Category games workshop

Squats have returned to Warhammer 40k for the first time since 1998 and have been rebranded as the Leagues of the Votann!

Those that have been into Warhammer 40k for a couple decades are familiar with the term Squats but how many are familiar with the Leagues of the Votann? Comparatively I would venture that more people are aware of the Votann now that knew about Squats previously. That has more to do with the size the community has grown. Sure, we’ve lost some along the way to boyfriends, girlfriends and careers but we’ve gained so many more than were lost. According to some of the various themed wiki sites, Games Workshop felt the lore behind the Squats needed to be reworked and ended production on them as a whole.

So what exactly IS a Squat? To the lay they are essentially Space Dwarves. Per the lore they are an impolite nickname for a race that splintered off humanity during the Age of Technology and began cloning themselves to effectively become immortal and like any good dwarf focuses on turning a profit. Their home worlds have such an extreme gravity that their height is effectively stunted and through genetic manipulation have been made to thrive in worlds that would destroy most humans or human like creatures.

A couple years ago a couple Squats found their way into Necromunda and were only available through Forgeworld. These hired guns left the community wanting more and a few months ago the first introductions to the League arrived in Necromunda as their own gang. Soon to follow more and more teases were shared on the Warhammer Community page and they looked fantastic. Warhammer+ at the time of writing now has two episodes of Loremasters and two battle reports dedicated to this new force with more to come! Even if Games Workshop didn’t share an Army Box with us we would be all aboard this hype train. Between the lore and models we are more than excited.

Some person that was majorly talented with Photoshop took some of the recent release announcements and re-imagined what the Leagues would look like if they were done to resemble TMNT and I think I’ve found my next project!

Want to see what we thought of the Army Box in our live unboxing video?

Kill Team returns with Into the Dark and this time the battle is aboard a Space Hulk floating in space.

Every once in a while a box comes out that feels like a fundamental shift from what we know about the game and how it plays. Kill Team: Into the Dark is one such box. Where each previous box from the current edition has utilized vertical aspects of the playing field this doesn’t. That’s okay too, it doesn’t need to, that’s one of the many reasons I enjoy Kill Team. In this box the field of battle takes place on a Space Hulk and if I am right it may just be a precursor to a new Space Hulk game. I’m sure if this box does well a new Space Hulk will be on the horizon.

Some of you may be asking, what’s a Space Hulk?

Great question and honestly can be a little difficult to explain in detail as they are all different and so are their threats. A Space Hulk is what happens when dead ships collide with each other, fusing into a labyrinth typically full of horrors. For whatever reason Genestealers seem to love these. My guess it is because there is no shortage of people climbing aboard in search of forgotten technology or treasures. More people means more food. This particular Space Hulk is known as Gallowdark.

What will fighting in Gallowdark mean for list building?

Anyone that has read stories or seen movies that feature boarding actions know that you go in armed for close quarters combat. That means shotguns, knives and claws. Basically things that don’t require precision and pack a hell of a punch. As someone that prefers these kinds of lists my time has come! I am honestly surprised we don’t have an accompanying novel to go with the release. I would love to know more about what happens on the Gallowdark outside of these battles.

Let’s talk about the Kroot for a moment. Previously we have only seen a handful of releases of these mercenaries. Into the Dark features and entire warband and they look fantastic! Blackstone Fortress featured a single Kroot and even Tau releases only saw a couple previously. Normally I would be all about the monster looking forces but this time the Imperial Navy has me intrigued.

That being said, let’s discuss the Navy. Prior to this release I have never seen models representing the Imperial Navy. That’s not including conversions people have done to make their own of course. We’ve seen them plenty of times in artwork, comics and described in novels. Even in Warhammer+ we’ve seen them featured in Angels of Death (great show by the way). Somehow we had never really seen models of them. At least I hadn’t. I did some further research and found a small selection of Voidsmen that were part of the Kill Team: Rogue Trader box but nothing else.

Why has there been a lack of love of the Navy, or the Kroot for that matter?

I admit I don’t know the official reason but I have my suspicions it has more to do with overall interest than anything else. With Kill Team Games Workshop can bring us new armies that otherwise would not have sold well as a full army in 40k. This is similar to the warbands in Warhammer Underworlds. When the Kroot were first introduced I suspect the players did not purchase them is large enough numbers to make them a true focus. It could be more simple than that, it COULD be that there simply aren’t large enough numbers left in the galaxy to be an actual army on their own. Of course it could be a combination of both or any other things. For the Navy I suspect the lack of models has more to do with the lack of battles on ships themselves. Most of the fights are done on the surface of the planet and the Navy wouldn’t be involved in those directly.

What makes this box stand apart for the others in this edition of Kill Team?

The missing vertical terrain is the biggest difference. The setting as mentioned is on the Space Hulk Gallowdark and everything is close quarters. There is no need to raise your guns above or below you. That may change again if they introduce pipes and things that can crawl in them. At the start I suggested that if this box does well we might see another edition of Space Hulk. I stand by that. This reminds me of when Shadow War Armageddon came out. At the time there were no public plans to revitalize Necromunda. The fans demanded it and used the box to revisit the game without having it be an official ‘Munda release. GW heard their voices and gave us a new edition, as I’m sure many of you have seen. For that chance alone this box would be worth grabbing in my opinion. Additionally to the lack of vertical component they’ve added doors. Hear me out. Doors aren’t new themselves but doors that open AND close as an action IS new. We also have added the ability to tear through bulkheads to create new paths!

Final verdict:

Both teams look great and are great for battles like this, they just may not make the cut if you try to add them to a full army in 40k. Kroot immediately have the most versatility there since Tau are able to use them without issue. The Navy will likely need to see some rules for 40k added before they can be added. The similarities to Space Hulk make this box a must for fans of the IP and the fact that it could lead to another edition leaves me hopeful. I would love to see this even splinter off into it’s own game like Underworlds where we see unique Kill Teams designed for this kind of fighting that don’t necessarily fit an army. Overall this box has so much potential and even if I’m wrong it is a fantastic box, well worth your time and money.

Lumineth Realmlords face off against the Disciples of Tzeentch in the latest Battlebox for Warhammer Age of Sigmar- Arcane Cataclysm!

Arcane Cataclysm is the most recent Battlebox for Warhammer Age of Sigmar from Games Workshop and features two exclusive models. Both models will be released later on down the road, I would expect in five to six months. Seems like a specific guess, right? My time frame is based on the release of the Echoes of Doom boxset and the fact the two exclusive models in that box are available for preorder along with Arcane Cataclysm. Echoes of doom was released in March and here we are five months later with them up for preorder as of the date of this article going live. Based on this same timeline I would expect the new Curseling and Scinari Enlightener to be released January, February at the latest. Some Chaos players will remember that the Curseling already had a model and may or may not be aware that it was released in resin. This is an entirely new sculpt in plastic.

Both the Lumineth Realmlords and Disciples of Tzeentch are converging on Iliatha, a land where ancient arcane weaponry has fallen. The Realmlords were tasked with keeping them safe and to stop anyone from retrieving the weapons. Weaponry that is arcane in nature and powerful sounds like a prize the Disciples of Tzeentch would be after.

Having no experience with the existing models for either faction previously but I must admit I am a fan of both factions after reviewing this box. With roots in the old High Elves army the Lumineth Realmlords are sleek some great detail in their armor. The Disciples of Tzeenth though don’t have any direct roots from the world that was but these models have a ton of detail just in the exposed muscles of the units alone and look fantastic. Check out our unboxing and discussion of this box:

Shadeborn take on an assassin themed Skaven Clawpack in the latest Warhammer Underworlds title- Nethermaze!

Bellow Harrowdeep is the Nethermaze, a location that is essentially an eldritch labyrinth and the home to forbidden treasures. Both warbands are centered around sneaking, killing and are probably the closest alike warbands that aren’t part of the same faction. Games Workshop claims that this box contains the tightest ruleset they’ve released thus far, honed across multiple seasons of the game.

Games can be quite dynamic and almost cinematic. Nearly every turn is full of action and can turn the tide of the fight by just using the right abilities at the right time. The additional cards included for each of the Grand Alliances are a welcome addition as well and each new warband expands on that further. I would love to see some sort of hybrid game that combines the ability card deck building with the classic army battles of Age of Sigmar. As it stands this is a welcome addition to the Underworlds family, not to mention the new models. These are by far the best Skaven models we’ve received in decades.

The Other Warbands:

Mixing necromancy and mad science is the Exiled Dead. Oddly though this warband was advertised as part of Nethermaze but on the box is listed as part of Harrowdeep. Regardless of which edition of Underworlds they are tied to they are a welcome addition to the growing range.

Hexbane’s Hunters add new Witch Hunters to the world of Age of Sigmar and the first Witch Hunter themed warband in Underworlds. They also mark the first warband to be branded with the Nethermaze logo on their boxart that weren’t part of the starter itself. Check out our unboxing of them, they are some great models.

Little is known about Skullgrinder Herax but he is a member of the Gorechosen of Dromm, a Khorne themed warband entering the depths of the maze itself. He looks like a perfect fit for the Scions of the Flame, I think I see some “counts as” playing in my future.

Necromunda takes the gangs out of the hive and puts them against each other in the Ash Wastes but which gang will rule the wasteland?

When first playing Necromunda in the late 90’s I had heard of the Ash Wastes in the lore but the battles were kept to the Hive itself. Most of this region was more rumor than anything else. I’ve been told (but not proven) that issues of White Dwarf around this time included rules for this area and was one of the only ways to play there until now. The hives of Necromunda have stripped the world or resources and leaving the planet desolate and this region became known as the Ash Wastes. Storms of sand and ash regularly ravage or change the landscape and no area truly stays the same.

Out of the box you get a new gang- the Ash Wastes Nomads and a classic gang of Orlocks that come ready to fight in the Wastes. The base rulebook includes rules for the Orlocks and Nomands to use “vehicles” and mentions other gangs being able to use their own in the wastes but lacks the rules to do so. That’s where the Book of The Outlands comes in. It specifically has rules for creating customer vehicles for any gang. Terrain this time around is a bit different. We usually have tons of walls and industrial style pieces for the underhive but out in the wastes it is mostly rocks, sand and ash. Out of the box though it includes some Hab modules designed to help people survive in wastes and make for the perfect visual for playing these games. With the addition of the region and vehicles we now have rules for running people down by your vehicle or mount, adding to the realism. This happens from time to time in some of the battle reports I’ve seen and I know I won’t hesitate to put this to use. I can’t wait to see what else Necromunda has in store for us as we continue to expand.

Games Workshop has released a new version of Kill Team with Nachmund and Moroch, plus they sent us copies for the purpose of reviewing them.

Kill Team is essentially the skirmish version of Games Workshop’s Warhammer 40,000. Players take small squads of fighters, or even a smaller and more elite force and battle for objectives or simply to eliminate the other team (this is my preferred way to play any tabletop game). Officially this is the fourth edition of the Kill Team game type but the third as a standalone title. The points systems are vastly different than your standard game of 40k but very similar in nature to that of Warcry in relation to Age of Sigmar. Now the first three editions also differed in points values when compared but Nachmund and Moroch are the third and fourth installments of this edition and are much more in line with Warcry.

Teams are comprised of roughly 1000 points and depending on the faction will determine how many models you will be using, for example, Adaptus Mechanicus will typically have more troops on the map than Astartes. Another big difference between this version and previous iterations is that the list building is much more limited this time around. For Kill Team I suspect this is to better control balancing for the game, possibly to minimize some of the min/maxing that some players do to give their play style an advantage. With the new limitations on list building I think this is a huge improvement because I like having a variety on the field of battle and like to fight a variety.

Overall I found this to be a great introduction game to the world of Warhammer 40k and in the smaller scale makes trying new armies much easier and way cheaper. The new models for Chaos Cultists, Astartes, Chaos Space Marines and Aeldari are some of my favorites for each of the factions. Kill Team: Nachmund features new Aeldari Voidscarred Corsairs and Chaos Space Marine models along with some familiar looking terrain and continues the precedent that every three months or so we will see a new Kill Team release, each centered around a different kill zone. Kill Team: Moroch features new Chaos Cultists (plus two classics from Black Stone Fortress) as well as 10 Phobos Primaris Marines. Additionally both releases of this edition have also had exclusive models. I can’t wait to see what other exclusive models and terrain will be coming with each new kill zone! This is a fantastic starting point for anyone looking for a new army or to add to an existing army.

The Arena of Shades puts the Nighthaunt against the Daughters of Khaine and introduces a new hero model for each side.

It should come as no surprise that Nagash believes that all souls belong to him and after Morathi’s recent ascension to godhood he has a big reason to hate the Daughters of Khaine. The Arena of Shades puts these two forces against each other in the city formerly known of Anvilgard as Nagash looks to settle the score after the events of Broken Realms. Typically with these boxed starters we see only one or two new models, usually one per faction but in this box we see a five model unit of Craventhrone Guard in addition to a hero for each faction.

While this box is no longer available through Games Workshop directly there are still a few third party sellers with it available. At release the box was $195 USD and considering the fact that you get over forty models, seven of them previously unreleased, this box is a steal. If you price out the individual components these items would easily cost $250 or more. Additionally White Dwarf subscribers will have already received cards to use the new units in Warcry, add these to the already huge lists for both groups in Warcry and you have even more options to help you dominate the field of battle.

Thondian Strongpoint is the first Realmscape box for the current edition of Age of Sigmar but will it be the last?

It’s not unusual for Games Workshop to release or even release a set of terrain following a current theme. Realmscape: Thondian Strongpoint is no different. What makes this box standout is not the fact that it brings back some of the recent Realmscape Expansion pieces but it adds some brilliant terrain you can’t get anywhere else, at least for now. Beyond these terrain pieces we also get a single model, an Endless Spell that EATS other Endless Spells- the Krondspine Incarnate. In a recent event where Alarielle completed her Rite of Life the Incarnates were created, further proving the realms themselves are alive. The Krondspine Incarnate itself is the spirit of Ghur and the Realm of Beasts is hungry.

At $220 USD this box got a lot of negative attention from the community because most that wanted it only wanted the Incarnate and for a single model Endless Spell that price is quite excessive. Kitbashing is always an option for those players but this is a bad ass model as it is. Despite how awesome the model looks this brings me to my real complaint with the box- the Incarnate. For an Endless Spell it looks fantastic but other than the head of it, nothing really screams “Realm of Beasts” about it. I feel like the spirit of Ghur should be some sort of massive beast, like a Mawcrusha or even the Hell Pit Abomination. Both of which would be a better fit as the spirit of Ghur. What I would have preferred would have been a living version of the giant skeleton that came with this box, a massive serpent monster would have been the perfect Krondspine Incarnate. This model itself looks like it would be a better fit as the spirit of Shyish.

Time will tell if we see other Realmscape boxes and I sincerely hope we see more as we expand into the other realms but I doubt we will see it happen at least until next year at the earliest. The reason is because of all of the Ghur themed terrain coming for Warcry over the next year. When we see them expand into other realms I hope we see more awoken Incarnates.

Games Workshop delivers a new edition of The Horus Heresy with Age of Darkness and the box is absolutely massive!

Fans of The Horus Heresy rejoice as the latest edition has not only arrived but it is by far one of the largest boxed releases WE have ever seen. Age of Darkness includes 54 total miniatures including a Dreadnought and a Spartan Assault Tank. Even better is that you can use the entire box for a single army or divide it among factions for smaller games. 40 Marines make for a considerable value especially when paired with the heavy ordinance. When adding the two army books as well players can choose from any of the Space Marine Chapters and here’s my favorite part, when playing one of the heretical armies you can choose to play them as a loyalist chapter from before their fall OR as purely heretical after their fall. The choice is yours.

I have never seen so much versatility in a single box before. Considering all the lore already released for this period of time having so many options is amazing. I honestly was expecting very different stats and rules between the Chapters but there really isn’t much difference other than which characters or special rules you can take with your army. If you are planning to play within the 30K timeline this is an amazing value for your money and the perfect jumping on point. Over the rest of this year we should see further releases to go along with this box. I can’t wait to see what else is in store for The Horus Hesesy!

Warcry returns with a new starter, two new warbands and a new setting- outside the Eight Points in the Realm of Ghur with The Heart of Ghur!

With the official preorder of the Heart of Ghur starting on July 30th and the official release on August 13th we have a new edition and a very different roadmap for Warcry than we have experienced previously. Officially this is the fourth starter box for Warcry itself, but if you are anything like me all Age of Sigmar starter boxes are secretly Warcry boxes as well. This is the third box to feature only Chaos warbands, this time with the Nurgle themed Rotmire Creed and the industrialist Horns of Hashut. So why are warbands venturing further and further away from the Eight Points?

To really answer the above question we have to first look the changes to the region and then the reasons for THESE two warbands. The location itself underwent a massive change after a Seraphon Templeship crashed and to protect itself and it’s contents it reshaped the area around it, turning it even more inhospitable. The Rotmire Creed has been promised by Grandfather Nurgle that he will gift them with an elixir of immortality if they retrieve the ingredients from the area. The Horns of Hashut are looking to make room for their forge fires to further expand their industry, this means leveling it all to the ground. Now if they worked together they would be able to achieve both goals but when has the forces of Chaos ever really worked smarter? I can say this with certainty as a Slaves to Darkness player, they don’t unless it is the most direct path to their goals.

To go with the new locale we have the start of a themed collection of terrain. I say a start because it is exactly that. You receive enough to play the game but to truly capture the wilds of this forest it is a bit lacking and that’s where the roadmap comes in. Every three months we will be new box similar to this in scope with new warbands and new terrain. If you collect all of the boxes you will have an impressive table with a single terrain theme. I am predicting (I have received no information that this is true or not and is purely my own guess) that the final box will have a either a related Age of Sigmar release that will incorporate this themed terrain OR a campaign book like what we have that followed the recent Thondia boxset- I’d place my money on the book direction.

What are the biggest changes between both editions of Warcry?

To start with we have something that I have personally thought should have been included for years in nearly all tabletop games- Reactions. If these two forces were to face each other in the real world (abilities, gods and magic aside) when one unit attacks the other there is a brief period with the other can react, whether it is turning and running, throwing a rock, stabbing the attacker or something else, they would still react in some way and most games don’t account for this. Warcry finally fills this need and makes planning your actions even more strategic as you have to be aware of which units still have the option to react. Like Counter for example could potentially be more deadly than that fighter’s normal attacks would have been.

Final thoughts on the new edition:

The models alone make The Heart of Ghur worth picking up but the promise of a huge thematic table if you collect each starter over the next year has me beyond excited. Reactionary rules added to the game took Warcry from my favorite title to whatever you would call something ranked above it especially since the overall mechanics are relatively unchanged meaning most players won’t have difficulty transition between play styles. Venturing outside the Eightpoints is HUGE. This opens up the possibilities between ALL of the other realms. #WarcryHoG