Random Nonsense

I never could have imagined that the Meat Grinder would take off the way it did at this year’s Adepticon. I showed up on Friday, found an open spot, and set up shop hoping to reel in a few players to join in on this annual miniature horror show. As I went through my spiel, most feigned mild interest, others laughed nervously, and some avoided direct eye contact altogether with the guy who was asking them to destroy their treasured minis just for the sake of a silly game. 

But as time ticked by we started to find some takers…  A match here, a match there and it started to pick up steam. And with each new match, chants of “Grind It!” began to echo through the halls of the convention, getting louder and louder as the day rolled on. By midafternoon I was happy with the turnout and thought it couldn’t get much louder when minis hit the Grinder.

That’s when the Mordheim guys showed up and proved me wrong.

First there was a group of 8. Then 10. Then before I knew it, the arena was surrounded by a mass of bodies, each cheering, laughing, and gleefully tossing minis into the Grinder as each of them fell. “Grind It! Grind It! Grind It!” rang through the hallways and could be heard throughout the convention. It was insane. And I loved every minute of it. And as Friday came to a close, I popped a beer, started to pack things up, and thought it couldn’t possibly get better than this.

After recording episode 58 that afternoon I was beat and hadn’t actually planned on running the Meat Grinder on Saturday night. But Steve popped in and told me that he and a few of his buddies had stayed up to the wee hours of the morning to kitbash and paint their combatants and really hoped I would. So, while still hungover and exhausted, I agreed. After all, it’s just one more night and a few more trips to the Grinder, right?

And then the Mordheim guys showed up and proved me wrong.

When Steve said a few, I was expecting the group that had been there the night before. I could not have been more wrong. I heard them coming before I actually saw them. And they did not come alone. Those 8-10 guys from the night before had more than doubled in size, bringing along with them more friends as well as Youtubers Miniwargaming Dave, Eric from Eric’s Hobby Workshop, and Trent from Miscast to join in the fray.

24 kitbashed monstrosities, each lovingly built and painted in the way too late hours of the night before now stood ready in the way too small confines of the Meat Grinder arena. And when the battle commenced it was quick, brutal and unforgiving. And it was glorious. The dice rolled, excited shouts went up, and minis went down. It was utter chaos. As combatants fell they met the Grinder for their first and last time and I have honestly never seen so many people relish the destruction as they ground their very own creations to dust. And I loved every single moment of it. 

This feeling is why we do what we do. A long time ago, Tim and Lathan came up with the game and people came. I joined the fray first as a friend and player until the Adepticon we found ourselves without an arena and the Meat Grinder was in jeopardy of not making an appearance that year. But, I couldn’t live with that. So with the clock ticking and a couple weeks to go I got to building. Had I done anything like this before? No. But I knew people online that had. So I hit Youtube, checked out any channel I could find and got to work. And what channels helped the most? MWG Studios, Eric’s Hobby Workshop, and Miscast. And with their inspiration I was able to build this –