Tag tabletop game

Space Marine Adventures is back for another round of murder fun with Doomsday Countdown courtesy of Games Workshop and local bookstores like Barnes and Noble.

With the first volume of Space Marine Adventures players took turns facing down the Necron threat, however this time, in Doomsday countdown, it’s time for hunting Chaos cultists. Players take on the roles of three Space Marines and move about the map trying to defuse a bomb before it detonates. All three Marines are members of the illustrious Ultramarines Chapter and facing off against seven cultists, these particular models were previously featured alongside Warhammer Quest Blackstone Fortress.

These Adventure boxes are intended to be an introduction into the world of Warhammer 40,000. The models for both the Space Marines and Cultists are push to fit and easy to assemble, making that part of the hobby much less difficult to ease in to. Even in this game there will be lots of dice rolling to be had so it feels like a Warhammer game in that respect while using common model types.

The previous release had used tokens instead of models for the enemies so the fact they return to models, especially these cultist models, is a huge improvement. The mechanics are very much the same to the previous version so if you’ve played before this is very much a continuation. Even though this is the third volume you don’t need to have played the previous iterations to get into this one. Beyond getting additional Chaos cultists (which I always need) you also get some great tiles that can easily work along with tiles for Blackstone Fortress. This is another great way to introduce your friends and family to the world that is Warhammer 40,000!

Warzone Octarius has come to give us new rules for Orks and Tyranids as well as for using Rogue Traders and even Kill Teams.

Warhammer 40k is constantly evolving and over this year 9th edition is no different. The Warzone supplements expand on rules for existing factions and share the story of a particular warzone. The second round of this is Warzone Octarius with books 1 and 2. The previous books were based on Charadon but I suspect Octarius was chosen due to the recent release of Kill Team: Octarius which featured exclusive models and terrain.

Book 1 brings us rules Cadia, Tyranids and the Armies of Renown: Kill Team. Now with the branding of Kill Team I originally assumed this would be the squads from Kill Team: Octarius but instead these Kill Teams are part of the Deathwatch and are comprised of Space Marines. Book 2 however brings the Kill Team flavor with rules for the Blood Axes, the Ork team from the Octarius box, along with Rogue Traders (Astra Cartographica) and the Speed Freeks Speed Mob as this book’s Army of Renown.

These books are less for casual or competitive players but more for those that like to follow an official campaign. Charadon did not see a Kill Team release but with Octarius receiving it’s own warzone books so soon after it’s Kill Team release I am fully expecting that the next warzone will be centered around Chalnath.

The Genestealer Cults are facing off against the Adeptus Custodes on Terra in Shadow throne from Games Workshop for Warhammer 40,000.

About once, sometimes twice a year, Games Workshop releases a new starter, typically surrounding a specific theme. To end 2021 they brought us Shadow Throne and it is centered around the Genestealer Cults infiltrating Terra. These days it seems like there is some form of Genestealer Cult activity on nearly every planet so it was only a matter of time before some reached Terra. You would think that there would be ways of preventing this in a place where the Emperor of Mankind himself resides.

Originally this release was meant to coincide with the release of codices for both the Genestealer Cults and the Adeptus Custodes but due to delays with production they have been delayed until January of next year. Currently the Shadow throne boxset is on preorder and will be released this Saturday. Games Workshop also promises that any preorders made beyond their initial run will be done as part of a second production run! The majority of this box has been released previously but that doesn’t make it any less worth picking up. For the GSC the Genestealer Patriarch is by far one of the greatest sculpts released thus far for the army and is joined by an exclusive Reductus Saboteur. The GSC though are not the only ones to get a new model- enter the Blade Champion for the Custodes! This is possibly the MOST dynamic model we have seen in quite some time for them and the pose reminds me of the Black Templar’s new champion.

What I am most looking forward to with this release though is the fact that I get to revisit one of my favorite armies from 40k- Tyranids, if only slightly with a single model. Additionally though both factions come with nearly enough to be full kill team patrols for the aptly named Kill Team.

With the recent release of Dominion and the more recent release of Battletomes for Stormcast Eternals and Kruelboyz Games Workshop is releasing the next tome and this is for the Maggotkin of Nurgle!

At the time of writing/publishing the new Battletome for the Maggotkin of Nurgle is officially available for preorder and the official release date is December 18th, just in time for my birthday! Games Workshop was kind enough to share the tome and even a few models with us to prepare you with the pending release!

To start with we will be focusing on the Battletome itself. The cover art is amazing and only Games Workshop can take a truly revolting army as the Maggotkin, really anything that is Nurgle based, and do it so beautifully! I mean look at that ugly Rotbringer on the there, he not only looks fantastic but there is even a matching model available for preorder as well! There are already more exclamation points in this article than most I write, that should tell you something about this release. I have always been a fan of Grandfather Nurgle and that hasn’t changed but I’ve been focusing my Chaos forces to be more Undivided because of the amazing Warcry warbands but nothing makes disgusting fun like a Nurgle based army.

The tome has many new rules as well as others that have been tweaked. My favorite of these new rules is Diseased. Basically for each diseased model near an enemy you add one disease point (up to seven) and at the start of the Battleshock Phase you roll a dice for each point and on each 4+ the enemy receives one mortal wound. Just walking around the stench and viral output of the Maggotkin is so high that you can kill your enemies by just being close to them. If only we could do this with a horde style list.

Rotbringer Sorcerer

I don’t recall the last time, in Age of Sigmar, we saw new releases for the forces under Nurgle, with the exception of the Great Unclean One and a few other daemons which also worked for 40k. This is the first Rotbringer of any sort I have seen since returning to the hobby about five years ago and the sculpt is fantastic. Not only that but it comes with two alternative heads, one is a fly head. I understand why flies are so prevalent in the Nurgle forces but I have never been a fan of the fly heads themselves, they always looked a little goofy to me BUT this one is by far one of the best I’ve seen so far. Of course if you were to also purchase the next item we will discuss you will have many other heads to choose from.

Vanguard: Maggotkin of Nurgle

The Vanguard box is the Age of Sigmar third edition version of the Start Collecting Box. Both featured the two Pusgoyle Blightlords and the five Putrid Blightkings. The difference between the two is the Start Collecting Box, while still available, comes with these and the Lord of Blights but this Vanguard box includes ten Plaguebearers of Nurgle and Spoilpox Scrivener. Literally every item in this box was something I wanted to get my hands on to build and paint as is but with all the customization options I think two boxes will be necessary.

Perhaps this is also the perfect time for me to get myself that Feculent Gnarlmaw I’ve been trying to justify picking up?

First announced at Gen Con but now the Khorne Skull-tribe Slaughterers have arrived for Blood bowl!

Blood Bowl remains the only sports game of any type I have ever been interested in and the only tabletop sports game I have played. For a game with blood in the name though there is just not enough representation for Khorne, the blood god. Apparently Games Workshop agreed because not only did they release the Skull-tribe Slaughterers, they also sent us a review set to try on the pitch! The very first team I played with the original edition of the game was the original metal team for Chaos and I had painted them to be followers of Khorne. Sadly they did not survive my move to Arizona in ’98. Games Workshop already released two other Chaos themed teams but this is the first that is Khorne specific. Of course my memory of the original game is quite limited and there may have been a Khorne team there and I’ve forgotten but none that my Google skills have found. reference

What makes this team stand out, other than playing dirty, is the fact that they play to win. Not in a sense of achieving victory but because the better they rank then the better foes the fight. Those better foes mean a more glorious kill in the name of their god Khorne.

Here’s how to boost your team using Games Workshop:

This pitch seems to have disappeared from the store itself but I suspect it will return. It is also a must for any Khorne player. This is aesthetics only, no benefit in the game comes from home turf other than a morale boost for the player. Who wouldn’t want to see their opponent squirm looking at this board?

These cards are not entirely essential but to streamline the game the sure as hell are, plus the dirty play cards aren’t found anywhere else I’ve noticed.

Themed dice are always a win in my book but if you’re on a budget they are not necessary. Rumors are that they roll better though…

This was the first issue I’ve ever looked at of Spike and I was amazed at how awesome this is. If you are playing with a team that does not come from a core box then you need this supplement for both the rules and details about the characters. It even has a sample roster for newer players!

How to boost your team with the help of Forge World:

Check out the Bloodspawn- what Khornite coach would not want this monster of a star player. The sculpt alone is intimidating.

For coaches looking for a more unique team can order the Team Booster as well. No special stats, just unique models.

Enter Scyla Anfingrimm, another Bloodspawn but one of the most dynamic and amazing Blood Bowl models I have ever seen. I mean look at that Wood Elf player he’s smashing!

Lastly we have Max Spleenripper. If his name didn’t tell you everything you needed to know then the model itself will. I have never seen a Blood Bowl player with a chainsword, let alone anyone in the Warhammer Fantasy or Age of Sigmar realms.

With the exception of the Forge World items we were able to receive a review copy of this team and out of the three teams we currently have these are by far our favorite.

The team at Exploding Kittens have returned with a reskinning of their hit card game with Exploding Minions and it is a blast!

Exploding Minions follows the same overall ruleset of Exploding Kittens but with some minor variations, such as fewer character cards to match and a new clone type of card. Cloning a card essentially allows you to duplicate the effects of an existing card. Players take turns playing cards to try to make the others explode. If you draw the Exploding Minion and have a defuse you can place the minion back in the deck wherever you see fit and hope that your opponent doesn’t have one as well.

Meet my youngest daughter Emmy. She is a fan of card games and especially anything where I might lose. She is learning to read and only six years old at the time of writing. The game recommends players be seven or older due to needing some reading skills beyond her age group but comprehending the effects are well within her skillset. She was my opponent for our review game and was assisted by my wife whom read the cards for her and helped her understanding their effects.

Quickly she had the game down and only needed a reminding of which abilities belonged to which cards and we had our game. Playing two games we had the same outcome each time- she won. Keep in mind I was not letting her win. She is a skilled adversary and I look forward to our next games together.

Exploding Kittens has created their own take on a gaming classic, Charades, with On A Scale Of One To T-Rex.

Any time Exploding Kittens releases a game we look forward to it. Consistently their titles are among our family’s favorites so when they shared this with us we were more than excited. With Charades players try to get others to guess what they are pretending to be. I have always been terrible at this as most of the connections I make to different people or things most people weren’t making. You also can’t use any words to give hints either. On A Scale Of One To T-Rex flips some of these rules on their head.

With this game it doesn’t matter who knows what you are trying to act out, what matters is how intensely you do it. If you and another player have the same intensity level then you get points. On top of that the players all do theirs at the same time. When doing this in a large group can make things pretty loud quickly. Being the father of three things tend to get loud but that is where the problem with this game was for us. Two of my children have sensory issues and the volume of the game became too much for them.

For a party game this can be quite fun, just need to make sure anyone with sensory issues aren’t around while you play, it can get a bit overwhelming for them.

Necromunda has been one of those games that will always hold a special place in my heart. Thanks to Games Workshop we have the opportunity to dive back into the underhive.

This is not the first time we’ve delved into the world of Necromunda, nor the first time we’ve received review materials from Games Workshop. As with any other item we’ve received the shared opinions are not influenced by the source. This isn’t the only Necromunda item we received either- we were sent a copy of the House of Blades and the Mercator Nautica Syphoning Delegation from Forge World and we will be discussing them each!

Hive War

Hive war includes two full gangs (House Escher and House Delaque), a full set of objective tokens and additional Zone Mortalis terrain. For both gangs these are the same as can be found in the normal gang boxes. Objective tokens are the same as the original Second Edition boxset as is the Zone Mortalis terrain. Each of the items in this box can be ordered separately but you are getting them at a discount getting them boxed together. The only difference in this box is that the rulebook is updated to include all FAQ changes prior to the book’s printing!

Set in the Warhammer 40k universe, Necromunda is a hive planet that produces munitions for the Astra Militarum. The planet is covered in massive hive cities but below these are the homes and territories of numerous gangs, most of which have aligned themselves to one of the major house- Escher, Delaque, Goliath, Orlock, Cawdor and Van Saar. Each house operates under strict morals and rules that members must abide by.

Gameplay is as solid as before- when you played with the FAQ rules previously there is no transition to the new rulebook. This is not a new edition, just an updated printing. Any chance at more terrain, models I don’t have, more objectives and additional models for your favorite faction is a win for sure and for me this box has that in spades. Escher have always been my favorite House to play so additional models are great as that will allow me to try some new load outs that will also appease the WYSIWYG crowd as these will already have the weapons.

House of Blades

In addition to containing the most up to date lore on House Escher, House of Blades features rules for the main fighter types- Queens, Matriarchs, Death-Maidens, Wyld Runners, Sisters, and Little Sisters. Additionally you will find rules for the various abilities or weapons used by this House and even how to hire the various brutes and thugs. This includes how to hire the Syphoning Delegation as well! This book is a must for fans of House Escher or any other House that wants to know more about their enemies.

Mercator Nautica Syphoning Delegation

The Delegation has some special ties to House Escher but can work with any law abiding gang. With this trio I love the concept draining the water from my enemies to then sell to others for a profit. Aesthetically they look like they might belong with a Tau army in 40k but really feel like a call out to days of first edition when we had elite members from high up in the Spyre coming down to eradicate some of the gangs. The chosen paint scheme GW used I feel is too bright so I will be doing something a bit darker but am looking forward to the task as well as fielding them with my Eschers.

Games Workshop releases the first expansion for Kill Team in nearly two years- Pariah Nexus!

Kill Team has been a staple of the Warhammer 40,000 family for many years now and it wasn’t until a couple year ago that I gave it a try. The concept of Kill Team is quite simple, a small force for either faction tries to complete their objectives. Pariah Nexus is not quite the first step towards a newer style of Kill Team. Traditional games will play out like any other game of 40k or even Age of Sigmar where you play three dimensionally, where Pariah Nexus and Kill Team Arena before it were more two dimensional. 

One main item of note is that this truly is an expansion. It requires a rulebook for Kill Team itself for full gameplay. Other than the two dimensional rules this book includes six story missions and two scenarios for matched play. More importantly though is that it includes rules for nearly every (if not all) infantry types for both the Necron and Space Marine factions.

The biggest problem with this box is it’s natural imbalance. From the start (without modifying the lineups) the Space Marine forces make up nearly double the cost of the Necron force. However, the total number of models per side is comparable and the new sculpts look fantastic.

Gameplay for this style is reminiscent of the similar release for Necromunda a couple years ago where you had a face paced game that was a ton of fun but felt somewhat lacking without the third dimension. With a little imagination though this easily will feel similar to crawlers like SpaceHulk where you navigate corridors and all of your fighting requires your head on a swivel but there being no need to look high or low as everyone is one the same level. For value and replayability this box offers a lot especially for those that are already fans of the KT and 40K properties. My best recommendation though would be to homebrew a few extra scenarios and look to upcoming issues of White Dwarf for more.

Feel free to check out our live unboxing video on the official Table Talk channel:

Aeronautica Imperialis returns with it’s second starter box Skies of Fire with two new factions- Adeptus Militarum and Tau!

At this point Skies of Fire is more or less old hat having been released about a year ago now but we just love all things with Aeronautica Imperialis so here we are! We’ve talked about AI in the past, when we were with PopNerdTV, and gameplay-wise the game hasn’t really changed since then. Where similar games play on a two dimensional board and those two dimensions are the only ones you need to worry about it was a shock to consider my movements on third dimension. Height is a big factor in the game, too low and you’ll crash, too high and you’ll stall your craft.

The models have a lot of detail, far surpassing those of games like X-Wing and with comparable costs. With X-Wing I can purchase a single ship for about $10-20 where in AI I can purchase four craft for $40-60 and have more detail. The only downside to this comparison is that X-Wing models are preassembled and prepainted.

Verdict:

This game is a must play for fans of the dog fighting/space ship variety, especially if you are looking to improve on the basic mechanics of X-Wing. Whenever I played X-Wing I always wanted something more and variety wasn’t what I was craving, with Aeronautica we got it in spades. The complexity and realism of the fight makes this game a much more impressive contender in the genre and I hope we continue to see it in shops for years to come, some of us are still waiting on the Chaos releases.