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Fantasy

Warmachine Tactics – Cryx: Asphyxious the Hellbringer

October 26, 2013 by holojacob 2 Comments

Cryx Asphyxious the Hellbringer
Warcasters are the stars of Warmachine, and Cryx has no shortage of powerful and fun-to-play warcasters. Today, I’m taking a look at Asphyxious the Hellbringer.
IN SHORT: Hey, someone spilled Menoth in my Cryx … and I think I like it!
STRENGTHS: Asphyxious the Hellbringer has an amazing suite of support spells that are very unusual for Cryx. It is these spells that truly define his role as a warcaster. Let’s step through them.
First, there’s Carnage. Any Cryx models in Asphyxious’ control area get +2 to melee attack rolls. Ouch! Cryx has no shortage of powerful melee models, and Asphyxious can make any of them hit more often.
Next up, there’s Scything Touch, a returning spell from Iron Lich Asphyxious. This spell grants +2 melee damage to a friendly model or unit. It’s a great spell for enhancing a unit’s damage output. As an added bonus, the targets also gain Critical Corrosion.
Then there’s, Ashen Veil, which grants concealment to a friendly model or unit. It also causes living enemy models within 2” to suffer -2 on their attack rolls. Yikes! A defensive buff? In this army? Cryx has no shortage of models that would love to boost their defenses, and many already have very good DEF stats. This is a truly superb addition to our arsenal.
Now let’s take a look at Mobility. This spell may be battlegroup only, but it’s a solid one. It grants +2 SPD and Pathfinder for the cheap, cheap price of 2 Focus. While its primary use is to get warjacks into position, Asphyxious can enjoy its benefits as well.
And why wouldn’t he like that? With FOCUS 7, ARM 17, 18 hit boxes, and a P+S 16 beat stick, Asphyxious is no slouch up close and personal. Add Blood Boon on his sword, Daimonion, he wants to be in the thick of it. Take out a living model with his sword, and Asphyxious can cast a spell for free (once per activation).
On top of that, Asphyxious comes with two attack spells, Bone Shaker and Hex Blast, the latter of which is great for clearing enemy upkeeps and animi. He also comes with a versatile feat, Rites of Shadow, which can be used both defensively and offensively. Every time an enemy is forced, casts a spell, or spends Focus / Fury, Asphyxious gets a soul token and heals d3 damage. Just bunker down for your opponent’s big swing, then punish them hard the next round.
Oh, and he even has his own pet Skarlock.
Yes, let’s not forget Vociferon. This unique Skarlock comes with Soul Collector and Death Harvest. This means Vociferon can collect soul tokens in his command range and then transfer them to Asphyxious in the Maintenance Phase. Oh, and he’s also an Arc Node. You know, in case the soul gathering thing wasn’t cool enough.
WEAKNESSES: Carnage and Mobility are not upkeeps. Between recasting these two spells (as needed) and upkeeping Ashen Veil and Scything Touch, Asphyxious is going to feel the drain on his Focus reserves. Add in the fact that he’s a nice, juicy medium base target, and suddenly leaving him drained of Focus doesn’t look like such a smart idea.
Blood Boon, Vociferon, and the feat do help with Focus efficiency. However, none of these are without risk. Vociferon has to be far enough forward to collect those souls, leaving him vulnerable to attack. The Rites of Shadow has a similar problem, though not as pronounced. And Blood Boon requires Asphyxious to engage the enemy directly.
Asphyxious also can’t employ a standard Skarlock. While Vociferon is great, he’s trickier to use.  Plus, Asphyxious has Scything Touch, a spell that is just begging to be bounced around from unit to unit to unit. Without a normal Skarlock to act as a Spell Slave, shifting a powerful upkeep around is a lot more difficult.
Finally, Asphyxious needs living models for their souls. Without them, he cannot operate at peak efficiency. Though honestly, that’s sort of like saying, Asphyxious is in Cryx.
SYNERGIES: Asphyxious’s support spells can produce a diverse set of benefits for basically any model in the Cryx arsenal, but there are a few combinations that really stand out.
Satyxis Raiders are a great target for Ashen Veil. With base DEF 14, Force Barrier from a Satyxis Raider Sea Witch, and Ashen Veil, they’re at an amazing DEF 18 at range and a potent DEF 16 in close against living models.
Scything Touch can be used with any number of powerful melee units, but Mechanithralls are my favorite. Not only are they dirt cheap, but each has two attacks. A full unit of Mechanithralls can put out 20 attacks. With Scything Touch, that’s a damage output swing of 40 hit boxes. You won’t typically see that much benefit, but the potential is there.
And with two great upkeep spells, who can forget the Withershadow Combine. With them in tow, they can help lighten Asphyxious’ Focus load. As a bonus, they’re a unit, so they’re valid targets for Scything Touch or Ashen Veil, as the situation dictates.
JUST FOR FUN: Asphyxious may not be geared towards supporting warjacks, but that doesn’t mean he should ignore them. Mobility brings extra speed to the already swift warjacks of Cryx, and there are plenty of ways to use this.
The Cankerworm stands out as particularly impressive because, due to Affinity [Asphyxious], it gets a free move if it ends its activation in Asphyxious’ control area. Now who doesn’t like an extra fast armor-piercing warjack, ping-ponging back and forth, eating your opponents wreck markers and taking their weapons? I know I like it!
SUMMARY: Asphyxious the Hellbringer has an amazing range of abilities and can support a wide variety of army compositions. With a truly unique spell list for Cryx, he is one warcaster that will make an excellent addition to any player’s collection.
Check out the complete list of Warmachine and Hordes articles here.

Filed Under: Warmachine Tagged With: Asphyxious, Cryx, Epic Asphyxious, Fantasy, Privateer Press, Steampunk, Tabletop Games

Time Reavers: Cover Preview!

September 13, 2013 by holojacob 1 Comment

Time Reavers front cover preview
Daniel held a single finger to his mouth. They were close to where Nicole had been when time stopped, next to the frozen subway train just emerging from the tunnel.
Nicole hardly breathed. She strained her ears. Every little sound they made was like thunder in the silence, but on the very edge of hearing …
It was a most peculiar sound. Like someone furiously typing on an old-fashioned typewriter: distant, but heavy and metallic. The sound grew louder and seemed to come from the closest train tunnel.
Nicole looked at Daniel, who was suddenly all business.
“Reaver,” he whispered.
“What’s a reaver?” she whispered.
“You’ll see. Don’t worry. I’m a professional.”
“For some reason, I’m still worried!” she whispered, following him closer to the subway car.
Daniel reached into his trench coat. There was a brief metallic whisper and suddenly he had a long, elegantly-curved sword in his hand.
The rapid metallic clicking grew louder. Daniel had to speak up so she’d hear him.
“Stand back,” he said, grasping his sword two-handed and lowering his stance. “No need to panic. I know exactly what I’m doing.”
Nicole shuffled back from the subway car, but bumped into a frozen pedestrian and almost tripped.
The sound continued to crescendo.
“Is it supposed to be this loud?” she shouted.
“Must be a big one!” Daniel shouted back. Nicole thought she heard an uneasy waver in his voice.
The metallic chattering grew louder and louder as the reaver came closer.
“How big do they get?” Nicole shouted, putting hands over her ears.
But Daniel didn’t respond. He lowered his sword slightly and turned around. What Nicole saw then scared her more than anything so far. Deathly fear covered every inch of his face.

Excerpt from Time Reavers, by Jacob Holo

Oh yeah! Here we go again! The cover art is almost complete. Robert Chew, a.k.a CrazyAsian1, brings his impressive talents forward once more. Please enjoy this small preview of the awesome artwork that is to come. 🙂
Subscribe to the Holo Writing Newsletter to receive updates on our current and future books.
Time Reavers back cover preview
The reavers lurk outside our reality, watching the Earth with hunger and malice.
The boundaries between our worlds are falling. The guardians at the gate are dead.
The reavers are almost here.

Filed Under: Holo Books Tagged With: Cover, Fantasy, Novel, Time Reavers, Urban Fantasy, Writing, Young Adult

Warmachine Cygnar Cosplay: Kara Sloan

September 2, 2013 by holojacob Leave a Comment

Presenting H.P. Holo’s Warmachine Cygnar warcaster cosplay: Captain Kara Sloan!

warmachine_cygnar_kara_sloan_cosplay_1
The stoic Kara Sloan prepares for battle.

Yes, this costume was about as much work as it looks. But it was worth it!
warmachine_cygnar_kara_sloan_cosplay_2
Sloan watches the horizon for the encroaching Cryx army.

H.P. constructed the armor from Wonderflex, a thermoplastic that becomes extremely malleable at oven temperatures, but will hold its shape once cooled. The armor took two months to construct, including a few all-nighters for both of us in order to finish everything for Dragon*Con.
warmachine_cygnar_kara_sloan_cosplay_3
Sloan: “Get back in line, soldier!”

H.P. Holo also received support from one of the Holo-Moms, who contributed her formidable sewing skills to the project. The skirts and belts were her work, and were made pretty much from scratch.
warmachine_cygnar_kara_sloan_cosplay_4
Sloan readies Spitfire, her trusty rifle.

The boiler was constructed using foam board and PVC piping. It’s attached to the back with industrial strength Velcro. In fact, pretty much everything is being held together with industrial strength Velcro. This made getting into and out of the armor easy as long as one person helps out. Bathroom breaks at the Dragon*Con were not a problem, which was a good thing. That armor is hot, and we were both guzzling water to fend off the heat exhaustion.
warmachine_cygnar_kara_sloan_cosplay_5
H.P. Holo: “Your Cryx don’t stand a chance, Jacob!”

Spitfire, Kara Sloan’s impressive rifle, was built around a block of wood cut by the Holo-Grandpa. H.P. located the original Kara Sloan concept art, took the drawing for the rifle, and created a pattern for the Holo-Grandpa to follow. The rest is a combination of PVC piping and Wonderflex.
I think H.P. did an absolutely awesome job on her costume. But, that’s not all we have! Oh no! I had a costume too! Presenting Jacob Holo’s Warmachine Cygnar cosplay: Captain Lynch of the Black 13th Gun Mage Strike Team!
warmachine_cygnar_lynch_black_13th_cosplay_1
Lynch readies himself to support Kara Sloan in battle.

My contribution to this costume was providing the Cygnar rulebook. H.P. and the Holo-Mom did all the rest. What an awesome job they did! They picked out the material, and then made everything from scratch! It looks awesome, but it doesn’t breathe at all! Heat was a major concern for both of us at the convention, but we managed to spend a whole day in costume. At least 30 people took our picture (mostly because of H.P. :-)), 4 recognized the Kara Sloan character, and 2 even recognized I was playing Lynch! Very impressive!
warmachine_cygnar_lynch_black_13th_cosplay_2
Lynch spots the enemy.

At Dragon*Con, we even got photographed by one of the Privateer Press studio painters. He knew EXACTLY who we were. 🙂 I wish I had written down his name, but in the chaos of the convention, stuff like that got missed.
I like to think of these costumes are Mark I versions. There are plenty of improvements we can make to them, plenty of details from the original characters we can add. For example, I’m not much of a gun mage without a gun. This was my first time cosplaying and it was H.P.’s first time embarking on such an ambitious project. I think we did really well, but I know we can do better for Dragon*Con next year.
Also, the very first change we’re making to the Kara Sloan armor is to put some fans in it. No, seriously. I’m an electrical engineer, and I am building some fans into that armor! That thing is a sweatbox!
So, what do you think of our Warmachine Cygnar cosplay? Please let us know in the comments below. 🙂

Filed Under: Cosplay, Warmachine Tagged With: Black 13th, Captain Lynch, Cygnar, Dragon Con, Fantasy, Kara Sloan, Privateer Press, Steampunk, Warmachine, Wonderflex

Warmachine Cygnar Cosplay Preview!

August 15, 2013 by holojacob 5 Comments

Here’s a small preview of H.P. Holo’s Warmachine cosplay: a Cygnar warcaster! Can you guess who she’ll be for Dragon*Con? Leave a comment if you guess it! 🙂
Here’s her armor, made of a heat-activated material called Wonderflex.

Warcaster Armor

This may not look like much now … but just you wait! 🙂
Warcaster Weapon

H.P. Holo colored her hair for this cosplay.
Warcaster Blonde Hair

Do you know who she’ll be? Leave a comment below and wait for the end of August early September. You’ll find out if you’re right. 🙂
UPDATE 8/30/13: After two all nighters in a row (which were totally worth it to finish her costume :-)), H.P. and I are off to Dragon*Con. Due to the time crunch, we’ll post pictures of our costumes after we return.

Filed Under: Cosplay, Warmachine Tagged With: Cygnar, Dragon Con, Fantasy, Privateer Press, Steampunk, Warmachine

Time Reavers: Cover Color Studies!

August 3, 2013 by holojacob 5 Comments

Time Reavers cover color study 1

Time Reavers – The monsters are real, and time is their weapon.

Fed up with bad teachers and daily fights with her sister, sixteen-year-old Nicole Taylor yearns for something better. Sadly, she’s in for a letdown, because the world ends next week.
Nicole discovers she has a rare gift. She can bend time around her and even stop it completely. With her powers awakening, she must face the Reavers: horrific killing machines that exist outside our time. The Reavers know about her now and have unleashed their cruelest hunters.
Plagued by nightmarish visions and ambushed by terrifying monsters at every turn, Nicole has one chance to stop their genocidal invasion. With help from a chain-smoking pyrokinetic, a neurotic sword-wielding assassin, and an icy Goth chick with a crossbow, she may stand a chance. But the Reavers are tireless foes, and Time is on their side.
Oh, man! This is so exciting!
Robert Chew (a.k.a. CrazyAsian1) has been hard at work rendering the front and back covers of Time Reavers, a young adult urban fantasy novel. Above, you can see the first color study of the front cover. Seriously, how cool is this?
The color studies look great. Robert and I are going to play around with the colors a little bit, and then he will begin the detailed painting. The reavers look absolutely fantastic. I’m so happy with how they are taking shape. These creatures, implacable combinations of metal and flesh, have been swimming around in my head for years, and it’s so gratifying to see their artwork take form.
When designing the titular villains of the novel, I made a very conscious decision to make them intelligent. These are not brutish monsters. They’re an army. They engage the heroes with coordination and purpose. They will lay ambushes. They will fake an attack to throw defenders off balance. Not only can they outfight the heroes, they can outthink them as well. It is their intelligence that makes them a truly formidable foe.
Here’s the back cover color study featuring the Mantis: general of the reaver invasion.
Time Reavers back cover color study 1
Just look at that face! This is not a guy you want to meet in a dark alley!
Subscribe to the Holo Writing Newsletter to receive updates on our current and future books.

Filed Under: Holo Books Tagged With: Color Studies, Fantasy, Novel, Sketches, Time Reavers, Urban Fantasy, Writing, Young Adult

Warmachine Convergence of Cyriss Review: Solos & Battle Engine

July 31, 2013 by holojacob 2 Comments

Convergence_of_Cyriss_Cover_lores
IN SHORT: The new Convergence of Cyriss rulebook is here, and with it Privateer Press delivers a whole faction of big, mean robots! Oh, yeah!
On a presentation level, Privateer Press continues to set the bar high with a gorgeous full-color spread. Convergence models have a clean robotic look that is both very unique but also feels perfectly at home in the wider Warmachine universe. The rulebook comes fully loaded with 5 warcasters, 11 warjacks (including a Colossal!), 7 units, 1 universal unit attachment, 7 solos, and a battle engine.
Wow! Privateer Press has been busy.
Today, let’s take a look at the Convergence of Cyriss solos and the battle engine.

SOLOS

ACCRETION SERVITORS: Like all servitor solos, the Accretion Servitors come in packs of 3, but this group only costs a single point. For this bargain bin price, they bring Bodge and Strip. They can repair friendly warjacks and damage enemy warjacks, 1 point of damage at a time. They also must be base to base to do this.
A single point of damage may not seem like a big deal, but there are three of them, and their abilities always work, unlike Repair which requires a skill check. Got a point left over? Throw in some Accretion Servitors.
ALGORITHMIC DISPERSION OPTIFEX: This guy costs 1 point and you can take up to 4. He’s sort of like an arc node. When this Optifex is within 6” of a Convergence warjack, not in melee, and inside the warcaster’s control area, that warcaster can channel spells through him.
Some warcasters are going to love this guy, such as Syntherion with his Magnetic Hold debuff spell. Also, like all Optifex models, he comes with Iron Sentinel. Place him base to base with a Convergence warjack and he gets +2 DEF and +2 ARM, which takes him up to a respectable DEF 15 ARM 14.
ATTUNEMENT SERVITORS: For 2 points, here’s another set of 3 servitor solos. The Attunement Servitors come with Lumichem Ampules, a 7” range 4” AOE that does no damage, but reduces the DEF of anything hit by -2. With good speed and a wide AOE, they shouldn’t have much troubling hitting their intended targets. Any army can make use of these guys. Seriously, who doesn’t like hitting more often?
ELIMINATION SERVITORS: Another set of 3 servitors for 2 points. These come with Spike Ejectors, 9” ranged weapons with Puncture. They do an automatic point of damage against anything they hit. With RAT 5, they’re somewhat underwhelming … until you pair them with the Directrix and her Backlash spell against a Warmachine opponent. Then they become absolutely sick!
ENIGMA FOUNDRY: Do you like Convergence infantry? Well, here’s a solo that can bring them back from the dead! Most Convergence infantry are Clockwork Vessels. That means they drop soul tokens. Well, the Enigma Foundry collects Convergence soul tokens in its command range. It can then cash in those souls for more troops, either 1 medium based model or 3 small based models a turn. As a bonus, it comes with Repair [10], just in case a Convergence force needs even more access to Repair.
With a large base, the Enigma Foundry is a tempting target. ARM 18 and 10 hit boxes helps, but I see this guy hanging back, using the full extent of his command range to collect souls, then cautiously approaching the front lines to deploy extra troops.
REFLEX SERVITORS: Here’s one last set of 3 servitors for 2 points. Reflex Servitors are basically 4” AOE mines that explode at POW 7, and they have plenty of rules that help them be extra annoying.
They come with Advanced Deployment to help them get into position. Counter Charge lets them react against enemies that close within 6”. And finally, they can Dig In to take their base DEF 12 up to DEF 16! I can see these being annoying against infantry heavy forces.
STEELSOUL PROTECTOR: ARM 17, 8 hit boxes, and Shield Guard on a 2 point model. Not a bad deal. Need something to not die from shooting? Stick a Steelsoul Protector near it and let it absorb the incoming flak. It even comes with Defensive Strike, letting it poke would be attackers when they come in range. Not exactly flashy, but definitely useful for warcasters and models like the Enigma Foundry.

BATTLE ENGINE

TRANSFINITE EMERGENCE PROJECTOR & PERMUTATION SERVITORS: Wow. What a name. I love it! I think Privateer Press may have had a little too much fun with this one.
So here’s the Convergence Battle Engine, and it’s awesome! It’s basically an artillery piece. Looking at its stat line, we have RAT 4 on a 10” spray attack at POW 10. It also has Auto Fire [2] for two shots. Not exactly impressive stuff, but that’s where the Firing Formulae comes into play.
You see, the TEP&PS probably has the most versatile gun in the whole game. Here’s how it works. After the TEP&PS moves, it deploys three satellite servitors (which can later absorb incoming fire). The positions of the satellites are key. Each servitor can either (a) add an Auto Fire shot (b) add a die to all attack rolls (c) add a die to all damage rolls. And you can do this in any combination you want!
You can conceivably roll 5 dice for attack rolls! Or 5 dice for damage rolls! Or shoot the gun 5 times! Or any combination in between! Seriously, that’s a lot of versatility in an attractive 9 point package.

SUMMARY

Okay, I’ll admit it. I love my Cryx, but man, I’m seriously tempted to branch out and collect some Convergence. These guys are pretty solid. Plus they look fun to paint and fun to play.
The Convergence of Cyriss is an exciting new faction with gorgeous models and solid rules. As more of their models get released and people get used to their new abilities, I look forward to seeing their full might displayed on the tabletop.
Should be exciting!
Check out the complete list of Warmachine and Hordes articles here.

Filed Under: Warmachine Tagged With: Convergence, Cyriss, Fantasy, Privateer Press, Review, Steampunk, Tabletop Games

Time Reavers: Back Cover Rough Sketches!

July 30, 2013 by holojacob 3 Comments

Time Reavers Mantis rough sketch 1

Time Reavers – The monsters are real, and time is their weapon.

Fed up with bad teachers and daily fights with her sister, sixteen-year-old Nicole Taylor yearns for something better. Sadly, she’s in for a letdown, because the world ends next week.
Nicole discovers she has a rare gift. She can bend time around her and even stop it completely. With her powers awakening, she must face the Reavers: horrific killing machines that exist outside our time. Nicole may be the only one who can stop their genocidal plan, but the Reavers know about her now and have unleashed their cruelest hunters.
Plagued by nightmarish visions and ambushed by terrifying monsters at every turn, Nicole has one chance to halt their invasion. With help from a chain-smoking pyrokinetic, a neurotic sword-wielding assassin, and a Goth chick with a crossbow, she may stand a chance. But the Reavers are tireless foes, and Time is on their side.
I am really enjoying this part of the project. It’s fun getting to see my characters for the first time.
Robert Chew (a.k.a. CrazyAsian1) continues his exceptional work on the cover art for Time Reavers, a young adult urban fantasy novel. This time, he’s provided some rough sketches of the back cover. Unlike The Dragons of Jupiter, Time Reavers will feature separate art for the front and the back.
Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to introduce the Mantis: general of the Reaver army and main antagonist of the novel. He’s about a friendly as he looks, and wow, does he look cool or what?
As always, Robert has provided multiple sketches to help us zero in the final design. Here’s another version. It’s really hard to choose my favorite!
Time Reavers Mantis rough sketch 2
Wickedly cool, huh?
Subscribe to the Holo Writing Newsletter to receive updates on our current and future books.

Filed Under: Holo Books Tagged With: Fantasy, Novel, Sketches, Time Reavers, Urban Fantasy, Writing, Young Adult

Warmachine Convergence of Cyriss Review: Units

July 30, 2013 by holojacob 1 Comment

Convergence_of_Cyriss_Cover_lores
IN SHORT: The new Convergence of Cyriss rulebook is here, and with it Privateer Press delivers a whole faction of big, mean robots! Oh, yeah!
On a presentation level, Privateer Press continues to set the bar high with a gorgeous full-color spread. Convergence models have a clean robotic look that is both very unique but also feels perfectly at home in the wider Warmachine universe. The rulebook comes fully loaded with 5 warcasters, 11 warjacks (including a Colossal!), 7 units, 1 universal unit attachment, 7 solos, and a battle engine.
Wow! Privateer Press has been busy.
Today, let’s take a look at the Convergence of Cyriss units.

LIGHT INFANTRY

CLOCKWORK ANGELS: These mechanical ladies prefer to engage at range, and they have plenty of abilities to help them do that. With SPD 7, Advanced Deployment, and Flight, Clockwork Angels are fast. Reform gives them a 3” move after they’re done attacking, which helps them hold the distance open. They also have Blade Shield, which gives them +2 DEF to ranged reprisals.
Offensively, their primary weapon is the Binomial Beam. It has 10” range and POW 10. Nothing special, but the Clockwork Angels can use Combined Ranged Attack. When all 3 of them (they only come in units of 3) combine, that attack becomes RAT 8 and POW 13. Very nice!
Like most Convergence infantry, they are clockwork vessels. Basically, they’re not living models, but they do generate soul tokens. They also have magical weapons, which is something Convergence doesn’t have a lot of.
All in all, a nice ranged harassing unit at only 3 points.
OBSTRUCTORS: Basic, cheap, dependable Shield Wall unit. They come with Combined Melee attack and a Chain Weapon with Reach, so they can also act as an anti-Shield-Wall unit. Nothing too fancy, but solid nonetheless.
OPTIFEX DIRECTIVE: Coming in units of 3 and costing 2 points, the Optifex Directive brings 3 useful abilities to the table that support Construct models in the army (of which there are plenty). They can add Pathfinder to the model for a turn, make its weapons magical for a turn, or perform a Repair [8] action. All of these actions require them to be right up against their targets, though, so keeping them safe could be tough. However, having so much access to Repair in a Convergence army is worth bringing them by itself.
REDUCTORS: With stat lines similar to the Obstructors, Reductors give up their shields for shotguns! Each of them comes with a 6” spray attack at POW 13. Even better, they have the Clear! rule. Their ranged attacks automatically miss friendly models. Combine this with how spray attacks ignore shooting into melee penalties, and the Reductors are at home shooting into melee to support other Convergence models.
RAT 5 isn’t anything special, but they’re cheap and Convergence has plenty of ways to increase accuracy.

HEAVY INFANTRY

ERADICATORS: If you’re looking for heavy infantry that can mulch high DEF targets, the Eradicators can deliver.  Each comes with two P+S 12 attacks with MAT 7 and a 2” Side Step move when they hit. Not bad, but what really makes them scary is their Variable [melee] rule.
You see, Eradicator weapons have two modes. They can either add +2 to attack rolls, boosting their MAT to an incredible 9, or acting as bucklers, boosting their ARM to 17.
With two MAT 9 attacks, there isn’t much they can’t hit, and with the high ARM on the approach, they stand a good chance of reaching their targets.
RECIPROCATORS: Now here’s a Shield Wall! With base ARM 16 and 8 hit boxes, Reciprocators are tough to put down. Put them behind a Shield Wall, and they’re ARM 20. Even better, they can switch between Set Defense and Empowered Attack. Set Defense takes their DEF up to 14 against charge attacks and the like. Empowered Attack boosts their P+S to a beefy 14. They take hits like a champ and dish it out hard. What’s not to like?
PERFORATORS: High ARM models beware. It’s a whole unit of heavy infantry equiped with Armor Piercing javelins. How cool is that? By itself, the Protean Javelin doesn’t look like much. 6” of range and POW 6. Pretty measly, right? Well, for starters, it’s Armor Piercing, so anything not on a small base has its ARM cut in half. After that, the Perforators can either add Snipe for extra range or Empowered Attack for extra damage.
They also come with a P+S 12 melee attack. And thanks to the Assault rule, they can use both weapons on the charge. Nice!

UNIT ATTACHMENT

TRANSVERSE ENUMERATOR: And finally, here is the universal unit attachment. This guy can be attached to any Convergence unit. Any of them. Even the Directrix’s unit!
So what does he bring for 2 points? Well, he’s got Repair [9]. Not a bad start. He brings Tactics: Ranked Attacks so that friendlies can ignore models in the unit when determining line of sight. That’s definitely useful, especially with Shield Wall units. CMD 9 can boost the low CMD 7 of many Cyriss units, letting the units spread out for more tactical options. He even comes with a flame thrower.
But the real gem is Realignment, the Enumerator’s mini-feat. Once per game, models in his unit can reroll failed attack rolls and skill checks. This is what makes the Enumerator very worth taking. He takes any Convergence unit and makes it better.

SUMMARY

Convergence has no shortage of solid infantry and comes stocked with plenty of ways to support them. Honestly, the whole codex looks solid and fun to play.
The Convergence of Cyriss is an exciting new faction with gorgeous models and solid rules. As more of their models get released and people get used to their new abilities, I look forward to seeing their full might displayed on the tabletop.
Should be exciting!
Check out the complete list of Warmachine and Hordes articles here.

Filed Under: Warmachine Tagged With: Convergence, Cyriss, Fantasy, Privateer Press, Review, Steampunk, Tabletop Games

Warmachine Convergence of Cyriss Review: Warjacks

July 29, 2013 by holojacob Leave a Comment

Convergence_of_Cyriss_Cover_lores
IN SHORT: The new Convergence of Cyriss rulebook is here, and with it Privateer Press delivers a whole faction of big, mean robots! Oh, yeah!
On a presentation level, Privateer Press continues to set the bar high with a gorgeous full-color spread. Convergence models have a clean robotic look that is both very unique but also feels perfectly at home in the wider Warmachine universe. The rulebook comes fully loaded with 5 warcasters, 11 warjacks (including a Colossal!), 7 units, 1 universal unit attachment, 7 solos, and a battle engine.
Wow! Privateer Press has been busy.
Today, let’s take a look at the Convergence of Cyriss warjacks.
VECTORS: All Convergence warjacks are considered vectors, which brings a few interesting wrinkles with it. First, they take their controlling warcaster’s MAT and RAT stats as their own. Second, they don’t have a cortex, making them immune to abilities that prey on cortexes, such as the Cryx Machine Wraith.
Finally, there’s Focus Induction. When a vector spends a focus point, it can allocate a focus point to another vector within 6” that’s in the same battlegroup. You can literally have the same focus point get used by every vector in the whole battlegroup. Not too bad.

LIGHT WARJACKS

COROLLARY: Meet the Convergence warcaster’s best friend. The Corollary accumulates free focus when near its controlling warcaster, extends said warcaster’s control range, can store up focus for later, and can power up nearby warjacks. And it does it all for 3 points. For a support piece, its 18 hit boxes are nothing to sneeze at either.
So, yeah. Get used to this guy. You’ll be seeing a lot of him.
DIFFUSER: Here’s a 3-point light warjack that I can see fitting in a lot of lists. Its main call to fame is the Homing Ripspike. Hit an enemy model with this and friend models can charge it for free. They also get +2” on the charge, so it helps both warjacks and infantry out.
Now, that’s great, but the Diffuser has to hit its target first, and some of the Convergence warcasters have really low RAT. So, should they leave the Diffuser at home? Well … not necessarily. You see, the Homing Ripspike has Luck. It rerolls misses.
With boosted range attacks from Focus Induction and rerolls from Luck, a bad RAT score means a lot less than you might think. The Diffuser is an excellent supporting light warjack.
GALVANIZER: For 3 points, you get a decent POW melee attack and the ability to Repair with a solid skill check of 9. The Repair skill is pretty awesome in Convergence, especially since some of their warcasters are Repairable, and the Galvanizer can attempt a repair even if it’s on its last hit box. Nice!
MITIGATOR: Here’s a 4-point warjack with a quirky gun called the Razor Bola. It’s an AOE 3 with Puncture and Quake. Anything hit automatically takes a point of damage. Not bad for clearing infantry behind a shield wall. And if the target is directly hit, everyone hit is knocked down. Pretty cool, huh?
The catch? The Razor Bola’s range is only 7”.

HEAVY WARJACKS

ASSIMILATOR: Packing the ridiculously named Dissevering Microswarm, the Assimilator means business. This gun can perform the Ground Pounder special attack. Place its 4” AOE anywhere completely within its 11” range and make one ranged attack roll (oh, and boost this roll while you’re at it, just to be safe). This attack ignores concealment, elevation, Stealth, doesn’t scatter, and doesn’t need LOS. Whew! That’s quite a list! Anything hit suffers a POW 12 damage roll.
With the ability to ignore so many special rules, the Assimilator will find a welcoming home in many lists. It even comes with a solid melee attack. It’s only P+S 14, but it has Weapon Master to compensate.
CIPHER: Versatility is the Cipher’s middle name. Its Servipod Mortar is a two-shot 4” AOE with three useful modes. It can perform POW 6 blast damage, can create craters of rough terrain, or inflict enemies with -2 DEF. And when it’s done shelling the enemy, it can close in with its two P+S 18 Piston Spikes. It’s also built solid with Steady, ARM 19, and 32 hit boxes: traits it shares with the Inverter and the Monitor.
With so much flexibility built into a single model, I can easily see the Cipher becoming Convergence’s go-to heavy warjack. Even with low RAT from some warcasters, its multiple, flexible AOE blasts can still get the job done.
CONSERVATOR: This heavy warjack wants to get in close and personal, and goes great with supporting infantry. Not only can it protect vulnerable models by taking ranged hits with Shield Guard, it also benefits from infantry casualties with Hand of Vengeance. If a Convergence warrior model falls within 5” of the Conservator, it gets +2 attack and damage rolls for that round. This can take it as high as MAT 9 with Axiom or even MAT 10 with the Directrix on feat turn.
The Assimilator/Conservator/Modulator chassis is somewhat squishy with only ARM 18 and 28 hit boxes, so the Conservator comes with two bucklers to lift its ARM to a very respectable 20 and Pathfinder to help it get to grips with the enemy.
INVERTER: With only SPD 4, the Inverter is going to take its time getting to the enemy, but when it does, watch out! Its Macropummeler is P+S 20 and inflicts knockdown! Yes, you read that right. P+S 20 on an 8-point warjack.
To balance this absurd power, the Macropummeler can only be used once a round, so the Inverter must rely on its Meteor Hammer for all other attacks. In this case, a still impressive P+S 17 Chain Weapon with Reach.
The Inverter, ladies and gentlemen. Slow, but really hard hitting.
MODULATOR: This heavy warjack is dirt cheap at 6 points and has some interesting anti-infantry abilities. It comes with two Emitter Surges, POW 10 guns with 11” range. Whenever they hit a target, draw a line between the target’s center and the Modulator’s center. Anything in that line gets an automatic POW 10 electrical zap.
Defensively, it has Plasma Nimbus. Any infantry that engage it has to contend with more automatic POW 10 electrical zaps whenever they land a melee hit.
If the Modulator can get off a good shot, it can fry a whole mess of infantry. But still, lining up an Emitter Surge shot for maximum effect can be tricky and can leave the Modulator vulnerable to counter attack. Unfortunately, it is poorly equipped to go head-to-head with other heavy warjacks or even heavy infantry.
MONITOR: This heavy warjack feels like a sniper to me. Its gun, the Ellipsaw Flinger (I love these names!), has 13” range and POW 13. Pretty good for a Convergence warjack. But better yet is True Sight! It ignores concealment, Camouflage, and Stealth. Combined with the Ellipsaw Flinger’s Critical Brutal Damage, the Monitor can deliver some impressive pain at range.
And for when things get crowded, it can pound away with its Spring-Spike Fist, which can make Sustained Attacks. So once it hits, it can keep on auto-hitting until it’s out of focus. All in all, a pretty well-balanced warjack. There are a lot of annoying soft targets running around with Stealth, and the Monitor can make short work of them.

COLOSSAL

PRIME AXIOM: And now here’s the big boy! So what is there to say about the Convergence’s colossal? Well, for starters, it’s one fine colossal!
Let’s start with the fundamentals. SPD 5, ARM 20, and 58 hit boxes. Solid. It gets two P+S 20 melee attacks with Open Fist and Sustained Attack. Now, Sustained Attack on something that hard hitting is really nice. Also, it’s a vector, naturally, so it benefits from Focus Induction and will take on the MAT and RAT of its warcaster, for better or for worse.
For guns, it has a really nice spread. Its Accelespiker can fire twice with Auto Fire [3] for a total of 6 shots. Not bad for a range 13” POW 11 gun. But the real stars are the Tow Cables!
These two beauties come with 11” range, Drag, and Puncture! Combined with the Prime Axiom’s SPD 5, it can pull in models up to 16” away and wallop it repeatedly with P+S 20 melee attacks. Ouch!
Oh, and it also spits out a servitor solo every turn. Just in case it wasn’t awesome enough. Never mind that most Convergence warcasters come with plenty of support for this beast.
Syntherion can boost all of its ranged attacks, among plenty of other tricks. The Directrix can give it MAT 8 RAT 8 for a turn. Lucant can give it +2 melee attack and damage (along with everything within 3”), and he can hide effectively behind its huge base.
Even Axis can use it by boosting all of its melee attack rolls. Boosted MAT 7 sweep attacks anyone? Bulldoze on a huge base? His Rat 2 is going to be a liability, but the Axiom can still boost to hit and drag in enemy heavies for a pounding. Heck, even Aurora can use it for some Drag and Refuge shenanigans on feat turn, though she’s better suited for warjacks that can use Apparition and Admonition.
All in all, the Prime Axiom is a great colossal.

SUMMARY

For a faction fresh out of the gate, Convergence has some really impressive warjacks that mesh well with the army as a whole.
The Convergence of Cyriss is an exciting new faction with gorgeous models and solid rules. As more of their models get released and people get used to their new abilities, I look forward to seeing their full might displayed on the tabletop.
Should be exciting!
Check out the complete list of Warmachine and Hordes articles here.

Filed Under: Warmachine Tagged With: Convergence, Cyriss, Fantasy, Privateer Press, Review, Steampunk, Tabletop Games

Time Reavers: Front Cover Rough Sketches!

July 28, 2013 by holojacob 3 Comments

Time Reavers cover rough sketch 4

Time Reavers – The monsters are real, and time is their weapon.

Fed up with bad teachers and daily fights with her sister, sixteen-year-old Nicole Taylor yearns for something better. Sadly, she’s in for a letdown, because the world ends next week.
Nicole discovers she has a rare gift. She can bend time around her and even stop it completely. With her powers awakening, she must face the Reavers: horrific killing machines that exist outside our time. Nicole may be the only one who can stop their genocidal plan, but the Reavers know about her now and have unleashed their cruelest hunters.
Plagued by nightmarish visions and ambushed by terrifying monsters at every turn, Nicole has one chance to halt their invasion. With help from a chain-smoking pyrokinetic, a neurotic sword-wielding assassin, and a Goth chick with a crossbow, she may stand a chance. But the Reavers are tireless foes, and Time is on their side.
Oh, yeah! Here we go!
Once again, the extremely talented Robert Chew (a.k.a. CrazyAsian1) is hard at work on some amazing cover art. Up next is Time Reavers, a young adult urban fantasy novel. The cover features the heroine, Nicole Taylor, facing off against the awesome physical might of a Reaver. As you can see from these rough sketches, we’re off to a great start. Already, even in this early stage, the reaver exudes menace. I can hardly wait to see it detailed in.
The rough sketch above will form the basis for the next step, but it was tough picking out my favorite. Here’s another rough sketch of the cover for your viewing pleasure.
Time Reavers cover rough sketch 1
And another.
Time Reavers cover rough sketch 3
And one more.
Time Reavers cover rough sketch 2
Pretty cool stuff, huh? This is going to be one fantastic cover!
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Filed Under: Holo Books Tagged With: Fantasy, Novel, Sketches, Time Reavers, Urban Fantasy, Writing, Young Adult

Warmachine Convergence of Cyriss Review: Warcasters

July 28, 2013 by holojacob Leave a Comment

Convergence_of_Cyriss_Cover_lores
IN SHORT: The new Convergence of Cyriss rulebook is here, and with it Privateer Press delivers a whole faction of big, mean robots! Oh, yeah!
On a presentation level, Privateer Press continues to set the bar high with a gorgeous full-color spread. Convergence models have a clean robotic look that is both very unique but also feels perfectly at home in the wider Warmachine universe. The rulebook comes fully loaded with 5 warcasters, 11 warjacks (including a Colossal!), 7 units, 1 universal unit attachment, 7 solos, and a battle engine.
Wow! Privateer Press has been busy.
Today, let’s take a look at the Convergence of Cyriss warcasters.
AURORA, NUMEN OF AEROGENESIS: One look at Aurora’s rules tells you to take Clockwork Angels. She’s practically one herself with similar weapons and a big pair of robotic wings. Not only does she give them Combined Melee Attack, but she can Flank with them, getting +2 MAT and an additional damage die in melee when there’s a Clockwork Angel helping out. And when she does get stuck in, she can use Flashing Blade to smack every enemy model in range of her melee attack (which does have Reach).
She also provides plenty of support to any friendly infantry, not just Clockwork Angels. Transference is an upkeep spell that lets infantry around her spend her Focus on melee attack or damage rolls. True Path gives infantry +2” movement and Pathfinder. So she gives infantry extra bite and extra speed. Not too bad.
Aurora definitely feels like an infantry focused warcaster, but she comes with some interesting toys for warjacks too. As with all Convergence warcasters, she gives her MAT and RAT stats to her warjacks. MAT 6, RAT 4 are decent numbers to start with. With Field Marshal [Apparition], everything in her battlegroup gets a free 2” move in the Control Phase, including her! On top of that, she can slap Admonition on herself or a warjack to get out of the way when an enemy model gets too close.
And then there’s her feat, Eleventh Hour. This gives all Convergence models in her control area Refuge. As long as they hit something, they get to make a full advance after their combat action is done. This gives Aurora’s army some really nice tactical flexibility. The obvious benefit is hitting the enemy then moving clear of retaliation, but it can be used in the other direction too. Convergence models can head deeper into the enemy lines to engage and disrupt juicy solos to the rear. Clockwork Angels, with Flight and a 3” Reform move on top of the Refuge move (that ignores free strikes, by the way), are perfect for getting deep into the opponent’s army and disrupting the heck out of it.
Did I mention Aurora goes well with Clockwork Angels?
AXIS, THE HARMONIC ENFORCER: This guy is about fighting up close and personal. He has a ton of ways to shove enemy screening models around so that his army can strike at the squishy center. His weapons have Beat Back for a 1” push every hit. His spell Battering Ram pushes enemy models 3” away. And his spell Unstoppable Force gives his entire battlegroup the 2” push that comes with Bulldoze.
He also brings the love for melee warjacks. They get his solid MAT 7 (along with RAT 2, so choose accordingly) as well as Counter Charge, which can hinder the enemy further. Because, seriously, who wants to come into range of a whole battlegroup of MAT 7 warjacks that get free charges? Never mind that one of those warjacks will have Iron Aggression and the boosted melee attack rolls that come with it. Throw in Razor Wall on top of this for a wall template that is instant death to light infantry, and Axis has plenty of ways to force the enemy to engage on his terms.
His feat, Circumpotence, further hinders the enemy and enhances his own. Enemy models get -2 SPD and STR while his army gets +2 SPD and STR for an extra burst of speed and hitting power at just the right moment.
Axis himself is primed to take advantage of his own feat. With the aforementioned MAT 7, two P+S 14 (before the feat) and Double Strike, he can hit an enemy fourteen times in a single turn! Can you say enemy warcaster/warlock pancake?
Yeah, I like this guy. I like this guy a lot.
IRON MOTHER DIRECTRIX & EXPONENT SERVITORS: Oh, man! Be careful when going up against this lady with warjacks! First things first, she has Backlash. Once she’s inflicted an enemy warjack with it, every time that warjack is damaged its controller takes a point of damage. Since Convergence has cheap access to models with Puncture (the attack automatically does 1 point of damage), this damage can add up quickly while milking the enemy warjack for all its worth. Against Warmachine armies, the Directrix definitely wants some Elimination Servitors.
Okay, so Backlash with lots of Puncture is bad. What’s worse? Throwing Domination into the mix. With this spell, the Directrix can take over an enemy non-character warjack, move it, and attack with it (for example, bringing it closer to her army and turning it around for the back strike bonus).
With Field Marshall [Arc Node], every warjack is a possible source for her spells, so she’s not going to have problems slinging Backlash and Domination from a safe distance. Even the two servitors in her unit can act as Arc Nodes. She can even create replacement servitors (i.e. Arc Nodes) in the Control Phase.
So, yeah, she’s bad news for enemies with warjacks. Other than that, she seems to have a stronger focus on ranged combat than other Convergence warcasters. She comes with a really nice 4” AOE attack with POW 15. Her servitors can set enemies up with bonus damage. She can give her battlegroup +2” RNG with the Fire Group spell. And she can give a model or unit some nice move-shoot-move with Tactical Supremacy, giving them a 3” move at the end of their activations.
And then there’s her feat, Mathematical Perfection. Her MAT 5 and RAT 5 get replaced with her FOCUS 8 stat. And yeah, so do all her warjacks. That’s a whole battlegroup of MAT 8, RAT 8. Yikes!
FATHER LUCANT, DIVINITY ARCHITECT: Lucant and his army look like a force that will not go down easily. He comes with plenty of tools to outlast his opponent and avoid assassination, even with his large base.
Let’s start with his spell list. Deceleration gives friendlies in his control area +2 DEF and +2 ARM against ranged attacks. Purification stands ready to clear the board of unwanted continuous effects, animi, and upkeep spells. And Watcher is a neat spell that helps keep Lucant safe. When an enemy moves within 6” of Lucant, a warjack in his battlegroup gets to move and attack, either at range or with melee and with boosted attack and damage rolls. Depending on the warjack attack used, this can end up doing things like knocking down the offending model or dragging it away to get swatted by the Convergence colossal, the Prime Axiom.
Lucant has plenty of other abilities that keep him safe. He’s Repairable, and Convergence has lots of ways to repair models. Unless the assassination puts him down completely, he can repair and be back in the fight. With 21 hit boxes, ARM 17, and 7 Focus, he is not a soft target. Also, he’s Steady, so that DEF 14 isn’t getting negated by knocking him down.
His feat, Clockwork Reinforcement, emphasizes this further. Convergence models get +4 ARM and Repair skill checks pass automatically. Combined with Field Marshall [Shield Guard] his feat really shines. Even when enemy attacks are effective, Shield Guard can allow the hits to be absorbed by heavy warjacks with enhanced ARM values. Yeah, just try chewing through his army on feat turn.
His MAT 6 and RAT 3 will cause his battlegroup to lean towards a melee focus, which is fine because his Positive Charge spell fits that template nicely. Affected warjacks get +2 melee attack and damage rolls. Even better, friendly models within 3” also get the bonus. He can even spam it to multiple warjacks, since it only costs 2 Focus and isn’t an upkeep spell.
Overall, Lucant’s rules seem to encourage a combined arms approach. I picture him with a mix of heavy warjacks and heavy infantry to benefit the most from his feat, spells, and plenty of support models with Repair.
All in all, he looks like a tough customer that’s pretty fun to play.
FORGE MASTER SYNTHERION: Here’s a guy who’s all about the warjacks. He loves warjacks and warjacks love him. First, he has MAT 6 and RAT 5, good attack stats for his battlegroup. Next, he comes with Field Marshal [Auto-Repair], which removes d3 damage points from every model in his battlegroup during the control phase, including him! He’s also Resourceful, so he upkeeps spells on his battlegroup for free.
And what do these spell do? Well, there’s Hot Shot, which gives boosted ranged damage rolls to a model in his battlegroup. Yikes, just picture that on the Prime Axiom! Just in case you’re wondering, that’s 6 shots at 13” with boosted POW 11.
Okay, so he does ranged warjacks well, but how about melee? Yeah, he does that too with Synergy. This spell gives an accumulative +1 bonus to melee attack and damage rolls to members of a battlegroup for each other battlegroup model that hit with a melee attack. Given that Convergence has a 3 point melee warjack (to potentially take in large numbers), this bonus can get pretty ridiculous.
On top of that, he comes with a powerful debuff spell that reduces an enemy model’s or unit’s SPD and DEF by 2 and gives charging Constructs an extra 2″! And I haven’t even gotten to his feat, yet, which lets his battlegroup charge without spending focus and let’s them use both their ranged and melee weapons to full effect.
As if that wasn’t enough, there’s also Reconstruct. When a warjack with this spell is disabled, it immediately repairs 1 damage point in each system and gets placed within 3” of its current location. So, his warjacks can stick around even longer. With ARM 18, 20 damage boxes, Auto-Repair, and Repairable, Syntherion is sticking around for a while too.

SUMMARY

I have to say that these warcasters look fun to play with and challenging to play against.
The Convergence of Cyriss is an exciting new faction with gorgeous models and solid rules. As more of their models get released and people get used to their new abilities, I look forward to seeing their full might displayed on the tabletop.
Should be exciting!
Check out the complete list of Warmachine and Hordes articles here.

Filed Under: Warmachine Tagged With: Convergence, Cyriss, Fantasy, Privateer Press, Review, Steampunk, Tabletop Games

Ral & Grad Volume 1 by Tsuneo Takano and Takeshi Obata – Manga Review

July 22, 2013 by hpholo Leave a Comment

Ral n Grad Cover
Fifteen years ago, a child was born at the cost of his mother’s life, and through that child, a dragon appeared. This dragon obliterated the landscape and was followed shortly by a horde of Shadows–dark beasts that enter and possess bodies via those bodies’ shadows. The only way to contain a Shadow is to keep it out of the light, and so, to protect the land, the child and his dragon were sealed away into darkness. But in these fifteen years, the Shadows have grown ever more destructive, so much so that the only defense against these Shadows might be the dragon that heralded them in the first place. And so, the boy Ral, and his dragon Grad, are released from their prison and begin a quest to defeat the Shadows.
The description on the back of the book makes this Ral & Grad Volume 1 sound like a heroic fantasy adventure, but here’s how everything really goes down:
Ral is released. He promptly kills his father because OMG what kind of parent would imprison his son for fifteen years (never mind his apocalyptic tendencies), and upon seeing his kind lady tutor for the first time, realizes that women’s bodies are fascinatingly different from men’s. At which point he rips open her dress, feels up her boobs, likes them, and decides that he will help fight the shadows–to protect women. Specifically, to protect their boobies.
This is the motivation for the entire volume.
Think this is exaggeration? This is an actual exchange that occurs in the comic:
Ral n Grad Ex
It’s safe to say that this book is aimed at pubescent boys who have just had the same realization as its main character, realized (hopefully) that it’s not proper to go around grabbing every boob that they see, and are looking for some sort of fantastic way to satisfy that sexual frustration. Here, this book satisfies. Ral gets away with all his boob-grabbing because his intentions, his tutor insists, are basically innocent (She never taught him about women, so he’s naturally curious!), and all the girls he meets are intrigued by this and, at least in one case, flock to get naked and take baths with him.
The obvious thematic problem in this manga is that all female characters are reduced to nothing more than their exciting girly bits. None of them have any characteristics beyond “cute/sexy” or “sympathetic” (i.e. “totally understanding that Ral just wants to grab their boobs”), and at no point does the comic make a serious suggestion that girls might not like to be groped by random strangers. In fact, it does quite the opposite in suggesting that groping leads to naked lady baths. Refreshingly, there is one valiant male character who calls Ral an outright pervert, but Ral’s response is that, for said character’s nobility, he’s only protecting his princess of choice because he wants to get at her boobs, too, and there ends up being truth to that. (Really, though, I suppose this can be said of any man who willingly enters a relationship with a female, regardless of his level of valiantness). Anyway, hardcore feminists are going to hate this book. (Not that it’s actually aimed at girls, but whatever.)
This is especially true of hardcore feminists who are hoping for a plot. The story in Ral & Grad is a flimsy one. Granted, story isn’t the point of this comic, but bear with me. The very catalyst of the story doesn’t make any sense because, after Ral and Grad’s initial imprisonment in the prologue, there’s nothing to suggest that their evil (or at least destructive) alignment has changed (except maybe under the guidance of Ral’s tutor, but Ral himself doesn’t seem incredibly intelligent or socially adept, so one has to wonder what exactly she was teaching him in the first place). After that the story slopes into a gather-a-party-and-go-on-a-journey style story that is mostly pictures of hot ladies punctuated by cool Shadow battles, which is really all this comic aims to be.
It’s the art that makes it readable for people who aren’t hormonal teenage males. The comic is illustrated by Takeshi Obata of Death Note and Hikaru no Go fame, and said illustrations are stellar. His Shadow designs are reminiscent of Tite Kubo’s distinct Hollow designs from Bleach, with a bit of creepy Death Note Shinigami thrown in. Panel arrangements are dynamic, and battles are a whirling blast to look at, and the detail of the character designs themselves compensates somewhat for the utter lack of depth elsewhere. Commendably, he also renders most of the female characters sexy without making them look like strippers, with the exception of the antagonist, whose sensuality is so flagrantly over the top that it’s hilarious.
Really, the same can be said of the comic as a whole. I’m the sort of reader who takes minor offense at unnecessarily scant clothing on female comic characters, but oddly, I’d be okay finding this comic under the mattress of my future hypothetical teenage son. There are several reasons for this: First, for all his interest in boobs, Ral doesn’t seem to have much interest in actual sex. That said, this book is far from being porn or a rape fantasy. Second, the tone of Obata’s art is very tongue-in-cheek. While the story itself does not seem self-aware of how ridiculous it is, the art definitely does, which is why characters’ expressions are goofily exaggerated at several strategic moments. It’s as if the very art is saying, “Hey, reader, don’t take this too seriously.”
It’s worth mentioning, though, that said future hypothetical Holoboy reader would be well-schooled in treating girls respectfully, and Ral & Grad would be understood as a piece of ridiculous escapism. A reader who has no prior inclination to see girls as anything more than boobs, meanwhile, is going to find no encouragement to do otherwise in Ral & Grad, which is one of the book’s most uncomfortable implications.
Gender issues aside, I found Ral & Grad a hilarious read. It’s not a manga that I’d actually spend money on, nor is it one that I’d actively recommend, but it’s definitely one that I’ll check out from the library just to show its absolute absurdity to my manga-reading friends. (My friends who don’t read manga would probably just find it weird and never invite me to their house again.)
***
Note: Holo Writing is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and, as such, may earn a small commission from any product purchased through an affiliate link on this blog.

Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: Fantasy, Manga, Manga Review, Ral Grad, Review, Takeshi Obata, Tsuneo Takano

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