The First Miniatures I Ever Painted

Cleaning Out the Closet

Last night I started cleaning out that closet behind me. Look what I found—the very first miniature I ever painted! I remember thinking this was the first unique I ever pulled, and I slammed him in every army.

You can see I have him, his buddy that I also repainted, and this polka-dotted one… I honestly don’t know what I was thinking there. These are the first three miniatures I ever painted. I didn’t think I still had these—I thought they were lost to time.

My First Army

So this unique was the strongest healer I had. This figure actually kind of sucks, but she had an ability that shared her defense value with these two trolls. They were slow but had 12 range. The other guy moved eight and could hit hard in melee—obviously had to paint those.

The Wraith Era

The Wraith was my second unique from a booster box. She’s dry brushed white! Even after I stopped playing these guys, I had her in everything. It turned out she was the best model—I stumbled into a meta list.

My area was pretty competitive. Even before the internet existed, the meta naturally emerged. I literally pretty much played the Wraith in everything.

Range Death Stars

After that, it was all about range Death Stars. Stormbrand with magic enhancement, mages in the back who could shoot through allies and couldn’t be shot. Flame lightning death star stuff.

I loved the orcs. These two are my favorite figures. I would play two different mage blasters—90-ish points here, a little over 100 there. I learned very quickly to put the chaos mage in front because he’d lose mage blast and I’d screw myself.

The Tournament Days

At this point I was playing tournaments almost every day of the week. After I got the Chaos Mage, I was always playing him. I started adding in the 120-point guy—armies were 200 points—and you have your range base while he gets up close.

But stuff like Gryphon flyers would come in, roll for breakaway, do one damage, shake off, and I’d just keep getting wrecked by those.

When I Got Good

Right around when Sinister came out, I started to get really good. I had Keeper Cairo who was a bounding shooter—crazy at the time. I had all the Solomon, all the Draconum. I was full-on in the meta playing the toughest things.

I had Wandering Butch—very rare, very cool figure. I lost him in the sword trip but had to buy him back because I couldn’t not have him.

At this point, armies would be four or five figures that were just really good and could take on all comers.

The Auto-Damage Meta

It was all about auto damage. Ram, duo click, venom. Waiver was good because of venom. Then when I was playing for fun, the Summoner came out—he has Force March, so first turn I would literally run the whole group up.

I’d pass my second turn because I’d get so much more information from watching everyone else move into position. Kind of cheesy, but effective.

The Fun Army

My fun army had three healers. The poor little volunteer guy would be in front. The Chaos Mage could bust off at whatever needed killing with ram and sweep and command—sometimes getting two or three extra actions a turn.

He could ignore line of sight and roll d6 for damage with plus two. Lowest possible was three, highest was eight. With three healers, he was never going to die. Still pretty cutthroat even as a fun army.

The Nostalgia

This game is just so fun. I’m having such a happy time reminiscing. I need to get this collection out on a shelf somewhere so I can look at it and be happy about it. It’s also nice that you don’t have to paint Mage Knight—you can just look at it and enjoy it.

Transcript

Okay, so last night I started cleaning out that closet behind me. Uh, and look what I found. The very first miniature I ever painted. So, let’s zoom in on it. Look at him in all his glory.

Uh, I I remember thinking that this was the very first unique I ever pulled and it’s only unique I had for a very long time actually when I was playing Mage Knight. So, I slammed him in every army. Uh, you can see I have him. I have his buddy that I also repainted. Look at that face.

Look at that beautiful face. Uh I have him. I have his buddy. And I I don’t I honestly don’t know what I was thinking here. Uh polka-dotted.

I don’t know. I have no idea. But these are the three first the first three miniatures that I ever painted. Pretty cool. I did not think I still had these.

I thought they were lost to time. Um, it’s pretty awesome and I’m just going down memory lane and uh looking over all this stuff, but it’s it’s pretty. We’re just we’re just going to go down memory lane with this one. So, this was the very first unique I I ever pulled, right? And then uh I had these guys were in my starter set and I thought to myself like if I had the the strongest healer that I had, it would be so good.

But this figure actually actually kind of sucks. But she had an ability that shared her defense value with these two guys. So I ended up I just like the trolls. So I had like a pretty like a ranged fire base. Then this guy uh this guy actually moved eight.

These trolls were slow but they had 12 in range. But this guy was pretty fast and he could hit hard in melee, right? Uh so obviously had to paint those. And I don’t This was not my original mending priestess, but it’s the one I have now. So she was lost, but she was also painted terribly.

But now you’ll see the Wraith was my second unique that I pulled from a booster box and she is she’s dry brushed white. Uh love this. Literally even after I stopped playing these guys, I had her in everything. And it just turned out that she was like the best model. So I I kind of stumbled into a meta list.

Like especially back in Rebellion, there was a couple of other like and and the way this game was is there was very much always a meta because a lot of the figures just sucked even from the beginning and even though this is like before the internet existed, but my area was pretty competitive. So the the meta just naturally emerged. Anyway, so this is what I played for a very long time. And uh I my imp was painted. I don’t have I don’t think I have Oh, wait.

Do I? No, I don’t. Uh I had my imp was painted uh terribly too, but I don’t have the one that I painted. So, this was my very first army that I I took in all the all the tournaments and all the events. Okay.

So, after that, it was uh it was ranged Death Stars and I started as I started playing and like getting more and trading and I think also just people taking pity on me cuz I I was having terrible luck uh getting things then all of my allowances and all of my birthdays. like this. My mom wrote this, but uh and I think this was this was a gift that I will always cherish. But um like it was range death star. So stormb with magic enhancement.

You could swap mages in for magic enhancement and with the mages. You’d actually put him in the back because he could shoot through his people and couldn’t be shot or magic enhanced flame lightning death star kind of things. Or I actually I like the orcs. So and I love like these two are my two favorite figures. So, I play the mages a lot.

Uh, I played the orcs a lot. And actually, a lot of times what I ended up doing was I would have this this group right here. And I would play I would play something like this line. You can see this. I painted this guy.

I’m getting a little bit better, right? A little better color choices there. And I would play I would play like two different Let me make sure. I’m pretty sure. Yeah.

So, this is this was like 90ish points. And then over here is like another a little bit over 100. So, I would this would just be my list would be this two two mage blasters, the magically enhanced mage blasters. And I learned very quickly I had to put this guy in the front because he’d lose mage blast and then I’d screw myself. So then I played this for a while and then at this point more uh sets were coming out.

So like lancers and whirlwind. And at that point, I moved around armies so much. I I did a I mean, I always went back to the mages a lot and I played so much like I was playing in tournaments almost every every day of the week. But I did I I pretty much whenever after I got the chaos mage, I was always playing chaos mage like period. But then like I started adding in like this guy, he’s 120 points and then my and and armies were 200 points, right?

So, uh, this I play this a whole lot and I would same kind of thing like you have your range base, this guy gets up and this guy was super slow. He’d always get shot off the board or worse. Uh at this point like stuff like this would come in and they’d come in base like this roll for BL breakaway because they had flight they needed anything but a one and they would do one damage a shakeoff and just like like this guy would be over here and actually he would come in he would come in like this and then he’s in my these two be in my rear arc. He’d roll for breakaway shake off damage. I was just terrible and I would just keep getting keep getting wrecked by those.

But, uh, this game is just so fun and I’m having such a happy time reminiscing and thinking about it. And then I think it was right around when Sinister I started to get really good when Sinister came out and uh, and that’s like this isn’t I I I significantly paired down my collection, but most of this is all like just the good figures. Like I kept all the stuff that was worth playing uh for the most part. And at this point like I I was winning events. So like I had I had compared Cairo who was like a bounding shooter which was crazy at the time.

I had all the Solomon all the Jacronum. And at that point I was just full on uh in the meta playing the the toughest toughest things. I had Wandering Buch very rare very cool figure. I had um I lost him in the sword trip, but I had to buy him back cuz I couldn’t not have him. Very cool stuff.

Um and then at at this point, Armies would be like four or five figures that were just really good and could could take on all comers. So like a lot of this like waiver was good because it had venom. It was all about like auto damage. So like ram, duo click, venom. Uh what else would we have?

And I know I did a lot when I wasn’t when I was like playing uh like not take it too seriously. I added in the orc slaver here. So I would move them I keep them like this at this point cuz I knew how to protect my shaman a little bit more or my chaos mage I mean. And I then uh I added in uh I know it’s got to be here. I Yep.

There he is. The unlimited version. So let me Whoops. And then when I was playing for fun and the the summoner came out, I I played a lot of him and I would and I would do something like this where I was all in one movement formation and then I would cuz he has force march. So the first turn I would just literally run the whole whole group up and then pass my second turn and then usually like I like bypassing my whole second turn because I didn’t want to push.

It was kind of cheesy, but I’d get so much more information because the other people would kind of all move into position. So, I could shoot this guy could like run out and ram somebody and sweep them and then I could like I I would usually move uh or actually let me not I would have this guy right. I’d have these guys facing out cuz I heal and this guy also heals and I’d have this guy facing in. And I’d have usually I’d move them like this. The volunteer poor little volunteer guy would be in front.

So, usually I would I’d move him around like this and then I’d send this guy out at whatever needed to be killed because he had ram and sweep and command and they’re both rolling for command. So, I sometimes I might even get like two or three or an extra action a turn pretty regularly. But this guy could bust off and now this guy has this wall that he can shoot through with plus two. He’s gonna I’m talking just this like you guys know how to play this game, but uh he when he shoots he could ignore line of sight and he would roll a d6 for damage, but he would get no matter what he’d get plus two. So it’d be the lowest he could possibly do is three and the highest he could do is eight obviously.

Or if these guys died, he’s just shooting for six every time, which is crazy. And with three healers that like he was never going to die. So this was my fun army and it was still like pretty cutthroat. But also, uh, it was it’s just just such a fun game and I I’m just reminiscing so much about how much I love this, how much I still do love it, you know, and really I’m just loving looking at at all this stuff and I think it’s cool. Um, it also helps you don’t have to paint it, so I can just look at it.

I need to get this out and and on a shelf somewhere so I can look at it and be be happy about it cuz it’s it’s so cool. But I’m looking over here and like at one point I won this guy and then I tried to make these guys work. Like these guys these are super cheap point-wise. It was a point-based army system, but they their damage they had a 10 attack and three damage which at the time or I mean not at the time but like even at the towards the end of the game that was really good for the points cost but I just kept getting like shot off the board and shredded especially with bound and everything came out. And then uh towards the end they dropped all these dual faction models and this guy came out and he had an ability where he could share his 19 defense which in this game was pretty crazy.

So I I would slot him in. I’d have this guy this guy makes everybody in the movement formation move 12 in which in this game is crazy. The the standard was eight. A lot of people had six. So these guys and uh I didn’t use red ones.

I used the the cheaper ones but they would be surrounded in like a little death ball. This was a hero healer if I did get shot and I would just march these guys right up the gut and they’re swinging in. They’re going to kill whatever they get in contact with. Um, this was a lot of fun, but for the most part, I was I was playing the meta armies. And I started uh I obviously I I’m going to have to go and like see what else exists online still, but I know towards the end it was all about magic, levitation, and like RAM and stuff.

Then they FAQed that and they changed it and I played a ton. I’m trying to remember. I think I played like the Wraith. I know this guy I can’t remember why this guy was so good. I think cuz he had flying and I know he has venom, but I know I played a lot of this guy just cuz it was a dragon.

Uh but he was also very good. I played a lot I played a lot of just the mages like by himself just because he he had a lot of utility even when you took him out of the Death Star. Um a lot of like like these guys like Cavaliers. Um, I never I I had one of these and I could never pull them. But these guys were also very very good.

The Wraith always stayed good. Like I literally pretty much played the Wraith in everything I played. Um, Amazon Draconum when she came out. I played a ton of her. She was like, she was pretty busted until people figured out that you had to ram her and that’s what made the ram stuff so good.

But man, oh, I played a lot of Zombie Baron. That guy was really good. Um, I did a lot of stuff with skeletons. So you could there’s necromancy and you could bring back a new figure and they’d be hurt or you could bring back skeletons and skeletons are only 10 points. So you could have a ton of skeletons and just bringing them back and just keep flinging them at people which is really cool.

Oh man.