12 Highest Paying URL Shortener 2019: Best URL Shortener to Earn Money

1. Short.am

   Short.am provides a big opportunity for earning money by shortening links. It is a rapidly growing URL Shortening Service. You simply need to sign up and start shrinking links. You can share the shortened links across the web, on your webpage, Twitter, Facebook, and more. Short.am provides detailed statistics and easy-to-use API.
   It even provides add-ons and plugins so that you can monetize your WordPress site. The minimum payout is $5 before you will be paid. It pays users via PayPal or Payoneer. It has the best market payout rates, offering unparalleled revenue. Short.am also run a referral program wherein you can earn 20% extra commission for life.
   

2. Linkrex.net

   Linkrex.net is one of the new URL shortener sites.You can trust it.It is paying and is a legit site.It offers high CPM rate.You can earn money by sing up to linkrex and shorten your URL link and paste it anywhere.You can paste it in your website or blog.You can paste it into social media networking sites like facebook, twitter or google plus etc.
   You will be paid whenever anyone will click on that shorten a link.You can earn more than $15 for 1000 views.You can withdraw your amount when it reaches $5.Another way of earning from this site is to refer other people.You can earn 25% as a referral commission.
   
   • The payout for 1000 views-$14
   • Minimum payout-$5
   • Referral commission-25%
   • Payment Options-Paypal,Bitcoin,Skrill and Paytm,etc
   • Payment time-daily
   
   

3. Ouo.io

   Ouo.io is one of the fastest growing URL Shortener Service. Its pretty domain name is helpful in generating more clicks than other URL Shortener Services, and so you get a good opportunity for earning more money out of your shortened link. Ouo.io comes with several advanced features as well as customization options.
   With Ouo.io you can earn up to $8 per 1000 views. It also counts multiple views from same IP or person. With Ouo.io is becomes easy to earn money using its URL Shortener Service. The minimum payout is $5. Your earnings are automatically credited to your PayPal or Payoneer account on 1st or 15th of the month.
   
   • Payout for every 1000 views-$5
   • Minimum payout-$5
   • Referral commission-20%
   • Payout time-1st and 15th date of the month
   • Payout options-PayPal and Payza
   
   

4. Adf.ly

   Adf.ly is the oldest and one of the most trusted URL Shortener Service for making money by shrinking your links. Adf.ly provides you an opportunity to earn up to $5 per 1000 views. However, the earnings depend upon the demographics of users who go on to click the shortened link by Adf.ly.
   It offers a very comprehensive reporting system for tracking the performance of your each shortened URL. The minimum payout is kept low, and it is $5. It pays on 10th of every month. You can receive your earnings via PayPal, Payza, or AlertPay. Adf.ly also runs a referral program wherein you can earn a flat 20% commission for each referral for a lifetime.
   

5. Wi.cr

   Wi.cr is also one of the 30 highest paying URL sites.You can earn through shortening links.When someone will click on your link.You will be paid.They offer $7 for 1000 views.Minimum payout is $5.
   You can earn through its referral program.When someone will open the account through your link you will get 10% commission.Payment option is PayPal.
   
   • Payout for 1000 views-$7
   • Minimum payout-$5
   • Referral commission-10%
   • Payout method-Paypal
   • Payout time-daily
   
   

6. BIT-URL

   It is a new URL shortener website.Its CPM rate is good.You can sign up for free and shorten your URL and that shortener URL can be paste on your websites, blogs or social media networking sites.bit-url.com pays $8.10 for 1000 views.
   You can withdraw your amount when it reaches $3.bit-url.com offers 20% commission for your referral link.Payment methods are PayPal, Payza, Payeer, and Flexy etc.
   
   • The payout for 1000 views-$8.10
   • Minimum payout-$3
   • Referral commission-20%
   • Payment methods- Paypal, Payza, and Payeer
   • Payment time-daily
   
   

7. Linkbucks

   Linkbucks is another best and one of the most popular sites for shortening URLs and earning money. It boasts of high Google Page Rank as well as very high Alexa rankings. Linkbucks is paying $0.5 to $7 per 1000 views, and it depends on country to country.
   The minimum payout is $10, and payment method is PayPal. It also provides the opportunity of referral earnings wherein you can earn 20% commission for a lifetime. Linkbucks runs advertising programs as well.
   
   • The payout for 1000 views-$3-9
   • Minimum payout-$10
   • Referral commission-20%
   • Payment options-PayPal,Payza,and Payoneer
   • Payment-on the daily basis
   
   

8. CPMlink

   CPMlink is one of the most legit URL shortener sites.You can sign up for free.It works like other shortener sites.You just have to shorten your link and paste that link into the internet.When someone will click on your link.
   You will get some amount of that click.It pays around $5 for every 1000 views.They offer 10% commission as the referral program.You can withdraw your amount when it reaches $5.The payment is then sent to your PayPal, Payza or Skrill account daily after requesting it.
   
   • The payout for 1000 views-$5
   • Minimum payout-$5
   • Referral commission-10%
   • Payment methods-Paypal, Payza, and Skrill
   • Payment time-daily
   
   

9. Cut-win

   Cut-win is a new URL shortener website.It is paying at the time and you can trust it.You just have to sign up for an account and then you can shorten your URL and put that URL anywhere.You can paste it into your site, blog or even social media networking sites.It pays high CPM rate.
   You can earn $10 for 1000 views.You can earn 22% commission through the referral system.The most important thing is that you can withdraw your amount when it reaches $1.
   
   • The payout for 1000 views-$10
   • Minimum payout-$1
   • Referral commission-22%
   • Payment methods-PayPal, Payza, Bitcoin, Skrill, Western Union and Moneygram etc.
   • Payment time-daily
   
   

10. LINK.TL

    LINK.TL is one of the best and highest URL shortener website.It pays up to $16 for every 1000 views.You just have to sign up for free.You can earn by shortening your long URL into short and you can paste that URL into your website, blogs or social media networking sites, like facebook, twitter, and google plus etc.
    One of the best thing about this site is its referral system.They offer 10% referral commission.You can withdraw your amount when it reaches $5.
    
    • Payout for 1000 views-$16
    • Minimum payout-$5
    • Referral commission-10%
    • Payout methods-Paypal, Payza, and Skrill
    • Payment time-daily basis
    
    

11. Clk.sh

    Clk.sh is a newly launched trusted link shortener network, it is a sister site of shrinkearn.com. I like ClkSh because it accepts multiple views from same visitors. If any one searching for Top and best url shortener service then i recommend this url shortener to our users. Clk.sh accepts advertisers and publishers from all over the world. It offers an opportunity to all its publishers to earn money and advertisers will get their targeted audience for cheapest rate. While writing ClkSh was offering up to $8 per 1000 visits and its minimum cpm rate is $1.4. Like Shrinkearn, Shorte.st url shorteners Clk.sh also offers some best features to all its users, including Good customer support, multiple views counting, decent cpm rates, good referral rate, multiple tools, quick payments etc. ClkSh offers 30% referral commission to its publishers. It uses 6 payment methods to all its users.
    • Payout for 1000 Views: Upto $8
    • Minimum Withdrawal: $5
    • Referral Commission: 30%
    • Payment Methods: PayPal, Payza, Skrill etc.
    • Payment Time: Daily
    
    

12. Short.pe

    Short.pe is one of the most trusted sites from our top 30 highest paying URL shorteners.It pays on time.intrusting thing is that same visitor can click on your shorten link multiple times.You can earn by sign up and shorten your long URL.You just have to paste that URL to somewhere.
    You can paste it into your website, blog, or social media networking sites.They offer $5 for every 1000 views.You can also earn 20% referral commission from this site.Their minimum payout amount is only $1.You can withdraw from Paypal, Payza, and Payoneer.
    
    • The payout for 1000 views-$5
    • Minimum payout-$1
    • Referral commission-20% for lifetime
    • Payment methods-Paypal, Payza, and Payoneer
    • Payment time-on daily basis
    
    

Testing Esoteric Lists: Gunny & Madrak2

Last night I was able to get an astounding two games in and as I was heading to my FLGS I decided I didn't want to just run the popular pairing of Madrak1 and Borka2, mainly because I've played a ton of Madrak1 already and while Borka2 is fairly new for me I have had a few rounds with him already.  I just wanted to try some lists that were of my own design that I thought were interesting and possibly strong.

So in I went with a "pairing" to put down into whoever I was playing against: Gunnbjorn and Madrak2.

I'll tackle each list and the match up in turn.

Gunny 

Trollblood - Gunny Goes North

Theme: Storm of the North
2 / 2 Free Cards     75 / 75 Army

Captain Gunnbjorn - WB: +28
-    Trollkin Runebearer - PC: 0
-    Dozer & Smigg - PC: 18 (Battlegroup Points Used: 18)
-    Dire Troll Bomber - PC: 19 (Battlegroup Points Used: 10)
-    Dire Troll Mauler - PC: 15

Hearthgut Hooch Hauler - PC: 18

Bog Trog Mist Speaker - PC: 4
Valka Curseborn, Chieftain of the North - PC: 0

Krielstone Bearer & Stone Scribes - Leader & 5 Grunts: 9
-    Stone Scribe Elder - PC: 3
Northkin Raiders - Leader & 9 Grunts: 15
Swamp Gobber Bellows Crew - Leader & 1 Grunt: 2

I was really excited about this list since it seems like it can clear a lot of infantry off the board or shoot a heavy off the table.  I've been dying to find a way to make the module of Hauler + Raiders work, and I feel giving them Snipe via Gunny or Grim2 is the way to really make them shine.

I put this pair up vs. my friend Brian who was coming back to playing Khador after 8 months of playing Circle and a lot of other games.  He had Butcher3 with Jacks Galore and a Zerkova 2 list with lots of Greylords and a smattering of Doom Reavers.  I really wanted to try Gunny and on discussion of the matchup it was clear that Zerkova 2 would get shot down pretty hard on the approach before she could really do any damage, plus most of my army is going to be Cold Immune, meaning he had to drop Butcher.  Madrak is probably the better Butcher3 drop, but I wanted to see how Gunny would match up.

Brian's list from memory was roughly:

Butcher 3
-Wardog
-Berserker
-Berserker
-Ruin
-Grolar

Forgeseer
-Behemoth

Forgeseer

Eliminators
Eliminators
Mechanics 

Brian won the roll off and elected to go first.  Scenario was Outlast.

After running his army into position up the field on turn 1, I replied by feating early to avoid the Behemoth clearing out swathes of my Raiders and running to be just out of Brian's threat ranges.

Thanks to Dozer's animus I was able to get lucky drifts/boosts onto one member of each unit of Eliminators and take their gang bonus off the table.  Still I was being a bit too timid by staying out of his threat ranges and I had blocked up my Hooch Hauler behind my Raiders making the order of activation awkward on this and the following turns.

On Brian's second turn he simply positions to threaten the entire zone and moves Butcher on to the central flag on his side. He moves Ruin into some rough ground for cover and positions both Argus centrally to threaten as well. 

On my second turn I decide that Ruin and both of the Argus must die to take away relentless charge from Butcher so I can use Rockwall to try and control him plus the drags.

 

I'm able to kill both Ruin and the Argus, but it takes literally everything my army has to do it with. I made a mistake and failed to contest Brian's flag and we both go up a point.  I use a Rockwall to prevent Butcher from being able to charge/move+impending doom any of my heavies in, so Brian elects to keep him on the flag for the turn and merely runs or sends in what Jacks he can to jam me up.  He does clear one zone and manages to score it however. Still, far too much of his force is out of threat ranges and his ranged attacks don't do too much work on the Raiders. 

At this point we start doing trades, and I'm able to tie the score on CP's, but I make a mistake with Gunny and move him too far forward to where he is in danger of the Butcher and I forgot to cast my Rockwall. I do end up decently ahead on Attrition, though Butcher can swing things back around had Brian not gone for an assassination. 

Sadly for Brian his dice manage to fail him completely and Butcher is left engaged with a Bomber and Gunny in melee and concedes based on the fact that Butcher has zero camp and will likely get splattered. 

In hindsight I should have lost this game on two fronts: First the assassination should have worked as a punish for my mistake, and second if Brian was simply more aggressive just running literally every Jack at my list, I don't think I'm able to effectively trade pieces and take what is necessary before the Butcher can come in and remove all threats to himself and then just seal the game from there. I'm sure if this wasn't his first game with Khador in 8 months I'd have been splattered pretty handily.

While I think the list seemed great on paper, it doesn't bring a lot of bodies to the game. Perhaps my feelings are colored by the matchup being bad overall and with better placement of the Raiders and Hauler I would have more game against other lists on the same scenario, but this will require testing and a skeptical eye to see how things are.

Madrak2
 
Trollblood - Madrak2 Toughallo

Theme: Band of Heroes
3 / 3 Free Cards     74 / 75 Army

Madrak Ironhide, World Ender - WB: +28
-    Trollkin Runebearer - PC: 0
-    Dire Troll Mauler - PC: 15 (Battlegroup Points Used: 15)
-    Dire Troll Bomber - PC: 19 (Battlegroup Points Used: 13)

Fell Caller Hero - PC: 0
Fell Caller Hero - PC: 0
Eilish Garrity, the Occultist - PC: 5

Krielstone Bearer & Stone Scribes - Leader & 5 Grunts: 9
-    Stone Scribe Elder - PC: 3
Trollkin Long Riders - Leader & 4 Grunts: 20
Trollkin Long Riders - Leader & 4 Grunts: 20
Kriel Warriors - Leader & 9 Grunts: 11

I was/am really excited about this Madrak2 list. My initial thoughts with the caster is to pretend I'm a MK2 Cryx player and jam in 2x Fennblades + 2x Kriel Warriors + solos and run screaming at my opponent.

Then I got to thinking about how while other warlocks can deliver units like the Long Riders, a unit I absolutely adore, no one really makes them hit any harder and while they're very strong, they're not going to just blow up a heavy without any buffs.  Plus the problem with a 40+ dude infantry swarm with Madrak2 is it lacks basically any relevant guns and it's not very hard for enemy shooting to continually clear off my infantry. Once the Fennblades have been hit, the Kriel Warriors will get out paced and likely shot up pretty hard.  This would turn things into a game of "Who won to go first".

With the Long Riders I should still be able to chew through enemy models and also withstand enough shooting to do serious damage once the lines meet.  Initially the list had two units of Kriel Warriors to back up the Long Riders, but I decided the list was susceptible to control and I threw Ellish in. With the extra points I upgraded my Earthborn to a Bomber to get some ranged presence which I really found to be helpful. 

I played this list into Sean, someone who I've met but haven't played against.  He dropped Skarre1 Dark Host into me:

Skarre1
-Scarlock
-Inflictor
-Stalker
-Stalker

Wraith Engine

Bane Riders
Bane Knights
Min Bane Warriors + CA

Darragh
Necrotech
Tartarus

Scenario was Standoff and Sean won the roll to go first.

This game ended up being a bit of a back and forth with some key positioning elements due to equivalent threat ranges on our Cav and my spacing models out properly to avoid a Stalker being able to kill multiple Long Riders without issue.

I won the game in the end, but part of that could have been due to the fact that Sean had deployed Darragh with the infantry units on the flank opposite the Bane Riders, so we shared a threat range rather than him having an advantage.  He also apparently didn't know that Long Riders could slam models, and so I was able to eliminate all of his Bane Riders in exchange for sacrificing only one of my Long Riders.  It should be noted that Blood Fury'd Bull Rush slams, when knocking the slam target into another model or terrain is very strong.   Still Sean was very careful to only feed me feated on Bane Knights for my feat turn, and spaced appropriately with his other units in reserve to prevent me from getting too far ahead on attrition. I suspect if we played again this game would be much tougher and far more favored to the player who wins the roll to go first based on how each of our lists were designed.

I know I could play this list in Storm of the North to get extra speed on my units, but I think having Band of Heroes for the extra 2" and Takedown/RFP is absolutely crucial in the meta ATM.  Right now Trolls are balanced in that we can either speed up our Long Riders or we can buff their damage, but we can't do both. I do think the unit has a lot of untapped potential, and since I own two units of them now, I want to experiment a lot with them.

Conclusions

After both games I am more optimistic about Madrak2's list than I am about Gunny.  I am not sure how I feel about leading with my Cav up front, but I do know that making Long Riders weapon masters makes it so that they can easily kill any heavy on the charge with the usual amount that can get into one via positioning rather than not.  They also are fairly well positioned to be able to handle infantry due to Bull Rush.

As for Gunny, I think he just needs more testing. It may well be that what I have is sufficient, but man does it ever feel like having just more units to be able to throw into zones is the way to go.  Melee also just feels much stronger than guns at being able to do what is necessary: Jam up and piece trade, so as to allow Trolls the ability to play the Attrition game we're supposed to be very good at.  Guns still have a lot of value, but it's more about being able to snipe out a key model in a zone or scalpel out an important support solo or CA/WA/etc.

Still, I really want to find a way to make the Hauler + Raider package work well, it just seems like it should be so good on paper. I believe Grim2 is the next place to look with them, but I'm having trouble rounding out a SotN list that I like that includes that module.

Semi-live At Templecon!

With Privateer Press losing their equipment, they won't be doing their live feed as expected.  Fortunately, I'm at Templecon right now so I will post up a quick summary on my phone as I hear the info!  Keep an eye on this page!

Nevermind.  Live feed is working!

VR Serious Games In The Maritime Industry

Image credit: SQLearn

In the recent article "Playing Serious Games with Virtual Reality", the Maritime Executive addresses how SQLearn has created VR familiarization walkthroughs using basic sections of a tanker vessel.

SQLearn has developed its Dolphin Platforms - a complete suite of specialized learning services for the shipping industry - focusing on the seafarer's active participation in the learning matrix while reducing the time and cost of the training process.

According to the company, VR technology offers unsurpassed scenario-based training opportunities. Now easily deployable at sea or on land, seafarers can play Serious Games with an autonomous device that generates interactive games designed to achieve specific training goals.

Applications of VR technology in the maritime industry include ensuring crew have the experience they need to safely and efficiently deal with situations such as mooring operations, machinery adjustments, galley fires or engine room explosions.

SQLearn's technology can be deployed using either Oculus Rift headsets or Oculus Go - an autonomous device that offers maximum portability. 

Image credit: SQLearn

SQLearn has created VR familiarization walkthroughs using basic sections of a tanker vessel, most notably the bridge, various parts of the engine room and the deck.

Image credit: SQLearn

From Crunchbase

"A Greek company founded in 2006, SQLearn specializes in the provision of integrated e-learning solutions. SQLearn addresses enterprises and educational institutions offering them the best experience on e-learning."

"Their flagship product is the e-learning suite, an integrated e-learning environment of Synchronous and Asynchronous education which provides all the utilities needed for the management of the educational process."

"SQLearn also provides a digital library of multimedia educational material. It is aimed at adults and has been built based on the principles of pedagogy and instructional design for e-learning, allowing the user to interact directly with the educational material."

[Perilous Journeys RPG] The Minotaur, Take One

The following monster entry is my first attempt at presenting the Minotaur using the Perilous Journeys RPG game stats.

Minotaur

H: 60-70  A: 36–45  S: 40  AF: 6
Attack: weapon +4/1d8/1d6

Encountered: 1-4

Description: Minotaurs appear to be large humanoid creatures with the head of a bull.  They are typically around 7 feet tall with a thick, rugged build.  Rumors speak of Minotaurs living on a diet consisting of humans and other smaller humanoid races.  Minotaurs are somewhat intelligent and may use tools and weapons.

Comat: Minotaurs tend to charge their opponents in an attempt to gore them for 1d8 damage; when closed to grappling distance a Minotaur may bite for 1d6 damage.  Some Minotaurs prefer to use weapons such as spears, clubs, or axes and get a +4 bonus to damage when doing so.  Minotaurs tend to attack things smaller than their size.  Minotaurs may be wearing a ragtag mix of garments for armor in addition to their tough hide and have an effective armor factor of 6 points.

Treasure: C

Wizards Wanted "Plays Thru" GreyElephant Gaming

PUBG Mobile New V.0.11.5 Update For Android | Zombie Mode | Download Link

PUBGmobile zombie mode with new overall updated v.011.5 on android has been available to download and I've brought you the link to download now so all of you guys who wants to try beta version can download the apk from given Link but remember one user can run only one version per smartphone, I think it means you have to uninstall the already installed stable version of the PUBGmobile Game.

With this PUBGmobile apk you can play zombie mode and also there is Resident Evil main menu theme.

PUBGmobile zombie mode has now been released in February 2019 in 0.11.0 version and no PUBG career game result impact in every beta version like now v.011.5,there will be seperate career mode in final version, so RP and other progress you will make in beta app of the game is not going to add in your career in final version of the game.

There are two modes in PUBG game Classic and Arcade and in the Classic mode there are 4 maps available Erangel,Miramar,Sanhok and Vikendi to play the game while in Arcade mode there are three map War,Mini zone and quick match and you can play PUBG in Single,Duos and Squad team in TPP and FPP.

In zombie mode of PUBG mobile there will be an extra Event Mode with Classic and Arcade. But you can play event mode with Squad game only in beta mode. We hope in final version of PUBGmobile zombie mode, you will be able to play Single,Duos and squad team match.

Zombie mode of PUBG mobile is very interesting as you fight with the zombies and zombies do not use any weapon but can kill you with their own quality. Like male zombies spit on you,female zombies scratches and tyrants will attack by throwing stones.

As we all know PUBG game has been trending amongst all gamers since its release. PUBG can be played on all platform and most popular version is PUBGmobile on PC with emulator and some emulator players have already got this version which you can watch in their PUBG Mobile stream on Youtube.

Some highlights of PUBG mobile v.0.11.5 update

In latest beta update, you can find dynamic weather in Erangel and miramar, a new rifel G36C in Vikendi map of PUBG and a new vehicle Tukshai for Sanhok .

In the event mode, zombies will be able to enter to more places in map and you will find more zombies outside the zone,damage outside zone in the night has been increased etc.

Final version 0.11.5 of PUBG Mobile with Royal Pass season 6, has been released on 20TH February 2019 and if you haven't downloaded Pubg on your mobile yet then you can download it from Play store for Free।।

APK Link for PUBGmobile Zombie Mode beta version (Expired, as final zombie mode had been released)

ASOIAF: Deployment And Activations

Get ready for some hard lessons.

One of the best things about this game how in-depth alternate deployment and activations work.  All of this is outlined really well in the main rulebook, but I want to take a moment to stress the importance of how greatly this affects overall gameplay.  A lot of this harks all the way back to my WHFB days where "drops" and chaff really meant something when it comes to deployment.  Having more drops than the opponent allows you to see where their most crucial units get placed so you can better deploy against them.  Keep in mind that when it comes to "drops", this is strictly limited to combat units.  It doesn't matter how many NCUs you have when it comes to deployment, but this will matter when it comes to overall activations.  Activation order and the number of total activations matter because the more you have, the more you can "force" your opponents to activate their units so you can better counter them.

Alright, so let's dive into deployment first.  Going forward, I'm just going to call these drops because I'm an old-school WHFB player and you're just going to have to deal with it.  I'll start by using my Robb Stark list vs. the previously posted Ramsay list.

Faction: House Stark
Commander: Robb Stark – The Wolf Lord
Points: 40 (4 Neutral)

Combat Units:
• House Umber Greataxes (7)
  with Robb Stark – The Wolf Lord (0)
• Grey Wind (0)
• Stark Sworn Swords (5)
  with Bran and Hodor – Protector and Ward (3)
• Summer (0)
• House Umber Berserkers (7)
  with Sworn Sword Captain (1)
• Stark Outriders (7)
  with Brynden Tully – Vanguard Infiltrator (3)

Non-Combat Units:
• Sansa Stark – Little Bird (3)
• Lord Varys – The Spider (4)

Made with ASOIAFBuilder.com

vs.

Faction: House Lannister
Commander: Ramsay Snow – The Bastard of Bolton
Points: 40 (20 Neutral)

Combat Units:
• House Clegane Mountain Men (6)
  with Ramsay Snow – The Bastard of Bolton (0)
  and Theon Greyjoy – Reek (0)
• House Clegane Mountain Men (6)
  with Dreadfort Captain (1)
• Bolton Cutthroats (5)
  with Assault Veteran (1)
• The Flayed Men (10)
  with Gregor Clegane – Mounted Behemoth (3)

Non-Combat Units:
• Tywin Lannister – The Great Lion (4)
• Lord Varys – The Spider (4)

Made with ASOIAFBuilder.com

Before we talk about anything else, keep in mind that after the battlefield is set up, you roll a die with your opponent and you see who gets to pick their deployment zone (winner chooses or passes).  The player who does not choose their Deployment Zone will the First Player.  The player who chooses the deployment zone puts down their first combat unit.

As you can see in the example lists above, Robb's army has a total of 6 drops compared to Ramsay's 4 drops.   This is one of the best things about the Stark Dire Wolves and that's because it comes with good 0-point chaff that are combat units.

If you choose Deployment and therefore starts deploying first, it would look like:

1. You put a wolf down
2. They put down a combat unit
3. You put another wolf down
4. They have to put another combat unit
5. You put down some Stark Swords
6. They put down another combat unit
7. You put down some Berserkers
8. They have to put down their Flayed Men with Ser G
9. Now you counter-deploy your Greataxes to meet his knights
10. ...and you can put your Outriders somewhere that best suits your needs

Hell, if you count his drops ahead of time, you can even choose to Outflank with your Outriders because you know the drop advantage is yours.  Always count the number of drops your opponent has and take note of any units of significance.

Do you see the power of having more drops than the opponent?  This is actually one of Stark's most powerful tools and that's the free Dire Wolves with Robb and Brann.  Once Shaggydog gets up in here, it's going to be a hoot.  Even having one drop over the opponent can mean a big difference because it allows you to better set up your slower moving speed-4 Greataxes somewhere that's going to scare those Flayed Men.  If you end up tieing with your opponent when it comes to drops, consider letting them choose deployment so they drop first.

Activating in the most optimal order is key.

Next, let's talk a little bit about activations.  For the most part, I'll try and keep things as generic as possible.  Knowing the when and why you activate your units will mean the difference between victory and defeat.  This is where most of the complexity of the game comes from.  By understanding that your NCUs count towards total activations and directly interact with the game through the tactics board, this greatly enhances how you play the game.  While most units interact directly with tactics cards, there's also a ton of ways to cheat out free actions.  To explain all of this is going to be really complex because it's simply impossible to predict any and all events that are going to happen in a game.  No worries though, I'll try and give out some hints based on the games I've had so far.  Keep in mind that who is First Player also matters greatly.

Here are some helpful tips:

• NCUs tend to activate first to either stifle the opponent's zones or take advantages for themselves.  For example, as First Player, taking the Tactics zone can be super useful, or robbing the Stark player of free maneuvers can also be strong, especially when there are plentiful objectives on the board.
• Whenever you interact with the tactics board, you should first consider if you're planning to give a direct benefit to yourself or to disrupt the opponents' plans.  Every decision you make should be deliberate and has a significant impact on the game.
• When units are already engaged,  claiming the Combat zone is very strong and should be claimed if you have First Player.  This is essentially a free combat action, which is just incredible.  Anything that gives free anything is highly-sought after.
• Activating your Dire Wolves first before your main combat units allow you to better move units in response to what the opponent is going to do.  They have to activate their units and cannot choose to just pass.  They can, however, put an activation token on the unit and just not do anything.
• Always look for low-risk activations first if you want to bait your opponent into doing something so you can counterplay it.  However, you need to prioritize high-value activations if you absolutely need something to go in your favor.  This is how tempo is set by the player:  If everything you're doing gives you an advantage some way or another, you will always be ahead.  An example of this could be deciding to put an NCU down first to disrupt the opponent or to activate a unit.  You want to choose the one that will put you ahead while leaving the opponent unable to respond.  The best type of activation is getting to do something that gives you advantage while the opponent gains nothing.
• As the game progresses, this is where the true chess element of the game comes in:  Choosing the wrong activation order can literally mean victory or defeat.  Everything is a risk because both you and your opponent has a hidden hand of tactics cards, and with NCUs being different every game, there's always going to be calculated risk.  This is why Varys is one of the strongest NCUs in the game currently:  He has 4 tries to foil your opponents' plans with the tactics board or their NCUs.
• Once combat is joined, the focus of the game shifts a bit from NCUs to actually fighting the battle.  Otherwise, you risk skipping pivotal combat and your opponent might just tactics your unit into the ground before you get a chance to swing.  If you see the opportunity to inflict damage, it's almost always worth it to take it unless you have the appropriate counter.  Look for unit activations that will give you the battlefield advantage.  NCUs are not the ones fighting over objectives.
• Typically when you're a couple of turns in and the battle is joined, you should look for opportunities for free actions first, then combat, then NCUs in that order.  There are many factors that will change this order around, but that's completely up to you to analyze the opportunity cost.  Since there are a lot of things to keep track of once battle is joined so it's important for you to get comfortable with your units, your commander, your NCUs, and your tactics cards.  Else, you risk missing vital opportunities or triggers that can win the game for you.

Alright, that's pretty much all I have to say about activations.  There are just a billion examples and each one of them is unique.  However, I think mastering your activations is the most difficult, most complex, and most rewarding part of the game.  It's probably the biggest factor in identifying player skill and experience, so it's definitely worth practicing.  Good luck!

New Project: Gorten Grundback

I have a problem.  Whenever I start a new faction I tell myself that I'll "only" play a particular warcaster/warlock... then maybe just a couple... then I end up owning most of the faction.  This happened with Cygnar, this happened with Circle, and now it's happening with Mercenaries.  Please, can someone take my Legion off of my hands so I don't get tempted to do it again?  I originally just got my Mercenaries to play with the pirates, in particular: Broadsides Bart.  It's a fun list but I just never really got it to a point where I was really happy with it, you know?  Then I expanded a bit and decided to try Fiona the Black.  She's an underdog and faces a lot of criticism, so I decided to try her out to prove people wrong.  After a lot of tweaking and playtesting, I've found a good list for her that I like.  Now, after some list building with a fan of the blog, I broke down and decided to try out Gorten Grundback.  Before you get all excited about Rhulic dwarves, I'm sadly not going to be playing with the Searforge Commission (yet), but rather sticking with the Highborn Covenant.  It makes sense, after all, since I play Fiona with the same contract and I already own lots of Cygnar models, so I might as well, right?  Well here's the list that I've put together:

Highborn Covenant 35 points
Gorten Grundback (+7)
- Basher (7)
Alexia and Risen (5)
Forge Guard (full, 8)
Gun Mages (6)
- Officer (2)
  - Mule (8)
Rhupert (2)
Ragman (2)
Gorman (2)

Not a lot of moving parts in this list but I like it.  I'll need to play around with it to decide what I want to tweak, but so far I really like it.  This list brings a bunch of bodies onto the field and some cleverly disguised hard-hitting.  My favorite part, though, is the shooting potential of the list.  While the meta is changing, shooting is still very effective if you have the right tools.  While Gorten doesn't inherently offer much synergy to shooting armies, I think this list will take advantage of what Gorten does have to offer rather well.

The first thing to note is the number of bodies hitting the field.  Forge Guard are some great high-ARM troops which pack a serious punch but can die easily to weapon masters or charging infantry.  Having a nice and squishy screen of risen in front of them, however, will mean that my opponent will have a hard time getting to the forge guard, allowing me to deliver their counter-punch most effectively.  Even if my opponent does kill some forge guard, they'll just add to Alexia's number of risen, so it's a great cycle of annoyance.  Rhupert, of course, is there to give out Pathfinder as needed, but also to make the risen Tough, which can take a normally annoying unit to hilarious levels of being annoying.  Even if my opponent wants to remove Alexia directly, the Tough rolls on the risen can be used on her "transfers" so she'll be even more difficult to remove.

Behind the forge guard and taking advantage of their Ranked Attacks, the Gun Mages and their Mule will be about to reach out and shoot the crap out of enemy models as they get close.  Sure, the risen can still get in the way, but if I'm really worried about it, I'll gladly trade a risen to a free strike if it means killing enemy infantry.  The Mule will be able to do some serious damage while he's marshalled by the Gun Mages and it helps take the focus load off of Gorten who has only 5 at the best of times to use.  The Mule can do all kinds of fun shenanigans and, again, I'm not afraid to shoot my own risen in the back (they'll be DEF 12 even if engaged! hahaha!) if it means clearing out a charge lane.

Toss in Ragman and Gorman for some improved damage, and we have ourselves a party!  Gorman will be sitting fairly safe behind all of the risen and can naturally Black Oil those pesky Colossals/Gargantuans or Rust Bomb a warjack if I'm worried about it.  Ragman, of course, will turn those risen into a slightly greater threat (especially if I'm shooting them while they're engaged) and he turns the forge guard into serious damage potential.  If I can tag a warjack with a Rust Bomb and get Ragman in range with his Death Field, even a Khador heavy at ARM 20 will crumble to merely 4 charging forge guard! 

KAPOW!

So what does Gorten bring to this party, anyway?  I think I can sum it up with two things: his feat and Solid Ground.  Gorten has an amazing feat that is well known for it's tournament winning potential.  While he has a small control area, the rest of this list and his naturally high armor mean that he'll be quite comfortable sitting pretty close to the front lines anyway.  His feat not only pushes models back up to 8", but it also offers a very useful SPD, DEF, and RAT debuff (although the RAT debuff is rarely important).  This means that even if my opponent decides to just run in and engage my models, I can simply pop feat and push them all back while my ranged attacks shoot them down.  The DEF debuff means they'll be much easier to hit and even if they try to come at me again, the SPD debuff will make it difficult for them to even run to get close again.  In essence, Gorten does support a ranged force by allowing them the opportunity to get basically 2 extra shooting 'phases'.

The second (arguably most important) piece of support Gorten offers is his spell Solid Ground.  Don't get me wrong, Rock Wall is pretty awesome too, but for such a low-FOC 'caster, Solid Ground will provide more benefits for upkeeping it (I'd even be willing to pay the double focus to upkeep it if someone makes me do that).  The spell offers two important benefits for this list: no blast damage and friendly models can't be knocked down.  Those are huge benefits!  Sure, small control area again, but keeping everyone standing is great for Tough, thanks to Rhupert as well as keeping Gorten alive longer since DEF 13 is hardly unimpressive as it is.  I think the immunity to blast damage is probably the most important, however.  With the exception of the forge guard, the rest of the warrior models in this list are fairly low in ARM values and are very susceptible to blast damage.  Gun Mages are only ARM 11 so even some of the weakest blast weapons are able to clear them out with ease.  Suddenly with Solid Ground, not only does the opponent have to get through a wall of forge guard, but they can't even hope that blast damage will remove some of those gun mages.

Just thinking about all of this makes me giddy and eager to try this list out!  I've also noted that there are no FA:C models in this list that I'd want to use with my Fiona list.  Could this mean that I have some tournament potential here???  We shall see!