The first weekend of June 2013 was my very first Lock & Load GameFest, where friends and fellow WARMACHINE and HORDES players from all over the world gathered for one of the best conventions I have ever been to! A friend from back in the Midwest was short a few Protectorate of Menoth models he would need for a few events; when I heard a fire had wiped out his home and painted models, I didn’t hesitate to offer up anything I had for him to use. I loaded up every painted Protectorate model I owned in my army bag and gave them to him. At the end of the weekend he asked me to come grab my bag from his hotel room, but I simply smiled and asked if he already had a carry-on for the plane. It felt good to be able to help out a friend and fellow player from the community.

This, however, left me with a question: what WARMACHINE army should I paint next? I was factionless and looking for a home. I wandered through the rag-tags of Pirates of the Broken Coast for a few months and enlisted in the Steelheads for a short while. I even offered myself up to the clockwork perfection of Cyriss. Although they were certainly a blast, I ultimately wanted something from the four original core factions. Then it hit me: I would wait to see what this year’s holiday bundles would be! After pondering the listings, I kept finding myself looking at the esthetics of Cryx. In the end, I heard the call of Lord Toruk!

Then recently, one of my close friends and fellow staff members, Michael Plummer, approached me about painting the entire army bundle in a single weekend. Being obsessed with speed painting at the time, I couldn’t refuse. So, on Thanksgiving weekend, we sat down with our two bundles, and after several hours of bad movies, plus tons of leftover turkey and pie, here are the results from my Cryx painting!

Be sure to check out Michael Plummer’s upcoming Insider on his Convergence of Cyriss paint job!

See you next time!