Aurum Lucanum Athanor Locke

Took a bit of a break, while I waited for Locke to get here in the mail, to completely my Convergence casters. I know Aurora2 exists, but I'm not a fan so I won't be picking her up. Locke on the other hand is a great looking model and was a joy to paint.

Aurum Lucanum Athanor Locke

For her Crucible Guard armor, I used the same oxidized copper looking teal that I use for my robes, and the same brass as I normally use on my armor. The effect sort of makes it look like an inverted scheme and it fits really nicely with the rest of the army.

Locke, side view

I also needed to get creative with the materials she has strapped around her. Can't use my normal teal for the cloth for example, that's the armor. And I didn't want a ton of earthy browns either, so her main satchel there is a black leather bag, with some colorful vials of something or another.

Locke, back view

I had painted her with the head off to really get good access to her face, and the armor behind her head. It honestly made the whole model easier and much cleaner, and will be something I try to do more often when the option is there.

Locke, profile

 

I tried at making her a bit ginger, trying to get a natural looking red hair, eyebrows, and even some freckles.

Locke, face

Definitely turned out to be one of my better faces, I'm glad I didn't bother with the iris color this time. That's a waste of time I think, these models are too small for those extravagances.

 

Locke with Axis

 

Finally, just wanted to show her next to Axis to give a sense of how well trying to follow the studio scheme, just slightly shifted, worked out for army cohesion.

Aurora, the Numen of Aerogenesis

 I'll be honest, I have no idea what a Numen is. Aurora and Mortenebra are both Numens of something. Wikipedia says it's something Latin. 

I play Aurora1 a couple times when I first got the faction, and during the first attempt at the Oblivion campaign and couldn't quite get the hang of her. This never bothered me much before because lots of people said she was the worst caster in Convergence, so maybe I wasn't really missing anything. But now she's one of the best casters, not just in Convergence, but in Mercenaries too. So for that, and for completeness, I'd better paint her up. 

You may have noticed that Convergence doesn't have many faces in it, which may or may not be a reason I chose it. In fact, there are exactly two, one of which is a shared model between two factions. Faces are hard. And take ages. And, at least when I paint them, often turn out looking goofy. So, with all that being said, here's Aurora's.

Aurora1, face

I may have tried to do too much as once here. I wanted her to have darker skin and magneta irises. The skin tone was difficult, and took a lot of mixing, but I think it turned out pretty good. Very dark skin is easier, as is very pale skin. These in-between tones are more difficult to imitate without it looking flat. 

Unfortunately, when I look at her face though, I think of that Dreamworks movie How to Train Your Dragon, because she looks like the dragon in that movie. Whoops.

Aurora, the Numen of Aerogenesis

The effect is much nicer when we zoom out though. Here the North African/Egyptian look comes through much better. The irises were probably a waste of time, it's hard to see them even this close up. The "feathers" on the wings I tried to make look more golden to contrast with the brass, but I don't know if the effect came through or not.

Aurora1, front

She has just a few glowing baubles, but they help to break up the metals a bit. She's supposed to have four distinct and distinguishable metals (copper, brass, gold, and iron) which might be too much.

Aurora1, side

That said, I am happy with how she came out. I'm glad I tried to do an 'Egyptian' look, I think it suits the model better than the studio 'pale girl' that they nearly always do. 

Aurora1, back

And now I've done all of the warcasters I own. There's only one more in the faction (Locke) and I don't know when or if I'll be getting her. Here's a quick group shot of the six together. Despite them never able to be in the same army together, I think they look great as a group. Oh, I probably didn't mention, but I rebased Directrix's servitors.

Convergence of Cyriss warcasters

Axis, the Harmonic Enforcer

 Got another warcaster finished, and he's looking great! If you don't know, this warcaster is actually alive, in a meaty body and everything. He's just in some steampunk magic power armor. And his two hammers are named Action and Reaction.

Axis, the Harmonic Enforcer

I particularly love how the brass came out here. I may have mentioned it before, but it's not easy making brass not look like gold. And I'd probably say it's not easy making gold that doesn't look like brass either. But I think I really go it with him. And like Orion last week, and teal and pink glows really pop.

Axis, front

I'm also looking forward to putting him on the table too, he is a very aggressive caster. He has speed buff and can make my warjacks charge on my opponent's turn. He's always been considered a strong caster, as far as I remember.

Axis, side

Axis, back

No gaming pictures this week, but will hopefully have some next time. Since I've done one living warcaster, I may as well do the other one next.

And here is the list I plan on using him with (as always, feel free to offer any tips):

Convergence
[Theme] Clockwork Legions

[Axis 1] Axis, the Harmonic Enforcer [+30]
 - Conservator [11]
 - Corollary [0(5)]
 - Diffuser [0(5)]
 - Galvanizer [0(5)]
 - Inverter [14]
 - Inverter [14]
Algorithmic Dispersion Optifex [2]
Algorithmic Dispersion Optifex [2]
Enigma Foundry [4]
Enigma Foundry [4]
Enigma Foundry [4]
Frustum Locus [4]
Eradicators (max) [13]
 - Transverse Enumerator [3]
Obstructors (max) [11]
Optifex Directive [3]
Perforators (max) [16]

Axis of course gives his five warjacks countercharge, which can be quite a lot of area control but I need to be careful to screen them with the Obstructors so that my opponent can't just run up and engage them, negating their countercharge entirely. With two Inverters and a Conservator with native pathfinder and some extra speed, it should be getting a lot from countercharge. Plus Hand of Vengeance should always be up because of all of the infantry. Then Engimas for a lot recursion. Not sure about the Perforators yet, but a little range can't hurt, same with the Frustrum. I haven't tested this list yet, but I have a game coming up that I can try! 

Eminent Configurator Orion

 I think it's about time for another caster.

This time I wanted another floating stick warcaster. Orion is supposedly really hot right now, especially with a lot of tesselators. So far I've found him to be really good against Hordes because of his feat, similar to how Directrix is really good against Warmachine factions, though both are ranged warcasters.

Here is one of the new bases, with a little modification.

Base for Orion, Micro Art's Industry

And here he is on that base. I'm really happy with him, I think he's one of my best so far with this army. The contrast between the brass, the teal ribbons, and the pink glows really pop.

Orion, back

Eminent Configurator Orion

I thought I'd start including a few shots of actually playing the game too, because I really do play!

Game vs Minions

 

Here is my list:

[Theme] Destruction Initiative

[Directrix 1] Iron Mother Directrix [+27]
 - Assimilator [14]
 - Cipher [13]
 - Corollary [5]
 - Diffuser [5]
 - Mitigator [6]
 - Monitor [14]
 - Prime Axiom [34]
Accretion Servitors [2]
Algorithmic Dispersion Optifex [0(2)]
Algorithmic Dispersion Optifex [0(2)]
Algorithmic Dispersion Optifex [0(2)]
Attunement Servitors [0(3)]
Elimination Servitors [0(3)]
Elimination Servitors [3]
Optifex Directive [3]
Optifex Directive [3]

Happy to say that this list is fully painted too! I know a lot of people aren't happy with Directrix right now in Convergence, but I really like the buffs she offers to the list and that backlashination threat does have an effect on the opponent. Feel free to give your own thoughts if you have any, I'm open to list criticism.

Vector, servitors, and obstructors

Alright, let's see, where did I leave off...

Ah! With Lucant! Perfect, I have a bit more to show now. First is another tetrapod vector, this time I was smart enough to actually magnetize it for some extra flexibility in game. I'm glad I did too, because even though I mostly wanted a second Inverter, the Monitor has been pretty great in games! True Sight plus the Ricochet shot really makes my opponent keep their distance.

Monitor

Inverter

Cipher

I have to say though, I'm getting tired of always using the same 50mm base, so I started exploring other designs for resin bases that are "close enough". 

Here is a mixture of old and new bases, with a little modification to try to tie them together nicely. Obviously it's for another half dozen Eliminator Servitors for my gimmicky Iron Mother backlashination list. Because why bother have Directrix without 9+ puncture bots? I also ended up painting the servitors themselves, but they're nothing special.

More bases

Another shot of the bases, this time with done servitors

Elimination Servitors

I've had these guys since I got my first set of Convergence minis. Obstructors aren't exactly "good" but they're not the worst single wound infantry in Convergence! And that's something. Don't know what, but.... something.

They can be pretty fun with Lucant, but I think to really capitalize on that you need at least 30 of these, and I'm not going to paint that many. One unit to get toward faction complete is enough for me. 

Obstructors close-up

All ten Obstructors

Unit leader back

Unit leader front

 Alright, I have more to post next week.

Father Lucant, Divinity Architect

 I have another warcaster done, which means I'm now up to 3. I'm getting tired of the exact same 50mm base (which doesn't even have room for my model most of the time) so I tried some DIY pipes on an 'industrial' style base. 

Father Lucant, unpainted

I used a spear shaft from one of my pikemen as the small pipe, and a tube used to protect brush tips for the big one. Also, this miniature has probably been one of the most frustrating to put together in the game so far (maybe tied with some Cryx). And even with the 'custom' base, getting the legs fixed into place took hours of pinning. 

Lucant, left

I had to get a little creative in where I put his porcelain mask, but I think it worked out great. The scepter could have been better with some blending, but I'm happy with everything else. 

Lucant, back

I particularly like the brass on him. This is a 6 color brass from top to bottom, and I think it really looks antique. One of the forces I'm fighting is to make sure they don't look gold, and I think I'm pretty close to that line here. 

Lucant, front

The sea green tabard came out nicely too I think. 

I'm really excited to be playing Lucant, he's likely to be my "all-comers" attrition list caster, likely in CWL with recursing heavy infantry. But double Inverters are not unlikely once I get a second one painted. His spell Discontinuity can help against magic too, some Convergence isn't naturally great at dealing with. And Positive Control can turn a vector into a monster. 

Algorithmic Disperion Optifex, front

I also painted up a couple more ADOs for extra channeling and induction range. They also make decent backline flag sitters. The two on the left are newly painted and the one on the right was the test model for the army. 

Algorithmic Disperion Optifex, back

This contrast really shows the drift that the paint scheme has been taking, and I enjoy the comparison. I almost wish I'd left one ADO unpainted so that it could be the last model I paint in the faction to get the full arc.

I think I'm over halfway painted now!

The eye is watching...

 The Diffuser is probably the best classic light vector in Convergence (not counting the Corollary of course). The extra mobility that it can grant in the right circumstance can really extend threat ranges, and the extra focus that isn't needed to charge is welcomed. 

Diffuser, front

Even melee casters like Axis want one, as the Luck ability plus a little boost can usually still get the job done. Iron Mother with Fire Group up makes this little guy threat range 18", to extend other threat ranges. 

Diffuser, side

The studio paint job has that eye as just solid metal, but that is the most boring option here. I went a half step up from that and made it glow, even doing some blending. I also did some more extreme OSL glow with a dusting of white over the blue.

Mitigator and Diffuer

Side by side with the Mitigator, I can see a lot of improvement. The pink is cleaner and the brass looks better shaded too. 

Accretion servitors

I also threw together another group of Accretion servitors for extra cheap shield guards. The one on the left is the first where I'm experimenting with a new base style which will hopefully increase the variety of bases in my army while still looking uniform. 

Prime Axiom finished

 I got another couple vectors done, most notably the Prime Axiom!

Prime Axiom, front

The top wasn't as detailed as the bottom, but a lot of flat surfaces to try to give depth to. This thing is as big as my head too. I can't say I'm fully happy with it, I think it's too monochromatic with the yellow brass or grey steel. But I do think it looks good and will be impressive on the table. 

Prime Axiom, back

I've done a few glows now but I really like the exaggerated OSL on this one, I think I'll start upping it more on my next few models too, it makes them look like they're in the night a bit. 

Wreck markers

I also painted up some old wreck markers from the previous editions of the game (they're not used anymore) to use as an objective and two flags. I really like the big one with its 'cartridge' pulled out, revealing some inner workings. No wonder my army would be fighting to recover it!

Inverter, front

I also did a quick paint of my inverter. I rushed it and will probably need to go back and touch it up, and especially hit it with a matte coat. You might notice that I played with Army Painter blood effect on the mace too, I don't know if I like it though. Likely won't be using it again in this army, but we'll see. 

Inverter, back

I have another couple lights on my bench now so those will probably be next. I think I'm actually close to done with my Destruction Initiative models (except more warcasters of course).