Way back in 2015, I placed a small order with Eccentric Miniatures. One of the items I purchases was his "Great Crossbow", which I would still recommend! It's hard to beat two war machines for $10. I typically over-buy just about everything, and this was no exception. Two Crossbows were used as Ballista in early games, but eventually were subbed out and then used as "light ballista" for my Beasts of War, a third was hobbied up but never really used for anything. A fourth is still on the sprue, so there's a chance another one of these will be built at some point...
The Regnum has plenty of Ballista, but while tidying, I discovered the old hobbied-up Crossbow, and decided I may as well do something with it. That old post says I was thinking of running it as a Siege Artillery piece... and I decided that that's not a bad idea! I had been considering a scratch build trebuchet (shouldn't be too hard... if it is there are numerous kits... but the dimensions would not work well on a 50mm square). I also my eye on this bad boy for a Siege Artillery piece... but it's $30 plus shipping, metal, made to order, and I'm still not looking to buy new stuff. So I'll stick with free for now!
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| I think he could use some decorative bits still. A few big arrows. Maybe a crate and another shield to make a little rampart? Just a little something extra. We'll see. But, this is ready for the table. |
Not much to say hobbying-wise. We've already covered the war machine. The one-man crew is extra from the Warlord Legionaries and Scorpion boxed set, of which I have apparently purchased 5. (Yikes!) I found a Scorpion sprue in a box while tidying, much to my surprise. I added the battered shields just for a little something extra. If there's a siege on, he'll probably want a little something to protect him and the machine should the defenders sortie out, or he set up within range of enemy engines or defenders. Overall, this is some very basic hobbying; nothing crazy.
I didn't field any Siege Artillery in Second, preferring the cheaper Ballistae for my war machines. It's gimmick was that it laughed at cover, firing in high, indirect arcs, and (potentially) dealing a lot of damage with a successful hit, due to Blast D6+2 and Piercing 3.
Second Edition has rebalanced the war machines by-and large. The changes are probably worth a lengthier comparison and post sometime, but to try and keep things simple for now, the New Siege Artillery is the largely same, but with some balance changes tending towards greater consistency. It still has Piercing 3, still laughs at cover, sill fires indirectly, but now has 2 Attacks at 5+, and a reduced Blast D3+1. I think these are all good changes. War Machines were a bit of a gamble in Second, and this a shift towards more consistent (and less potentially drastic) outcomes is welcomed by me.
A Ballista or two will probably be my go-to war machine for most lists. They're still the cheapest option, and I have four of them already, after all. Depending on the list though, I could easily see this sneaking in. My KoM is pretty infantry-heavy, and they should be taking up a lot of space on the board. Having something that can ignore cover would likely be helpful... Time will tell what hits the table!
I didn't field any Siege Artillery in Second, preferring the cheaper Ballistae for my war machines. It's gimmick was that it laughed at cover, firing in high, indirect arcs, and (potentially) dealing a lot of damage with a successful hit, due to Blast D6+2 and Piercing 3.
Second Edition has rebalanced the war machines by-and large. The changes are probably worth a lengthier comparison and post sometime, but to try and keep things simple for now, the New Siege Artillery is the largely same, but with some balance changes tending towards greater consistency. It still has Piercing 3, still laughs at cover, sill fires indirectly, but now has 2 Attacks at 5+, and a reduced Blast D3+1. I think these are all good changes. War Machines were a bit of a gamble in Second, and this a shift towards more consistent (and less potentially drastic) outcomes is welcomed by me.
A Ballista or two will probably be my go-to war machine for most lists. They're still the cheapest option, and I have four of them already, after all. Depending on the list though, I could easily see this sneaking in. My KoM is pretty infantry-heavy, and they should be taking up a lot of space on the board. Having something that can ignore cover would likely be helpful... Time will tell what hits the table!
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