Trinket Review: Wyrmwood Tabletop Dice Tray

Prologue:

In the pursuit of cleaner play and more consistent dice rolls, I've acquired some...shall we say unnecessary accessories for this game, usually when I'm out of models that I need to buy. Things like precision backgammon dice, fancy measuring widgets, all to keep the games I play as tight and clean as possible.

One of the things I constantly worry about, however, is cocked dice, because there's no worse feeling than re-rolling a six into a one or a one into a six and having to make nice about it after. I'd been hankering after a dice tray for quite some time, and the only real question to me was whether I'd be buying one or making one.

After seeing a lot of Wyrmwood's ads for Mothers and Fathers day lotteries, I approached them about giving one of their dice trays a roadtest, and they kindly accommodated me. A few emails and a weeks worth of shipping time, and a very excited me got home to see this:

Okay this was in a bigger box wrapped in bubble wrap, but that part doesn't matter

Before we get into the actual review, Wyrmwood's website is www.wyrmwoodgaming.com and the specific place to look for this product is here.

What you get in the box:

The box is a very nice looking piece of cardboard. It's not corrugated, but rather feels like very, very thick card stock with a slightly harder sheen to it.

Inside....

Is the Dice Tray itself, and a card explaining what kind of wood the tray is made from and where it comes from. Normally, you would know this in advance, but since this was a promotional tray I had no idea what I was getting.

Very slick, this is the kind of random information that nerds like myself tend to enjoy reading (albeit usually after tearing out the dice tray and rolling a ton of dice on it first - I'm making you do things in the right order here).

I think this is a really nice touch, although it does tend to make me feel a little bit like a jerk I mean dork I mean geek every time someone compliments me on the tray and I immediately start waxing eloquent about how it's made of Black Walnut which comes from the Easter USA etc.

Let's have a look at the tray itself:

The tray itself measures 10.6 inches long by 8.1 inches wide by 1.5 inches deep. It's got a gorgeous, hard finish on the exterior wood, and the grain shows through beautifully. I'm not sure what the underside is made of, but I'd bet something slightly less expensive like Maple.

The four rubber feet are a quality of life feature that I ended up appreciating a lot more than I expected. We have all played on tables where the table itself has been covered with sand/gravel/flock/other textured material, and the feet keep it elevated and off the surface so that you don't scratch the underside when you move the tray around.

This has also been relevant on an occasion where a water glass tipped over and would have soaked the entire underside had there not been feet on the tray.

This piece of the tray is supposed to hold a Dice Vault (sold separately turns out), so that you can centralize your dice rolling equipment in one place. It also conveniently has their name embossed on the leather. One other use I've found it for is "banking" a roll that I've just made so that I can do another one. If I'm making a series of quick damage rolls, I can easily move the dice I used for the first one into the side partition while I roll my next set, and still maintain my opponents ability to follow along. 

Let's talk about the leather for a second. It's a nice piece of hide - not super thick, but thick enough that when you roll dice in the tray it doesn't sound like you're rolling on a piece of wood. My roommate made his own dice tray, and we compared them over the course of a couple of games (one of which you can watch here). 

Afterwards, we compared notes and we came up with the following observations:

- The sound of dice on wood is really irritating, but the sound of dice on leather is quite pleasant. 

- When rolling straight onto wood, the dice tend to just fall and land on whatever side is up rather than tumbling around as they ought to. The leather base is bouncy enough to encourage a good roll before ending up on their final faces. 

- The height of the walls in the Wurmwood tray are basically perfect (more on this in a minute). 

I've done a little bit of woodworking, and I'm aware that these joins are the easiest kind of join to do. That being said, they've been done very solidly. The seem on the top isn't noticeable to the fingertip when rubbed around the rim. 

They've also been meticulous in getting the fit of the leather inlay to the very edges of the tray and into the corners. The piece feels quite sturdy, but I wouldn't recommend throwing it or letting it fall from height if you can help it, even if it's just out of concern for the finish.

Approx. eye level for a 6'0" man

Approx eye level for a 4'0" person

Camera held 4-5 inches above the table.

One of the final things I'd like to touch on in this review is how readable the dice are in this tray. Most dice trays suffer from one of two problems. Either they have walls that are too high and you cannot read the dice from anywhere other than directly above it or, alternatively, they have walls too low for the dice to stay inside the tray. 

Wyrmwood has managed to strike just about the perfect balance. Dice still go out of the tray if you chuck them at the tray, but as long as you're using a normal rolling motion, they stay in pretty darn well. I've had around one dice out of every five rolls go out if I'm not paying attention, and that number goes down significantly if I'm concentrating even a little. 

Also, as you can see from the above pictures, the dice are super readable from a variety of heights, and are visible even from basically the perspective of the tabletop. It has been very nice to consistently have instant recognition of what has been rolled, both for myself and my opponent. 

Conclusion:

This is a super solid piece, and I'm very excited to eventually try out some of Wyrmwood's other products. The price tag attached to some of their more exotic woods is a bit on the extreme end, but at the same time these pieces will last for years and years if treated well.

For those of you who are extremely adept at woodworking etc., go nuts and make your own tray! For those of you who are, like me, a little less secure in their knowledge or who perhaps would rather spend money than time, this is definitely something you should consider. I have really enjoyed using this tray, and every opponent who I've shared it with has also enjoyed it.

Finally, Wyrmwood has set me up with a sweet promotional code for my readers. If you choose to purchase anything from their website, enter the following code:

Dice Druid

For free shipping on whatever it is you're getting. This is a kind of test run for Wyrmwood and me, so we will see how it goes!

As always, thanks for reading!

Celestial Fulcrum CID Week 4 Reactions

Prologue:

It's been a topsy turvy ride for the Celestial Fulcrum's CID. First, we were all excited to be playing with a dynamic, powerful model that we had previously not had access to. 

Then, we were extremely divided as a community when the Fulcrum lost Fury Vault and got a point cheaper, with many of us (myself included) finding the nerf nearly a deal breaker.

And this week (and hopefully forever), the PP gods have heard our cries and responded with the best of all worlds. 

We got Fury Vault back, got a point more expensive, stayed at 28 boxes, and also increased the leaching range of Power of the Stones by five inches. 

For those of you that would like the full "card", here it is:

I think this is basically perfect. It's expensive, but it packs a punch. It's more durable than any non-wold heavy, and has more ranged output than anything except a Woldwyrd with Purgation and a damage buff.

Power of the Stones now enables this guy to stay back from the fight and still pull from melee beasts such as the Woldwrath, Megalith, etc.This is extremely important, as the previous incarnation tied it completely to ranged beasts (Woldwyrds anyone?)

Fury Bank is such a great rule for this Engine. Allowing your Warlock to do something useful with Fury they would otherwise drop is awesome, and it also allows you to hedge your bets somewhat. Say you send Megalith (Warden, Guardian, whatever) in and think they might die next turn - you can then send fury to the Vault with your Warlock and then either Reeve or Leach the next turn normally, all while still fueling the Fulcrum.

This also enables it to get use out of Warlocks and lists that might not otherwise take Wolds but still want some ranged punch.

Also it looks super cool!

Burn baby burn!

Wait...that's not the Fulcrum...hold on what's going on here...


Where will you play the Fulcrum?

This is a very flexible piece, and I fully expect it to show up in lots of unexpected places.

That being said it is definitely going to get played with both of our damage buff casters (Wurmwood and Mohsar), both Baldur's for either that sweet sweet Roots of the Earth survivability buff or a nice denial feat.

I can also see it seeing play with Grayle since he can give it Stealth on Feat turn, with Una 2 (Hand of Fate on that many damage rolls has got to be good right?), and I can also see it working well with Tanith.

Krueger 2 loves having another high damage output gunboat, and even more he loves being effectively RAT 7 and Magic Ability 8.

In particular, I think the 1-2 punch of the Fulcrum blasting a heavy with maybe a Wyrd adding some damage in followed by Loki hooking the poor model and finishing it off is going to be very strong.

Into an ARM 20 heavy, the Fulcrum will do (on average) 5.5 damage with the fireball, 4.5 damage with the lightning bolt, and 2.5 damage with the spray (and maybe stationary it too!) for a total of 11.5 damage. If there are any ARM debuffs involved, that number jumps to 17.5 damage, which is about half the health of an average heavy.

Follow that up with Loki and nearly any enemy heavy is going down.

Another point - you can teleport the Fulcrum with Shifting Stones. Combine this with Krueger 2 TK shenanigans, and you can have that Fulcrum sitting 7 deploy + 10 run + 8 port + 2 TK, landing on the 27 inch mark on the top of 1. You can also sit the Fulcrum in some Stones, aim, shoot, and then port it back to safety.

Conclusion:

I'm just super stoked about this model now, I think it's one of the best things that Circle has gotten access to in years, and if it stays like this I can see it being played in a multitude of lists and at many different point values.

What do you think? Too good? Not enough? Just right? How are you planning on using our Fulcrum? Who else can't wait for the Battle Engine errata...


Thanks for reading!

Trinket Review: Broken Egg Games' WARsticks

Prologue:

Warmachine and Hordes is a very precision-oriented game - so much so that we often get made fun of by other gaming systems.

In that quest for perfect placement and insane accuracy, we use many tools to make our play cleaner and easier to read. In my widget box you can find everything from laser lines to proxy bases to charge lane widgets. Now you can also find a set of Circle Orboros WARsticks, and man are they cool.

You can find them here.

Price:

The most important question - can I fit them in my budget?

At a modest price point of $40 (US Dollars for my international readers), these certainly aren't going to break the bank.

They do clock in at slightly more expensive than their direct competition however. Broken Egg Games ALSO sells "Guild Sticks", which are laser engraved acrylic measuring sticks (albeit without any Warmachine and Hordes art or notation) for $35, and Muse on Minis sells a set of precision sticks for $35.

That being said, I prefer the Broken Egg widgets. The extra five dollars is more than worth it because...

Quality:

Broken Egg Games products (at least the ones I've come in contact with), have all been of excellent quality, and these are no different.

The clear acrylic is precisely cut to the lengths marked on the sticks (I checked mine). Additionally, the sticks are thin enough to fit easily into most spaces (when turned on the side), but still thick enough that it would take dedicated force to break them. They feel extremely sturdy, and there is no noticeable flex when the sticks are handled.

The backing material is extremely well adhered to the stick, and I know from experience with their tokens that nothing short of taking a knife or hard contact on a similar, sharp surface will separate the artwork from the stick itself.

The back of the sticks are black plastic, which is perfect for putting your name or other identifying marks on.

The only downside to this design comes into view if the sticks are turned upside down. When they are not face up, you cannot see which stick is which length. This is easily remedied by marking it on the back with a silver sharpie when you label them with your name, and I've also noticed that I don't ever put these face down once I've started a game - the artwork is too pretty - so it hasn't been an issue.

Overall I am very impressed with the quality of the widgets - they're sturdy, practical, and look gorgeous.

Use them to mark deployment zones! 

Use them to measure threat ranges!

Ease of Use:

The great thing about these widgets is their user friendliness. There are very few tricks to making the best use of them.

Need to precisely measure an 8 inch charge with a reach heavy? Simply hold down your model and put the ten inch stick base to base with it.

Need 11 inches? Put the ten inch stick down and then pick any of the other sticks and use the short side - each stick is 1 inch wide. I find them especially useful for measuring out distances for ranged models before they move.

5" advance and 12 inch shot? Out comes the five inch stick, the eight inch, and the four inch stick, all touching. It doesn't get any simpler than that, and this way there is no argument - either the model is in or it is out, and there is no wavering tape measure over the model.


Conclusion:

Want precise measurements? Want really pretty eye candy when your opponent goes into the tank for a few turns?

These are definitely for you. I've had them for almost two weeks, and I've used them in every single game I have played. I cannot imagine sitting down to a game without these now - they are truly a staple in my collection of gaming implements.

Trinket Review: Broken Egg Games' Aspect Widgets

After this near catastrophe of a game, I resolved to get something to mark my beasts' knocked out aspects on the table so that I wouldn't ever make similar mistakes again.

After doing a lot of research and briefly contemplating making my own, I settled on Broken Egg Games' Aspect Widgets, and I haven't had a single regret. After reading this review, you can get them here.

Price:

These guys are a steal at $2.50 (US Dollars) for a pack of three (one each of Mind, Body, and Spirit). Cheap enough to get multiple sets for those lists with a plethora of beasts, and certainly inexpensive enough to store with other tokens, and widgets without undue fear of damage. These aren't likely to get damaged easily though since....


Quality:

These are fantastic pieces when it comes to quality. They are laser cut out of Alderwood, and after over a month of near constant use, mine show no wear at all.

The wood is thick enough that it feels very sturdy, and the words are etched in clearly enough to read from the other side of the table.


Ease of Use:

Again, very little to complain about here. The tokens are easy to see and read, they don't distract from the game, and they are very light.

Their size can occasionally be problematic in a very tight place, but it has not been nearly enough of an issue for me to recommend changing it.

Side Note - when they're all spiraled together, they make a 40 mm diameter circle, so if you need a medium sized proxy base, these would do in a pinch.

Side Side Note - They can also be used as Wolverine claws when you're bored on your opponents' turn.



Conclusion:

At an awesome price point and very high level of quality, I can't recommend these widgets more. I've used them religiously since I bought them, and have yet to forget to heal a beast back up in any of my roughly 20 games since (which is pretty impressive for me).

They're well made, conveniently sized, and would be a great addition for any Hordes players widget box.

Final Note - they look amazing when you take the time to paint them up