet there had always been some magical force preventing the swirling mists conjured by Magella and her Dirachs from taking hold and covering an approach. Magella was convinced, therefore, that whatever was causing this blackout was an essential tool for her to acquire. Over recent months Magella had sensed the magic emanating from the tower weakening, the mists stretching that little bit further. Now was the time to strike and claim whatever artefact the Human wizard had been forced to leave behind. However, it seemed as though a horde of greenskins had also been eyeing up the tower. Magella had ensured that her Fimir would be in the best position to claim the watchtower first. Unfortunately the foul goblins had arrived moments too soon, preventing any Fimir unit from getting a foothold in the tower itself.

Before deployment, Skarsnik had sent squigs to hassle and delay the Fimir forces. Whilst most of the Fimir army battled through without issue, the Eye Oculus of Balor and Rictumal were disrupted and could not deploy with the rest of the Fimir, instead arriving during turn one.

The two Moor Hound units vanguarded up into the swamps near the middle line of the battlefield, hoping to delay the squigs from crashing into the Fimir line.

Turn One

The Goblins start the battle with the Snotling Pump Wagon lurching haphazardly into the first unit of Moor Hounds whilst the rest of their force ignore any chance of animosity striking in the ranks and advance steadily towards the watchtower and the Fimir. The Goblin Shaman, with a commanding view over the battlefield from the top of his Colossal Squig, successfully casts Itchy Nuisance on the Fimm Warriors, slightly reducing their movement and initiative, but then the winds of magic flee from his grasp. Snarsnik bellows at the Doom Divers to clear the Moor Hounds out of the way. The first Diver aims carefully at the closest Moor Hound unit, but scatters well beyond his target, the second suffers a problem with his catapult, being sent skidding across the ground, but still collides with the intended Hound unit, causing Hound corpses to sink into the swamp. The Pump Wagon's various blades, and Snotlings lash out and destroy the other unit of Moor Hounds.

The Fimir commence the battle with the Marsh Reavers declaring a charge against the Pump Wagon, but failing to make any decent distance. Instead the Fir Bolg charge through the line of swampland in front of them to take out the Pump Wagon. The Eye Oculus of Balor finally moves onto the battlefield. Ololamin commands the unit of Shearl to remain stationary so that Rictumal, arriving after a squig-related delay, can also join their unit. The remaining Hounds move into one of the Mangler Squigs, dying but removing the nuisance of such insane beasts. Magella looks across to the numerous squigs quickly bearing down on the Fimir, and calls upon the winds of magic to launch a Penumbral Pendulum. The winds blow mightily and the spell is conjured with irresistible force, causing all three Fimir casters to lose a wound, though the spell itself ultimately doesn't affect the Goblin forces. The two Dirachs both fail to cast their spells. The Oculus opens its eye and the gaze of Balor kills two Squig Hoppers. The Fir Bolg raise their great weapons, completely decimating the Pump Wagon and overrunning into the Squig Hoppers.

Turn Two

Skarsnik's unit begin to bicker and squabble, despite his best attempts to beat them into order. The unit of Squig Herders charge into the flank of the Fir Bolg. The remaining units manoeuvre into better positions, one unit of Goblin Archers marching to the foot of the watchtower, but are unable to enter it this turn. As the Goblins draw closer to the Fimir, some Fanatics hidden in their midst can no longer restrain themselves and launch towards the Fir Bolg. The Shaman consults the winds of magic to try and influence the combat against the dead of the marshes, casting Gork'll Fix It. Both Doom Divers pull back on their catapults and aiming towards the Marsh Reavers, one flinging himself beyond the target, the other wounding one of the mounted Fimir. The Squig Hoppers and Squig Herders kill numerous Fir Bolg, who in turn fluff their attacks, killing only three Hoppers, causing three dead bodies to rise from the marshes to join the diminished ranks of the Fir Bolg. With the weight of the combat against them, several Fir Bolg crumble to the ground, leaving only three of the dead bodies remaining, locking both of the Squig units into the combat.

This time the Marsh Reavers complete their charge, roaring into the flank of the Squig Herders. Drust sees the Goblin Archers preparing to enter the watchtower, so he instead leaves the Fimm Warriors and strides into the tower by himself to secure it for the Fimir. The Shearl and Dirachs move forward into the swamp ahead of them. Rictumal fails to control the surge of magical power, casting Wyssan's Wildform with irresistible force, a caster level and that spell fading from his mind. Some of Magella's spells are dispelled, but Penumbral Pendulum is cast, but the Goblin Shaman shakes off its effects before it can truly take hold. The Marsh Reavers break the Squigs in combat after killing seven of the Herders, causing the Squigs to go wild, killing one Shearl and one Fanatic.

Turn Three

Goblin Fanatics are not known for their impressive degree of control, and two kill each other as they collide. Both units of Squig Hoppers head towards their targets, one unit hitting the Marsh Reavers, the other the Fimm Warriors. The Shaman peered with annoyance at Drust in the watchtower before reaching into the winds of magic to cast Gift of the Spider God to give the Archers poisoned attacks. However, their arrows bounced off his Runic Bellyshield, denying the poison from taking hold. One Doom Diver takes aim at Drust in the tower, but scatters short and kills three Shearl instead. The other Diver equally aims at Drust, hitting his hulking form, but failing to wound. The Marsh Reavers kill four of the Squig Hoppers, leaving only the Squig-mounted boss. The Fimm Warriors slaughter the other unit of Squig Hoppers, with the Squig-mounted boss fleeing into the forest from the onslaught.

(Sorry, I forgot to take a photo of the end of the Goblin turn 3)

Having secured the watchtower, preventing the Goblin Archers from entering, Drust charged out at the Shaman on the Colossal Squig. The Dirachs sensed a pivotal moment in the battle and launched their unit of Shearl at the closest unit of Goblin Archers, who flee in response. Unfortunately the Shearl are unable to redirect to another target and are left stranded with their flank exposed to Skarsnik's unit. The Fimm Warriors move into the watchtower to guard the important objective, causing more Goblin Fanatics to throw themselves towards the Fimir. Rictumal consults the Orb of the All-Seeing Eye, as he had previously done without problem, but this time the Orb sucked up part of the winds of magic, denying some of their power from the Fimir casters. Magella and the Dirachs all try to cast a selection of spells, yet the Goblins use their own resources to dispell every conjuration. The Eye Oculus of Balor casts its gaze at the Mangler Squig, but fails to wound the insane beast. The Marsh Reavers confront and slay the Squig-mounted boss, before staring across the intervening distance at Skarsnik. The Shaman and Colossal Squig fail to wound Drust, with its venom surge attack bouncing harmlessly off the Runic Bellyshield. Drust swings wildly at his opponent and monstrous mount, but failed to wound his opponent. The charge itself was the decisive factor and won Drust the combat. Expecting to spend quite a while slugging it out with this monster, Drust was stunned to see the Colossal Squig turn tail and flee, taking the Shaman with it. Drust gave chase, but was unable to catch the huge target, instead slaughtering the already fleeing Squig-mounted boss.

Turn Four

With numerous Fanatics now littering the battlefield, any step would be fraught with peril. One Fanatic drowns in the swamp, two others collide with the watchtower and splatter themselves against the stones, two plough through Skarsnik's unit killing 7, the remaining Fanatic tore through one of the Goblin Archer units killing another 2 Goblins. Skarsnik's unit finally see some combat and charge the Shearl in the flank. The Shaman on the Colossal Squig was clearly struggling to control his monstrous mount, failing to rally and ultimately fleeing completely from the battlefield, the Goblin Archers put him to shame and rally bravely from their tactical retreat to confront the Fimir. The two Doom Divers take aim at the Marsh Reavers with the first failing to wound, but the second adjusting his flight expertly to kill one Reaver and wound another. The two units of Goblin Archers take aim at the Fimm Warriors in the watchtower, yet the Banner of the Mists prevents them from being able to clearly see the unit. Skarsnik bellows at challenge at his foes, answered bravely by a small Shearl Finn, who is unfortunately fed to Skarsnik's pet squig Gobbla. Rictumal and Ololamin consult with their daemon friends to lend aid in this fight, killing seven Goblins, before two Shearl and one more Goblin die as the two sides exchange blows. Whilst the Shearl lose the combat, they hold strong to prevent Skarsnik's forces attacking the watchtower.

Magella raises her eyes to the sky, fearing the loss of the mists whilst the attention of the Fimir is distracted by the Goblin attack, luckily their cover holds and the Fimir can continue to press their advantage. Drust charges the closest Goblin Archer unit, looking to smash apart such puny green enemies. The solitary remaining Marsh Reaver bravely, possibly foolhardily, charges into the flank of Skarsnik's unit. The Eye Oculus of Balor positions itself to once again cast its gaze of Balor at the remaining Mangler Squig which has been circling and hunting it. Looking in the direction of the Doom Divers, the Oculus also takes care to ensure that its position is close enough to not be a target. Rictumal once again consults to Orb of the All-Seeing Eye, but once again it drains some of the surrounding magical energy. Magella and the Dirachs only manage to get one spell off unoposed, casting Melkoth's Mystifying Miasma on Skarsnik's unit to reduce their weapon skill, ballistic skill, movement and initiative. The Eye Oculus of Balor opens and sends its gaze at the Mangler Squig, but once again fails to deal with the annoyance. In the combat with Skarsnik's unit, the Goblin Netters entangle the Reaver, reducing the attack strength. With the daemons having lent their aid to the Dirachs, they were now left to fight for themselves alongside the remaining Shearl. Unfortunately the Shearl were only ever going to come out second best in this combat and flee around the base of the watchtower. The Reaver remains in combat, once again preventing Skarsnik's unit from approaching the tower. Drust kills six of the Goblin Archers, causing them to break and flee through the other Archer unit and a Fanatic, killing a further 6 Archers.

Turn Five

The Mangler Squig finally manages to catch up with its prey, crashing through the swamp and into the Eye Oculus of Balor, demolishing it completely. The mushroom-infused madness of the Fanatics continued to take its toll as one Fanatic plunged through Skarsnik's unit killing five hapless Goblins, another Fanatic collided with the Goblin Archers slaying two, the third remaining Fanatic staggered through the fleeing Archer unit killing another five Goblins. Despite these additional casualties, the Archer unit rallies. Both Doom Divers aim at the Fimm Warriors inside the watchtower, killing five between them. The Archers aim at Drust, but their arrows were ineffective, six bouncing off the powerful magic of the Runic Bellyshield. Skarsnik and his large Goblin unit finally kill the last Reaver and reform to face the watchtower.

The mists vanish from the battlefield, the sun's powerful rays finally casting their full power on the souls below, yet the Fimir all shrug off its effects. Drust charges the larger of the Goblin Archer units. Rictumal and Ololamin ensure that the Shearl rally next to the watchtower. Magella looks out from the tower at Skarsnik and his unit, determined to thin it down before they attack, hopefully even assassinate Skarsnik in the process. Pit of Shades causes eight Goblins to be dragged to their doom, but Skarsnik passes this test. The Penumbral Pendulum swings through the Goblin battle standard bearer, the rest of the unit and into one Doom Diver, though they are all quick enough to dodge out of the way. An Amber Spear was hurled by Rictumal but the Goblin force dispell the conjuration. Ololamin unfortunately failed to cast Swirling Mists. With the winds of magic easing away once again, only then did Magella realise her error, if she had cast Melkoth's Mystifying Miasma she could not only have reduced the fighting effectiveness of Skarsnik and his unit, but also reduced their movement potentially meaning that they wouldn't reach the watch tower in time. She let out a cry of frustration before urging the Fimm Warriors around her to do their duty. In combat with Drust the Archers fail to wound the hulking brute before he then strikes seven down to their doom. They flee away from his might, but he runs them down, falling agonisingly short of blocking Skarsnik's charge to the tower.

Turn Six

The Mangler Squig is now running aimlessly, but fortunately careers away into empty space. The Fanatics once again prove deadly to the Goblins with one passing through Skarsnik's unit killing six greenskins. One hurls itself away from the battlefield, and the final one drifts aimlessly towards the remaining Goblin Archers, but falls short. Skarsnik and his unit only have one target in sight and charge at the watchtower, taking them through the edge of the swamp and a Fanatic, resulting in another two dead Goblins. Both Doom Divers take aim at Drust, but scatter off target and are unable to adjust enough, splattering themselves onto the ground. The Netters entangle some of the defenders before Skarsnik, Gobbla and some fellow Goblins attack the defending Fimm Warriors. Skarsnik and Gobbla were nothing to be feared in these confines, however, with only 3 Fimm Warriors dying, as opposed to seven dead Goblins and a wound on Skarsnik from a determined Fimir tail attack. Skarsnik and his unit are repelled from the tower, forced to withdraw.

With the heat of the sun bearing down on the pale skins of the Fimir, their brains begin to heat, yet nobody falls foul of stupidity. Drust strides boldly between Skarsnik's unit and the watchtower, protecting the tower and his Meargh contained within.

End of Game

Victory! The Fimir forces controlled the watchtower and the Goblins would not be able to wrestle it from their grasp.

Magella Wisestone cackled into the wind as it swirled around the watchtower. Skarsnik had made his last gamble but had been repelled by the raw aggression of the Fimm Warriors. Now the huge form of Drust was striding boldly to position himself between Skarsnik's remaining Goblins and the watchtower. There was no hope of victory for the greenskins, the mists would claim this landmark and the secrets it held.

Skarsnik fed the remaining Goblins to Gobbla and muttered "more squigs" to himself.

The marshes are alive with the dead

I have finished off my regiment of Fir Bolg - the dead of the marshes. They are a mixture of different models - Vampire Counts Grave Guard, LOTR Warriors of the Dead, and an old GW Spirit Host who has been given the force sword from a 40k Librarian model. This gives a nice effect that they are dead from numerous different armies, raised from their final resting places in the marshes by the Meargh to defend the Fimir home. On several of the models I have cut away at the bottom of the model and mounted it directly in the mud so that it looks half sunk/risen from the swamp.

I used the GW Nihilakh Oxide technical paint for the first time when painting this unit, to give their weapons and armour an antique look. The metal parts were painted silver, gold or bronze originally, then washed with the Nihilakh Oxide, then the excess wiped off. I'm really happy with the effect that it has given. The fabric robes on the models were painted a mixture of colours - red, blue, green, brown, and dark grey. The faces, arms, etc were left the light grey of the undercoat. Then all the fabric and bone areas were drybrushed with green and cream to give a decayed look. This has ended up being a similar colour to the Nihilakh Oxide, but is formed on the raised areas as opposed to the crevasses on the metal parts.

Overall I am very happy with the look of these models, looking decayed, dead and as though they have/are rising from the swamps - exactly what I wanted!

War enters the realm of the Fimir

So, on Saturday I finally got around to having another game with my Fimir. In total I think I have played one normal game of Warhammer with them (against Beastmen, which I won), and now two or three Triumph and Treachery games (with mixed success, but I think that is generally the way of T&T games).

This T&T game was going to be a three-way battle and we had settled on a 1500 point limit, which also allows you to purchase up to 300 points of mercenaries if you wish, or get money into your paychest if you'd prefer.

Fimir Army List

• Magella Wisestone - Meargh
• Level 3 caster, Hellmother's Crown, Lore of Shadow, Deployed with the Fimm Warriors
• Rictumal - Dirach
• Level 2 caster, Orb of the All-Seeing Eye, Lore of the Fimir, Deployed with the Fir Bolg
• 27 Fimm Warriors
• Additional hand weapons, Fimm Fian, Musician, Standard Bearer, Fimul's Hatred banner
• 3 Marsh Reavers
• Musician
• 19 Fir Bolg
• Great weapons, Crypt Keeper
• Eye Oculus of Balor

Total = 1496 points

Dwarven Mercenaries

• Nurbere - Master Engineer
• Rune of Stone
• Organ Gun

Total = 195 points (allowing me to start the game with two bronze coins, totalling 100, in my paychest)

The mist crept out, beyond the edges of the marshland, rolling over the various sites dedicated to conflicting gods. An Anvil of Vaul was located close to the boggy homeland of the Fimir and was the first to be wreathed in dense fog, but the mist did not stop there, quickly spreading to leave the nearby Tower of Blood looming eerily from the depths. Before long the mists wreathed a wide expanse of the plain in their mysterious grip. Magella Wisestone had been visited by several of her daemon cohorts, informing her of a precious artefact that had fallen from the Tower of Blood. She knew that only in the hands of the Fimir would it be safe and wisely used. They would have to be quick though as hordes of Orcs and Warriors of Chaos had been seen roaming the wilds of this region. Magella spoke out to the clan and The Blade in the Mist was assembled, with the Dirach Rictumal overseeing the raising of some ancient dead of the marshes, the Fir Bolg. Magella herself saw fit to manipulate the minds of a Dwarven engineer and his gun crew that they had only recently taken captive - their blackpowder might prove useful in thinning the enemy ranks. The Fimir were ready to strike out, claim their prize and vanish before their enemies could realise what had happened.

I won the roll-off for deployment, so deployed on the centre edge, closest to the objective to be claimed, placing my swamp tile just in front of the objective - which really didn't amuse the other two generals! 

The Orcs had a horde of Savage Orc Big 'Un archers (with a general and level 4 shaman), three trolls, a mangler squig, a snotling pump wagon, and two Doom Divers. No mercenaries were recruited by them so they started with two silver coins in their paychest. They deployed in the left corner from the Fimir close to a scree slope.

The Warriors of Chaos had a Tzeentch Daemon Prince, two Gore Beast chariots, two Chaos chariots, four units of Hounds, and one unit of three Skullkrushers of Khorne. They had recruited a Skaven Warlock Engineer with a Doom Rocket and a Warp Lightning Cannon, allowing them to start with one silver coin in their paychest. They deployed in the right corner from the Fimir on top of a Temple of Skulls.

Turn One

The Chaos Warhounds vanguard up, splitting between the two fronts.

Fimir

The Fimir were quick off the mark with all units barring the Dwarven Mercenaries moving up. The Fir Bolg moved straight forward into the swamp terrain, heading directly for the objective, despite the fact that it could only be claimed by the army's general and my Meargh was in with the Fimm Warriors; I had a plan and my opponents didn't see it coming. Rictumal forgot to consult the Orb of the All-Seeing Eye, but still managed to cast Swirling Mists to thicken the already dense fog surrounding the entire Fimir army. Magella unfortunately failed to cast Pit of Shades. The Oculus of Balor opened its dread eye and its baleful glance incinerated one unit of Hounds, with the Organ Gun decimating another.

Chaos

Seeing their Warhounds' dead bodies slump to the ground made their forces rage at the Fimir, virtually the entire Chaos force steering towards the Fimir front lines; the Daemon Prince flying into the cover of an Abyssal Wood while it set its sights on the Organ Gun. The Skaven Warlock Engineer sighted through the mist and let fire with the unpredictable Doom Rocket, though he'd clearly been spending plenty of time at the shooting range. The rocket exploded sending twelve Fir Bolg back to their marshy graves and wounding one Marsh Reaver. The Warp Lightning Cannon was clearly inspired by this show of Skaven accuracy as it then fired across the Fimir force, killing the wounded and one other Marsh Reaver, as well as taking a wound off the Oculus of Balor.

Orcs

The Orcs also decided that the best plan of action was to head straight for the Fimir, after all that was the best way to get close to the objective. Their Shaman summoned mighty power from the winds of magic and sent the Foot of Gork down to crush four Fimm Warriors, though further magic was prevented by timely action of the Fimir Meargh. The two Doom Divers set their sights through the mist; yet one was clearly straining too much as he misfires whilst aiming for the Oculus of Balor, putting that catapult out of action for a few turns. The other Doom Diver landed a direct hit on the Meargh, who manages to jump out of the way, leaving four Fimm Warriors to be struck down by the impact.

Turn Two

Orcs

Things didn't go well for the Orcs' progression in the battle as the large unit of Savage Orc archers started to squabble among themselves. The Trolls line up a long charge against the Fimm Warriors directly in front of them, but the mists shift enough to cause them to misjudge the distance. The Snotling Pump Wagon also positioned itself closer to the Fimm warriors, who were feeling decidedly under threat. One Doom Diver couldn't shoot as it was still repairing following the previous misfire. The other Diver starts to aim for the Oculus of Balor, but some well placed scratching powder prevents any launch taking place.

Fimir

The Fimm Warriors set out to charge the Pump Wagon lurking straight in front of them, but the snotlings turn pale and pump their wagon furiously in the opposite direction as they flee. The Fimm Warriors fell short of redirecting their charge against the Trolls and are left having a staring contest with them. The Dirach strides out of the Fir Bolg to the objective, but not being the general cannot claim it. He then tries to cast Swirling Mists, but fails; the fog begins to lift slightly. The Meargh casts Penumbral Pendulum at the Trolls who regenerate the dealt wounds. As a result of the spell, however, the Meargh uses Smoke and Mirrors to swap places with the Dirach, leaving her stood directly on the objective and able to pick it up. The Oculus of Balor fails to open its eye, but the Organ Gun blasts at the trolls. Unfortunately their regeneration again save them.

Chaos

The Daemon Prince immediately sets its eyes on the Organ Gun and charges. The rest of the Chaos forces manoeuvre to more advantageous positions, starting to send some forces towards the Orcs again rather than focusing their fury on the Fimir. The Warp Lightning Cannon aims for the Fir Bolg in the marsh, but overshoots. Instead it hits the remaining Marsh Reaver, killing it, and dealing another three wounds to the Oculus of Balor. Unsurprisingly, the Daemon Prince makes short work of destroying the Organ Gun.

Turn Three

Fimir

The mists vanish from the battlefield, leaving the Fimir stranded and exposed to the full force of the suns rays. The army pass their stupidity checks and the Fimm Warriors charge into the Trolls, eager for some bloodshed. The Meargh takes the artefact with her as she joins the nearby Fir Bolg. The Dirach recasts Swirling Mists to give some protection against the sun's glare. The Meargh surveys the imminent combat against the Trolls and casts The Withering to weaken the foe. However, she taps too strongly into the winds of magic, miscasting with irresistible force. A dimensional cascade opens around her, killing all of the remaining Fir Bolg and whisking Magella Wisestone off to the Realm of Chaos. The artefact is dropped into the swampy terrain and the Meargh's spell dies with her.

The Oculus of Balor fails to cast its dread gaze for the second time in a row. However, the Fimm Warriors crash into the Trolls, gaining plus one to their strength from an inspired fury, Fimul's Hatred banner allowing them each to swing both their weapons to full effect. They lay waste to the creatures and reform to face the combined threat of the Orcs and Chaos.

Chaos

One unit of Warhounds charge into the Fimm Warriors, hoping to distract them whilst the rest of the Chaos forces continue to position themselves for the big push. The Deamon Prince swoops down into the swamp to collect the artefact objective from where the Meargh dropped it, before casting Pink Fire of Tzeentch towards the Oculus of Balor. However, there was still some trickery left with the Fimir as they were able to misdirect the spell causing it to be cast against the two Chaos Chariots instead, though all wounds caused were saved. Two more spells were cast at the Oculus of Balor, but one was dispelled and the other failed to wound. With increasing frustration the Daemon Prince tried to cast Infernal Gateway, but the winds of magic chose this moment to dissipate. The Warp Lightning Cannon aimed at the Oculus of Balor, which seemed to have become a source of infinite frustration to the Chaos army. However, its mighty blast misfired, though the Skaven only needed to make minor adjustments and the cannon wouldn't be out-of-action for any length of time at all. The Warhounds were hideously outmatched and the Fimm Warriors slaughtered them completely.

Orcs

The Snotling Pump Wagon regained composure and rallied to face the rest of the battle. The Mangler Squigs, which the Fimir were expecting to head into the Oculus of Balor, redirected back towards the main Orc line. The Shaman reaches into the winds of magic casting 'Ere We Go to boost the horde, as well as using Hand of Gork to manhandle the Mangler Squig even further across the Orc line, leaving it positioned inbetween the Savage Orc Archers and the Skullkrushers of Khorne. The Savage Orc Archers notch arrows to fire at the looming Skullkrushers, but are bribed not to shoot. Unfortunately the Goblin Doom Divers stay on top of the Scree Slope surveying the battlefield, forgetting to launch themselves into the action because (in their General's own words) "he's a f***ing moron!"

Turn Four (where nobody wanted to go first!)

Chaos

The two Gore Beast Chariots charge either side of the Mangler Squid into the Savage Orc Archers. The Skullkrushers take the risk and also charge the Orc Archers, but have to make their way through the Mangler Squig first of all, which delivers thirteen wounds on the unit, killing two of elite troops and leaving the remaining one on only a solitary wound. The Daemon Prince flies away with the artefact objective, seeking to keep it safe, whilst the rest of the army moves further around behind the remaining Fimir units. The Warp Lightning Cannon starts to show its true Skaven origin by misfiring again, spinning around wildly before unleashing its blast harmlessly away from the field of battle. The Savage Orc General Steps forward in a frenzy and kills the remaining Skullkrusher. Whilst the Gore Beast Chariots make a definite impact into the Orc unit, killing eight greenskins, only suffering one wound in return, the Orcs stubbornly refuse to give ground.

Fimir

The Fimm Warriors sense an opportunity and charge the closest Gore Beast Chariot in the rear, whilst the Dwarven Engineer tries but fails to make the distance to charge a Chaos Chariot. The Oculus of Balor moves to a better position ready to target the Doom Divers. Rictumal, the Dirach, strains against the winds of magic but cannot control them, releasing a calamitous detonation killing four Fimm Warriors surrounding him and taking a wound himself. The Oculus of Balor again fails to open its baleful eye, the third time in a row. Whilst the Fimm Warriors are not overly successful against the Gore Beast Chariot, dealing only one wound to it and suffering 3 deaths in return, there are enough pressure to cause the charioteer to reconsider the combat and flee through the Savage Orc Archers, leaving it only only one wound.

Orcs

The Snotling Pump Wagon sets its sights on the Gore Beast Chariot that is in combat with the Orc Archers, but the diminutive snotlings fail to push the wagon far enough. After the Orc Shaman is unable to adequately cast his spells, both Doom Divers launch themselves high into the air and take perfect aim on the two Chaos Chariots, smashing them both to pieces. The Save Orc General rushes madly through his unit over to the Gore Beat Chariot, but was clearly exhausted by his exertions as he virtually fails to lift his axe from the ground. The rest of the Orcs smash and scream at the enemy, causing enough havoc to make the chariot flee, but the are unable to pursue as the Snotling Pump Wagon blocks their path.

Turn Five

Chaos

Both Gore Beast Chariots rally and turn to face the opposition again, keen to make amends for their brief display of cowardice. The Daemon Prince continues to keep out of the way, but casts both Tzeentch's Firestorm and Infernal Gateway against the large unit of Savage Orc Archers, killing a few orcs, but importantly incinerating the Shaman. The Warp Lightning Cannon takes aim against the Fimir, but an uneasy alliance cause the Skaven to change their target at the last minute, firing against the Orcs instead, causing minor casualties.

Fimir

The Fimm Warriors take the opportunity of the Snotling Pump Wagon sitting stranded in front of them to charge it before it has a chance to plough into them. The Dwarven Engineer chases after the remaining Chaos Warhounds to take a shot with his pistol, unfortunately misjudging his aim. The Oculus of Balor lines up its gaze against the most damaged Gore Beast Chariot, but Balor's fearsome eye is not seen for the forth time in a row. The Fimm Warriors make short work of the Pumpwagon and overrun into the Savage Orc Archers.

Orcs

The Doom Divers immediately prepare to launch themselves, but they become a tangle of catapults as they disable each other, leaving the Goblins to try and work out how to piece them back together. The Savage Orcs end up with a reasonable number of dead Orcs being cut down by the Fimm Warriors, but they ultimately destroy those Fimir remaining in the unit, before advancing towards the rallied Gore Beast Chariot.

Turn Six

Fimir

The Oculus of Balor is finally successful in unleashing its dread gaze, destroying the Gore Beast Chariot lingering underneath the Doom Divers by the Scree Slope. The Dwarven Engineer takes careful aim and snipes one Warhound.

Chaos

With the Oculus of Balor continuing to frustrate the forces of Chaos, despite the many instances of it failing to shine its baleful eye, the remaining Gore Beast Chariot lines up a long charge against it. However, a timely deploy of caltrops causes the chariot to fail to reach its intended target. The Daemon Prince cries out in anguish after discovering itself to be out of range to cast its corrupted spells against the Oculus of Balor, instead directs its magical fury in the form of Infernal Gateway against the Orc General, delivering eight wounds and instantly slaying greenskin leader where he stands. The Warp Lightning Cannon takes up the mantle and seeks to destroy the Oculus of Balor, but fails to wound the Fimir mobile altar.

Orcs

The Savage Orc Archers take aim at the stranded Gore Beast Chariot, but the Fimir cause them to have to reroll their successful hits, resulting in merely a single arrow finding its mark, and that bouncing harmlessly off the chariot's frame.

(Forgot to take anymore pictures I'm afraid!)

Turn Seven

Orcs

The Archers discard their bows, putting their faith in their crude axes instead, as they charge headlong into the Gore Beast Chariot. One Doom Diver is bribed by the Fimir not to shoot, and the clearly hadn't assembled the catapult correctly after the last misfire and promptly breaks down again. Whilst the Savage Orc Archers lose five of their number, they make good use of their poisoned attacks to finally take out the Gore Beast Chariot.

Fimir

The Oculus of Balor positions itself to attempt to unleash its dreaded gaze, yet is prevented from doing anything.

Chaos

The Chaos Warhounds try to charge the obstinate Oculus of Balor, but fail to overcome the terror they feel in its presence. The Daemon Prince flies beyond anyone's reach, securing the artefact objective. The Warp Lightning Cannon takes aim at the remaining Savage Orc Archers, but unfortunately reaches the end of its lifespan, exploding in a truely catastrophic burst of bright green flame.

End of Game

First place: Orcs with 2150 in their paychest

Second place: Chaos with 1400 in their paychest

Third place: Fimir with 250 in their paychest

The two Fiana Fimm pulling the Eye Oculus of Balor had effortlessly raised Rictumal's beaten body onto the cart before proceeding to drag the Oculus' splintered frame back to the clan home; the slave Dwarven Engineer making some on-the-move repairs to enable it to get back in one piece. The battle had been bloody and they were the only souls returning to the camp's numerous mud huts and tents that housed their struggling community. They made straight for the hovel of Magella, Hag-Queen of their clan. Despite her being cast into the Realm of Chaos after being overwhelmed by the magical forces being ripped beyond her control, she stood in the entrance weary yet defiant, the clan looking expectantly at her before she raised her voice for them all to hear.

"The Realm of Chaos cannot imprison us when our friends and cohorts are daemons resident there themselves. I have returned from the other side once again for my work is not yet done. We Fimir may be fighting for our mere survival, but we are determined to fight for it. We will not simply vanish from this world. Maris and Fimul created us and we belong here until welcomed by them to The Floating Island.
Shearl, get to work! Fimm and Fiana, sharpen your weapons and train your blades! Bring Rictumal's body to me for I must consult the daemons and restore his life force. Those fools prostrating themselves to Tzeentch may have stolen the artefact, but there are other means to ensure our survival!"