Friday, August 4, 2017

Interview with Dan from AoS Shorts

Hey Everyone!  Today I have a very special guest interview for you all.  Dan from the new AoS Shorts Podcast took some time to talk about Hobby, Age of Sigmar, and his new Podcast.  Dan is a great guy with a love for Age of Sigmar and if haven't yet, be sure to reach out to him.  You will find his contact information below.




AoS Shorts is a great tool to help tighten up your rules knowledge to improve your game whether you are a beginner or a budding top table player.  I find myself listening to the short episodes multiple times to help smooth out my gameplay for myself and my opponents.  Also, his companion blog for each episode is a great way to get the most out of his discussion topics.  I hope you enjoy the interview.


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Dan, can you tell me about who you are and how you began in this Hobby?

Hey, I'm a (predominantly) matched play gamer living in Auckland, New Zealand.  I was born and raised in the U.K. and was aware of Warhammer while I was there but only really dove in with 5th edition after I’d moved to NZ.  I took the Brets and played some 40k with Imperial Guard.

Everything kinda then went on hold, until I rejoined the hobby when I was working in London in 2012-2014. I came back in by listening to podcasts from Bad Dice, Heelanhammer, Black Sun, Garagehammer and the Dwellers before picking up a dwarf army when the 8th Ed Dwarf book dropped.  Really had to make the use of UK pricing and the VAT refund before coming back to NZ.


Dan (pictured left) handing out some prizes


What armies are you playing currently and what’s next on your Hobby Table?

I’ve been playing Sylvaneth since the Battletome came out and absolutely love them.  The sheer movement flexibility is amazing.  I suspect that Death will be my next AoS army but I'll be holding fire until after GHB2017 and any signs of a new Death Battletome. There is something right about Death following Life.

Dan's growing Sylvaneth Army

 Do you have a local Club or group you play with and how often do you get to play games and work on Hobby?

Unfortunately, I don't get as much time to play as I would like due to my work and a young family at home.  So I haven't ever really been able to commit to a club. I play casual games in mates’ garages, with the Auckland Model Citizens, and host tournaments with the Auckland City Guard.  On the hobby front, I try to get a few hours in each week - usually 30 mins or so early in the morning and perhaps a night a week.

Can you share with us your favorite Hobby movement?

“Hobby movement” - what a great phrase.  There are so many things that could be captured by this - the move to scenic bases, the #roadtoscgt crew, the NEOs, Games Workshop’s re-engagement with the community, the explosion of hobby podcasts, Warhammer TV.  I can't just pick one.


Dan's Hobby Area

What about your least favorite time in the Hobby?

The destruction of the old world was an unsettling shock, I played one game of AoS when it was first released and then decided to just let the dust settle and see where things went.  Me and my mates played a Necromunda campaign, we dabbled with KoW and I picked up Guild Ball. In the end, I threw myself into AoS as the game grew and found new gaming groups (my 8th ed. mates are now all playing T9A or 40k).

If Money and Time were not an issue what would be the one dream Hobby project you would want to tackle.

I have about 3,000 points of Dogs of War (almost every unit from the 5th edition book) still sitting mint in box.  With the death of 8th, I was going to use them in 9th Age or KoW but never got round to them.  I’d love to get them finished as a painting project on large diorama bases.  Other options would be a Luthor Harkon Undead Pirate army, a marauder Chaos force themed around a local raven god (which is actually a manifestation of Tzeentch), and a Harlequins force for 40k


The dream army in the wings

I often hear about challenges that our Wargaming Brothers and Sisters face being in this Hobby in your part of the world (New Zealand, and Australia), is there any insight you can share on this subject?

The obvious issue is the pricing differential (significantly higher than the exchange rate plus shipping) however that is old news.  Unfortunately, it really does limit new blood into the hobby and make it hard for local gaming stores to make sales because everyone just buys offshore.

The more complex issue is that we are a country of just over 4 million people in a long country that stretches from Lake Erie down into Florida or from Scotland into Spain. Our gaming scene also split hard three ways with the death of 8th. So achieving a critical mass for gaming clubs and tournaments can be hard. We are only now starting to get 40 player tournaments and that usually requires about half the field to be flying (or catching a 10-hour bus ride) to get there.

Durthu has great basing that Dan is using across the entire force

You recently started a new Podcast called AoS Shorts.  What can you tell me about it?

AoS Shorts is a series of podcasts, videos and blog posts on strategy for Warhammer: Age of Sigmar.  This series will help you get better fast.
Think of it as a Cliff Notes version of Facehammer etc.

There is so much great information out there in the AoS community on strategy and tactics, but it is largely buried in 100-page forum threads, 3-hour podcasts or hundreds of hours of video.  The aim with AoS Shorts is to distill this information for the time-poor gamer. Basically, I’ve started the podcast I wanted.

Each show focuses on a key AoS topic, such as list design, deployment, and scenarios,  and is accompanied by diagrams, tip sheets and a blog post for you to digest or refer to later.

Who is your target audience for the podcast and what is your goal with the show?

The show is aimed at people who want to improve their performances at tournaments or other competitive games. The show really isn't going to have anything new for top-end tournament gamers who usually podium. However, for players in the mid- or lower tables who want to start winning more games, or feel like they are in those games for longer, I hope my show helps.


So far you have List Writing, Tournament Play Tips, Scenery in The Age of Sigmar, Deployment, and the Priority Roll what is next for the show?

At the moment I'm trying to stick to the core mechanics of AoS until GHB2017 comes out.  Once that drops, I'll have episodes on each of the scenarios, summoning, piling in and combat, certain list builds, scouting reports on particular factions etc.

I also want to grow the show into videos because it is so much easier to explain strategy and tactics by showing rather than telling.  I want to illustrate the key concepts of the game with great painted armies on good tables.


What is the best way for someone to reach you and where can they download your latest shows?

You can find me on Twitter at @antipodean7 or AoS Shorts on Facebook.
All the articles and resources can be found at aosshorts.com.
The show is on iTunes, Podbean, and RSS.

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I love what Dan is doing and I hope you take the time to check out his podcast and Blog.  I plan to use them as some last minute tournament preparation to Nova Open as I listen to his previous episodes on my drive down to the venue.  As always feel free to follow me on Twitter and until next week, Happy Hobbying!