Sunday 21 February 2016

High Court Member (Court of Owls)

Another painted addition to my BMG collection - the High Court Member is the second Leader choice made available for the Court of Owls, and easily my preference of the two, both due to its rules versus those of Benjamin Orchard, but more especially because I think this is the considerably better sculpt of the two. The painting was done pretty quickly as I had a sudden burst of motivation.

I have not yet done a really close comparison, but I suspect the sculptor re-used the Black Mask mini as a dolly basis for this sculpt - not sure how I feel about that given the premium pricing of the range. It is certainly not the only example of Knight Models doing that, and is something common in unit based gaming, but still it feels to me like a bit of a short-cut too far based on pricing for things that are in essence unique character models. Nonetheless, it is for me easily a superior sculpt to the awkward-looking Orchard.

In game terms there are a few key differences between the two Leaders, with the High Court Member offering advantages in:

  • Ranged attack - no temptation to try and move him into front-line combat;
  • End 7 vs. Orchard's End 6, less likely to be one-shot KO or removed as Casualty;
  • Distract, Discourage and Demoralize Traits to impair enemies.
The downsides by comparison are lower Movement, lower Willpower and lack of Veteran (which is useful for defensive purposes).

I fully expect the High Court Member to get a run-out in my next game (I am facing a Bane crew for the first time that I can recall) and most likely at the upcoming tournament.

BMG Painting Summary
BMG characters owned: 197 (added: nothing)
Percentage of owned characters painted: 19.3% (38 models)

14 comments:

  1. Wonderful stuff PulpCitizen. Very nicely done indeed. Love the highlighting and the red vwaistcoat with white tie are great colour choices. Top stuff!!

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    1. Thanks very much, but I cannot take credit for the colour scheme - I basically used the KM scheme as I could not think of a better one. :)

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  2. Excellent work dude. I look forward to facing them on Tuesday. I see what you mean about Black Mask body as well. It is still a nicer sculpt than the first leader. I think they should add throwing knives to the equipment list.

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    1. Cheers mate. :)

      Definitely a nicer sculpt, so I think I will be using him for the tournament regardless of how he performs on Tuesday! :)

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  3. Deceptively tough, another fine addition.

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    1. Thanks Michael. :)

      Given I regard the Court Leaders as a liability, I am glad he will be a little tougher. :)

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  4. I like him, the mask, stance and suit give him a bit of a comic/manga/anime style look.
    Simple and elegant, a colour scheme well executed.

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    1. Thanks Wouter. :)

      Definitely a better posed sculpt than Orchard. :)

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  5. Much better than that godawful Orchard sculpt. I don't get why this type of leader wasn't in the first pack. This is the iconic look for the Court.

    Anyway, I like him. Cracking job as ever.

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    1. Thanks Kieron. :)

      Agreed on all points. Definitely some odd choices around crew design for the Court.

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  6. That little splash of pink worked wonders on the overall paint job. Nice! :)

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  7. Definitely a better looking option than Orchard, although I have to admit to being envious of ALL your paint jobs. Lovely work and something for me to aspire to - if not for failing eyesight and these damned monkey hands!

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