ISSUE 7 - 15TH MARCH 2014

Editor: Jes Bickham
jes@whitedwarf.co.uk

Assistant Editor: Matt Keefe

mattk@whitedwarf.co.uk

Senior Staff Writer: Adam Troke

adam@whitedwarf.co.uk

Staff Writer: Daniel Harden
dan@whitedwarf.co.uk

Production Lead:
Rebecca Ferguson
rebecca@whitedwarf.co.uk

Digital Editor: Melissa Roberts
melissa@whitedwarf.co.uk

Lead Designer: Matthew Hutson

matt@whitedwarf.co.uk

Designer: Kristian Shield
kris@whitedwarf.co.uk

Designer: Ben Humber
ben@whitedwarf.co.uk

Photo Editor: Glenn More
glenn@whitedwarf.co.uk

Photographer: Erik Niemz
erik@whitedwarf.co.uk

Photographer: Martyn Lyon
martyn@whitedwarf.co.uk

Distribution Lead: Andy Keddie
andy@whitedwarf.co.uk

Publisher: Paul Lyons
paul@whitedwarf.co.uk

Have you played a game of Apocalypse yet? If you have, you’ll know how much fun it can be – and if you haven’t, I urge you to put a day aside and plan to play the mother of all battles. It’s terrific fun, and with the advent of the latest War Zone book, Damocles, this is the perfect excuse to put all your models on the table and roll hundreds of dice. If you want further recommendations on the subject, pop to Epic Ambitions and read Dan waxing lyrical on the subject. His Apocalypse games against regular opponent Damien Pedley have become the stuff of legend.

It’s not all Apocalypse this issue, though. We’ve got interviews and features aplenty and Jervis Johnson has written us some rules for the Exalted Flamer you get in the Burning Chariot of Tzeentch kit. If you build it as a mount for a Herald of Tzeentch you’ll know the Exalted Flamer becomes a cool spare. Well, now you can use him in your games of Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000. Good, eh?

The Tau Empire have launched their Third Sphere Expansion, driving hard into a region of Imperial space known as the Damocles Gulf in a mission to claim more worlds for the Greater Good. Carnage is assured in this expansion for Warhammer 40,000 Apocalypse.

More than 250 years ago the Imperium of Man was assailed by the Tau Empire in the region of space known as the Damocles Gulf. After a long and bloody conflict, a stalemate developed. All out war has now erupted again, with the Tau Empire, championed by Commander Shadowsun, pushing hard to capture several sectors along their border. The Imperium must scramble reinforcements to stem the tide as world after world falls to the Tau’s concerted offensive.

War Zone: Damocles is a 68 page hardback expansion for Apocalypse. It contains all the rules and gaming material you need to recreate battles during this especially violent campaign. There are details on re-fighting the fateful battle of Agrellan Prime, Unique Hazards and Unnatural Disasters, Stratagems for the forces in the campaign and a trio of scenarios recreating some of the most significant engagements fought in the war zone. Finally there are also 15 Apocalypse Datasheets, covering White Scars, Ravenguard, Catachan Jungle Fighters, Imperial Knights and Tau Empire formations. For collectors of those armies, and regular Apocalypse gamers, these rules provide much-sought after material, allowing you to add new and deadly formations into your games. There is plenty of rich tactical fodder to enjoy here, adding to both the tabletop mayhem and fun collecting opportunities Apocalypse presents.

Alongside the gaming content there is a strong narrative woven throughout the book, that details the major events of the campaign. Explaining events from both the Imperial and Tau Empire perspective, it is interspersed with information on the armies and heroes participating in the fighting. All this is accompanied by artwork of battles, uniforms and heraldry and tactical maps providing context for the wider campaign. There is also a gallery of fantastic Citadel miniatures from the ’Eavy Metal collection. AT

The cover of War Zone: Damocles, illustrated by Pedro Nunez.

The book is filled with illustrations, graphics and stories detailing the heroes of the Damocles Crusade, and the major battles they fought.

New Datasheets for the factions fighting in the campaign add new collecting opportunities that will make your Apocalypse games even more explosive.

An alien stalks the bowels of the Fang, and it falls to Arjac Rockfist to defeat the foul xenos beast.

By Ben Counter
Hardback | 128 pages

Arjac Rockfist is a name that has become legend, both as a warrior and a smith of great renown. In this novella he and his Wolf Pack find themselves hunting a foul alien intruder to the Space Wolves fortress monastery. With the remainder of the Chapter abroad in the galaxy prosecuting various campaigns, it falls to Arjac and his fellows to halt the beast before it can enact a terrible plan. The resultant battle is a bloody affair as the squad of Space Wolves find themselves grievously outmatched, forced to rely on wit and cunning to win the day.

The best part of this novella is the manner in which it is told – essentially Counter has written the whole tale as an oral account. This is a great turn, and Counter executes it excellently, complete with moments where the narrator must pause to remonstrate with his obnoxious audience. This feels like the retelling of a great saga, and gives the narrative of Arjac’s adventures an epic feel. It’s exaggerated, filled with flamboyant dialogue and characterful descriptions of the warriors and their quarry. Quite frankly, it steeps you in the flavour of the Space Wolves and, as you read, you can just imagine the warriors of Fenris gathered around a fire to hear the tale.

This novella is available in two formats. The standard edition is, as are all the Lords of the Space Marines series, an impressive hardback book in an attractive slip cover. It is also accompanied by an art card of the cover art, and a chapbook containing the short story ‘Twelve Wolves’. The deluxe edition is gobsmacking in both content and appearance. It is presented in a box designed to look like it is carved from stone, complete with a runic shield cast in resin (modelled after Arjac’s own anvil shield) set into the front. Within, it has the novella, a larger chapbook (with two short stories: ‘Twelve Wolves’ and ‘Thunder Wolf’) and an audio drama CD of ‘Twelves Wolves’, too. AT

FURTHER READING

If Ben Counter’s rollicking adventures with Arjac have whetted your appetite for more Space Wolf action, then you might like to hunt down more on the feral sons of Leman Russ, and as it happens there are some crackers to get to grips with.

Adam strongly recommends Space Wolf by William King. In his words, it’s essential Warhammer 40,000 reading. Chris Wraight has also delved into the Space Wolves with Battle for the Fang and Blood of Asaheim.

Dread weapons of the Chaos Space Marines, Helbrutes are used to unleash wanton slaughter.

Available as an iBooks

Interactive edition and an eBook

As vile corruptions of the noble Space Marine Dreadnought, Helbrutes are horrific war machines, twisted by the warping power of Chaos. They are engines of brutal power, boasting the mortal remains of a Chaos Space Marine sealed within an armoured killing machine. Driven mad by their imprisonment, Helbrutes now live only to slaughter.

This Dataslate delves into the history of the Chaos Space Marine Helbrutes, presenting information on famous examples and the battles they have fought in. It also includes additional rules enabling you to unleash multiple Helbrutes on the battlefield as a formation, combining their individual prowess to devastating effect. AT

By Phil Kelly, Guy Haley, Ben Counter and Josh Reynolds
Hardback | 416 pages

House Cadmus, having recently thrown off the yoke of the Adeptus Mechanicus, must now ride to war to keep their freedom.

In this anthology we are presented with a series of stories all centred around the frantic battles during the Damocles campaign. The stories each vary in style and scope and there is something for every taste. Of particular note for me were ‘Broken Sword’, by Guy Haley, and ‘Blood Oath’ by Phil Kelly. The former is told largely from the perspective of a Gue’vesa, a turncoat from the Imperium fighting for the Tau Empire. The exchange between Lord Grunkel and the Tau called Skilltalker is an exceptional insight into the conflicting dogma of the Tau Empire and the Imperium. Meanwhile, Phil Kelly’s ‘Blood Oath’ focusses on two of the grandest protagonists in the entire Damocles campaign as Kor’sarro Khan and Shadowsun go head to head. AT

As a long-time collector, painter, modeller, and wargamer, Jeremy Vetock has been asked many times to explain what the hobby is all about to those that have never encountered it before. There is one question, however, that he struggles to answer…

Some things are more difficult to explain than others. Anytime I’m asked to expound upon my hobby to someone unfamiliar with it, I feel like I have become a kind of ambassador. Who knows, perhaps I am speaking with someone who might be or know a potential hobbyist (i.e., someone I can paint, play or discuss the hobby with in the future!).

As a fellow hobbyist, you too are likely to have been subjected to a certain amount of questioning by curious friends, relatives and anyone who comes into contact with your Citadel miniatures. You too will have said things like: “No, it isn’t anything to do with computer games. Yes, we paint the models ourselves…” and so on.

I’ve been in the hobby for a long time and am lucky to have many friends who are likewise involved. This being the case, it only seems natural to me that someone would have a bunker and trenchline complex set up on their kitchen table, or spend many evenings feverishly painting in order to finish a new regiment for some impending deadline. To those who have not been bitten by the hobby bug, these sights might seem very strange.

At my regular club I am amidst collectors who spend even more time painting and playing than I do. While attending organised events like Games Days or tournaments, it’s possible to be completely surrounded by fellow enthusiasts. To all of us, seeing tabletops transformed into fantastical battlefields is not out of the ordinary. To the uninitiated, a conversation about who is the most powerful Space Marine Chapter Master, or whether a Dwarf-forged cannon truly is better than one from Nuln, might as well be spoken in a different language.

Over the years, I’ve learned to tailor my responses to my audience. Succinct answers are best for the mildly curious, while the more passionately interested can eagerly soak up any number of details. It’s a newcomer’s mistake to supply egregious spiel when simple information is sought. Once, while playing Warhammer 40,000, my opponent began to recount the sweeping narrative of the Emperor to a passerby who had never seen a wargame before and was really just wondering why we were using tape measures and rolling dice. While I’m a huge fan of that storyline and its many interpretations, it’s best to begin with the basics, otherwise you run the risk of looking a bit bonkers.

Indeed, most of the time I can immediately gauge where I stand with the questioner: Do they understand, are they interested, do they, in fact, think I am bonkers? In my experience, I have learned not to prejudge, as the outcome constantly surprises me. I’ve seen carpenters do doubletakes over my game room and had involved conversations with grandmothers who got really interested in the hobby. Neighbours have dropped by to watch a game in progress and never left. But, it must be said, the hobby is not for everyone.

While explaining the intricacies of assembling, priming and painting models to a fascinated young man, his seemingly uninterested girlfriend made some astute observations. In fact, she hit on the subject I fear most. “It seems…” she said, pausing as if searching for the right word. “It seems a bit… eccentric.”

I am naturally drawn to defend what I think to be the most engaging of hobbies. The many different aspects of the hobby and the wide range of skills it requires are a huge part of its appeal. You can assemble intricate conversions, master advanced painting techniques or perfect your tactical acumen; others might delve into the background, or become their own games developers, making up scenarios or ongoing campaigns. It’s a social hobby, with a great scope for creativity, and an undeniable camaraderie. As for the comment on eccentricity, I started to deny it but…

Here let me interject quickly with a few of my own observations. Over the last decade, someone has been secreting models inside my backpack (you may prefer to say rucksack). The models are always Gnoblar Trappers and the event happens at the Games Workshop offices, but also after work hours when I am out with my coworkers in pubs, at restaurants and, once, even at a wedding. Given that these miniatures aren’t the easiest to get hold of these days, it was my fervent hope that I would soon cease finding the little imps. The Gnoblars still turn up, however, hidden within jacket pockets, or at the bottom along with my spare change.

A totally different story, but with a similar conclusion, would be the first battle I ever witnessed in the Games Workshop Design Studio. It was between two of my hobby heroes (unnamed to protect the mad!) and it pitted a High Elf army against their classic enemy, the Dark Elves. Enraptured at my first chance to see experts play my favourite game, I watched the Dark Elf player send his Harpies ‘Flying High’. Although the rules and their names have changed over the years, smart tactics never go out of style. Fast and manoeuvrable units have always been ideal at silencing enemy war machines; clearly, the cunning commander was sending his speedy Harpies winging towards the foe’s battery of Repeater Bolt Throwers. Predictably, a pair of those engines had been set up upon a far hillside and were wreaking havoc with their deadly salvoes.

To my everlasting surprise, the following turn saw the Dark Elf commander placing his Harpies back on the tabletop not in combat with the bolt throwers, but instead in the midst of a distant swamp. I waited patiently to see what hitherto unseen tactics would evolve, for such a move was beyond anything I could fathom. Curiosity, however, soon got the better of me, and I leaned in during a break in the action to politely ask what the Harpies were doing. It was as if the Dark Elf player had been waiting for such a prompt, for, with much arm waving, he enthusiastically explained that he thought the swamp “the exact kind of place where Harpies would feel at home.” While he pantomimed the winged predators perching high atop moss-covered treetops, his foe caught my eye, shaking his head in a knowing, yet accepting way, and continued to pour missile fire into the advancing Dark Elves. It made quite an impression on me.

Over several decades I have met a great many other hobbyists from around the world – smart, talented, articulate and, yes, perhaps a bit eccentric. It’s a good word really – eccentric – so much more polite than mad, crazy or bonkers. Obviously some are more than others…

Part of the joy of adding Citadel miniatures to your collection is painting and modelling them in such a way that they integrate into your favourite army. Adam Troke and Matt Hutson explain how they have added Imperial Knights to their own forces.

TASK FORCE: RIGHTEOUS VENGEANCE

Adam: Like many hobbyists, I have a series of stories bubbling around in my mind about the models in my collection. I imagine that my Dark Angels are a crusading task force, under Company Master Zephon, a zealous band of battle-hardened killers who are fighting a secret mission against the worst horrors the galaxy has to offer.

The inspiration to add an Imperial Knight to my army hit me when I was reading the Imperial Knights Companion and learning about the reasons an Imperial Knight would abandon his house and take up the mantle of the Freeblade. So, that’s how Crucible of Wrath was born – an Imperial Knight from one of the Adeptus Mechanicus-aligned houses who once fought beside the Dark Angels during a terrible battle against the forces of Chaos. Crucible of Wrath witnessed something so terrible that life with the House would be impossible ever after. Instead, Crucible of Wrath swore himself to the service of Master Zephon and my 5th Company task force until their terrible duty is done.

To blend in with my army, I chose colours that would go well with my Dark Angels without borrowing their colour scheme too blatantly. (I didn’t want a ‘Dark Angels knight’, I wanted one who would look ‘right’ alongside them.) I chose bone, red and black since they are the spot colours for the rest of my army, and the effect offers a pleasant unity. The addition of checkerboard patterning is a simple visual connector, since the 5th Company has a checked icon, and I tend to paint that sort of pattern onto banners throughout the whole of my force.

Finally, I added a couple of small scenic elements to the base. The Imperial Knight towering protectively over the wounded Space Marine is a strong image, inspired by the novel Knights of the Imperium, where a Freeblade comes to the rescue in spectacular fashion. It’s a reminder to me to do heroic deeds as I play.

My eventual plan is to add two more Freeblades to the force, creating a trio who will be known as the Three Witnesses.

“I used a checker pattern on several armour plates, which helps to unify the model with the banners and details in my army,” says Adam.

“I imagine Crucible of Wrath valiantly protects the Dark Angels around it in a selfless manner,” Adam says. “As I am playing, I like to create scenes where the Knight can stride into combat to defend the Dark Angels.”

JOINING THE LASTRATI CRUSADE

Matt: I have several Warhammer 40,000 armies in my collection and I add to each of them on a regular basis, especially my Black Templars and Imperial Fists Space Marines. These are definitely my favourite forces, and I enjoy adding all the relevant heraldry to the models in my collection. You could say I have become something of a stickler for getting all the unit markings and Chapter badges in the right places. Because of this, the heraldic aspects of the knightly houses, with their strict traditions of wearing house crests and emblems in certain places, is a hobby challenge I’m really quite excited about.

Just like the rest of the White Dwarf team, I was over the moon when I saw the Imperial Knights for the first time. Including them in my collection was a given, the only question was which knightly house to choose, and even that wasn’t a hard choice. House Hawkshroud was perfect for me for a couple of reasons. First, they are coloured in a bright, heraldic yellow. I actually really enjoy painting yellow (yes, it’s true) and after years of painting Imperial Fists, I have become quite good at it. Second, the Nobles of Hawkshroud add the heraldry of allies they have fought alongside to their personal heraldry. This really appeals to me as a hobby project, because it means I can tie any knights I paint into my wider Warhammer 40,000 collection by giving them markings that match my existing armies.

Finally, House Hawkshroud has a reputation for honouring any and every call for aid, travelling far and wide to battle against their enemies, and to defend their allies within the Imperium. That means I can join my Imperial Knights to my various Space Marine armies without having to worry about their reasons for being there. There’s even a cool little aside in Codex: Imperial Knights that talks about how their martial strength is so spread out fighting in distant wars that their master is concerned they might be leaving their home world too exposed to attack.

I gave my first Hawkshroud Knight heraldic markings that show he has been allied to the Black Templars, and that he has been fighting alongside my Black Templars: the Lastrati Crusade. To do this, I applied the personal heraldry transfers found on the Imperial Knights transfer sheet, and then carefully painted over the existing Chapter symbols and painted on my own Black Templars icons. It’s a simple enough trick, but instantly unifies the model with my army. There are other smaller clues that also connect Sir Kenrick (as I have dubbed him) to my collection. I’ve based him in the same way that I have based all of my Black Templars. I have added details in the form of some Eldar detritus. These are actually painted in the colours of Craftworld Yme-Loc, my Eldar army. It’s a small thing, but it means they match other aspects of my collection too. My second Imperial Knight is detailed to match my Imperial Fists army. Inspired by the illustration in the Codex, he has a red helmet (like an Imperial Fists Sergeant), while his heraldry bears the fist icon.

This Imperial Knight has the symbol of the Black Templars Chapter incorporated into his own personal heraldry.

Matt painted the helmet of this Imperial Knight red, both a homage to the example shown in Codex: Imperial Knights, and a strong visual link to the army. “Most of all, I think it looks good,” he says, when we asked him about it.

Dan Harden is the White Dwarf team’s Apocalypse fanatic: if it involves Titanic Explosions and Unnatural Disasters, he’s the first to sign up. Here, Dan offers his thoughts on playing Apocalypse battles and why they’re such great fun.

When Warhammer 40,000: Apocalypse first came out in 2007, I was instantly captivated. It reminded me of when I was younger and I’d get all my friends round for a day of gaming. We’d cover the dining room table in bits of chipboard painted green, set up two massive armies on either side of the table – essentially every miniature we had – and roll dice until it was time for everyone to go home. I remember those games with great fondness and some of the anecdotes still come out on special occasions, such as the time a unit of Khorne Berzerkers shot my entire unit of Terminators to death with bolt pistols, or the game when Mephiston, Lord of Death, found his armour filled with rabid Snotlings.

Apocalypse hit me with a bow-wave of nostalgia, a hankering to play those epic games I used to play. Sadly, as with all things, when you become a responsible adult, time, commitments and work all get in the way, so it wasn’t until several years later that I really got into Apocalypse in a big way. The first of many mega-battles came about when myself and three friends – Chris, Adam and Luke – decided to meet up for a game. We hadn’t seen each other in years and, in some cases, hadn’t played any games of Warhammer 40,000 in that time, either. Our mentality was simple: if we’re going to play, let’s play big.

It’s fair to say that between the four of us, we had a pretty basic understanding of the Warhammer 40,000 rules, so adding Apocalypse to the mix was ambitious, if not downright ludicrous. It didn’t matter, though, because we had a brilliant time. I teamed up with Luke to form an Imperial Guard alliance with a smattering of Blood Angels and a Baneblade, while Chris and Adam created a combined Eldar and Dark Eldar army, which included a Great Brass Scorpion of Khorne.

Throughout the battle, we came up with loads of cunning plans and sneaky tactics. We promptly forgot them amid the carnage. The highlight of the battle was the Baneblade exploding. You realise what type of gamer you are when you start chanting for a 6 to come up on the damage chart for your own vehicle. It subsequently exploded, wiping out everything within a 15” radius, except the Enginseer standing next to it, who stood forlornly in the resulting crater and looked at the mess he’d have to clear up.

Now, several years later, we’re playing Apocalypse battles on a regular basis. We book a date and a table in Warhammer World several months in advance, giving us plenty of time to get the day off work or inform our partners that they’ll have a Saturday to themselves, write our army lists and paint some new models. In the Apocalypse rulebook, Jervis and Phil mention how important it is to organise your battle, and I would heartily echo that sentiment. Before each game, we decide who will be on each side and which army they’ll be bringing, that way we can lay out our tactics and come up with a game-winning battle plan. At least that’s the idea. Myself and Adam tend to arrive bleary-eyed on the day and come up with a plan on the spot. Luke organises secret meetings, which often involve maps and elaborate PowerPoint presentations.

We also set a points limit for each side, though over the last few battles it has increased to somewhere in the region of 8000 points a side. One of the main reasons we play Apocalypse battles is so that we can use our whole army – we don’t have to cut out upgrades or troop transports to make an optimal 1500 point force, we just use everything we have. In our first battle we had to scrape together our models to get a sizeable force but, over the years, we’ve got onto a war footing and expanded our armies, adding new units to deal with new threats. The inclusion of three Riptides in my Tau Empire army prompted Chris to add two Wraithknights to his Eldar force, which in turn led to Luke’s army acquiring a Hellhammer. Adam went off the rails and added Angron to his World Eaters – what a foe to face, what a challenge, and what a great feeling when you finally kill him.

Something we’ve learnt from playing Apocalypse is that you cannot take it too seriously. It is, after all, a game. We all like to think of ourselves as the next Wellington (the general, not the boot), commanding vast armies with tactical genius. But when it comes down to it, even the finest-laid plans fall foul of the enemy, bad luck, environmental disasters and outrageous heroism. In smaller games, every unit really matters and every loss is felt keenly. In Apocalypse battles, you have to prepare yourself for casualties on a monumental scale and take actions that you’d normally find abhorrent in a smaller game. Running an Ork Warboss into an Imperial gunline because it’s characterful, or charging a Riptide into a Wraithknight because it would look cool, for example. Did it pay off? Well, the Ork Warboss nearly made it. The Riptide punched the Wraithknight’s legs off.

Apocalypse is not without tactics, however, far from it. Over the years our battles have become more co-ordinated and more tactically sound (Angron excepted – he’s just nuts). We’ve learnt to take weapons with the Ignores Cover rule and to put terrain between our favourite models and anything with a Destroyer weapon. We’ve worked out how to avoid the worst effects of Unnatural Disasters and how to make the most of our reserves. You’ll find that your first few games of Apocalypse will probably be a little uncoordinated, but don’t let that put you off – all great commanders need to find their feet.

My other semi-regular Apocalypse opponent is Damien Pedley, whose gorgeous Imperial Guard army is featured in this month’s Warhammer: Visions and dotted throughout this article. Damien is a fun adversary, really playing in the spirit of the game. He also has some pretty nasty tactics up his sleeve. Have you seen the number of plasma guns in his army? Or the Vindicare Assassin manning the Quad-gun? But that’s part of the fun of Apocalypse, dealing with combinations, formations and units that you’d normally not face in smaller battles. It’s also your opportunity to (gasp) break the rules a little. Can Tank Commander Pask go in a Baneblade? Technically, no, but does that matter? Not at all, in my opinion. Damien has him commanding a Shadowsword, the Iron Saint, which is very characterful, so it gets a thumbs up from me. I want to field the Armoured Interdiction Cadre from the previous Apocalypse book in our next game. “Go ahead, mate,” says Damien, “if it looks cool, use it.” It’s this ‘anything goes’ attitude that really gets me fired up about Apocalypse. The formation actually makes a return in War Zone: Damocles. More Hammerheads it is, then.

So what’s next for me and my favourite game? My Tau army is growing steadily, with new Battlesuits, a Fireblade and the aforementioned Hammerheads on my painting desk. My gaming anecdotes have also spurred Jes to paint more Necrons so that he can challenge me to a game in the near future. I’m thinking more Broadsides might be required to deal with Chris’s Wraithknights. Damien is apparently painting something very scary for our next battle, too. I don’t know for certain what it is, but I can guess. I’ll definitely need more guns for that engagement… DH

DAN’S PRE-BATTLE ADVICE

1. Always plan for a pre-game natter. No matter how well-planned you think you are, when you say you’ll meet at nine, don’t expect to start until at least eleven.

2. Make bright, highly-visible objective markers. On a tightly packed battlefield, it can be hard to keep track of what you’re actually fighting over.

3. Bring more tape measures than there are people playing; they inevitably go missing in plain sight. The same goes for scatter dice and large blast templates.

4. Bring snacks. The words, “I’m sorry I obliterated your Baneblade, have a doughnut,” go a long way in Apocalypse.

5. Don’t get caught up in the details – the difference between 27 Orks dying in an apocalyptic blast and 28 Orks dying isn’t worth arguing about. Be gracious in the face of overwhelming firepower and take ’em off. You’ll get revenge soon enough.

SETTING THE SCENE

Apocalypse battles are a great opportunity to come up with a scenario, a reason for fighting the upcoming battle. In a recent game, we decided that two of our objectives would also be Strategic Assets that could be used if a player controlled it at the start of the turn. One was an Orbital Strike, the other a Bombardment, and they were placed in buildings that looked suitable for the role – a communications array for the Orbital Strike, and a gun emplacement for the Bombardment. Not only did they become focal points for the game, but it made the objectives much more tangible – something worth fighting for.

There were several tense scraps for these objectives throughout the battle and many Imperial Guardsmen died trying to capture the comms array. They resorted to hiding behind it while the Orks snuck up on them (albeit noisily) from the other side.

PLEASE ROLL A ONE…

The longer an Apocalypse battle continues, the worse the Unnatural Disasters become. In my last game we chose (yes, chose) to play during the middle of an Exterminatus, in which the planet was bombarded, first with missiles, then with virus bombs, and finally with lance strikes. One warrior from each side – a Fire Warrior and a Dire Avenger – survived the entire battle under these horrific conditions, both of them holding objectives and both taking hits from orbital strikes in the last two turns. They’ve both been marked out for greatness and promoted.

DAN’S APOCALYPSE TACTICS

1. Deploy your slow stuff (heavy tanks, infantry, and so on) and leave your fast units and deep strikers in reserve. They’ll come in on the first turn anyway, so you won’t have long to wait for them to arrive.

2. Look after your flyers. There are so many guns in an Apocalypse battle that many players will willingly take snap shots to get rid of your aircraft

3. Take Homing Beacons for as many units as you can. You’ll want to avoid landing on all those enemy units.

4. Always move your skimmers – you’ll need those Jink saves.

5. Use your Strategic Assets early while there are plenty of viable targets still on the board.

The Citadel Hall of Fame is a collection of the finest miniatures in the world, nominated by the people who know best: the artists, figure painters and designers themselves. This month, Forge World Senior Model Maker Mark Bedford makes a nomination.

Gandalf the GreyTM

Sculpted by Brian Nelson
Nominated by Mark Bedford

Mark: The first time I saw The Fellowship of the Ring miniatures that Brian Nelson sculpted, I was completely spellbound. Brian had captured each member of The Fellowship with unerring accuracy, not just the details of the models, like buttons and buckles, beards and weapons, but also the character of the figures. Aragorn and Boromir look noble and heroic, Gimli looks stubborn. In truth I could nominate any of those models (or all of them at once) but there is one that inspires me more than any other: Gandalf the Grey.

Gandalf the Grey is one of the most easily recognised characters of all time. The Gandalf the Grey model that Brian Nelson sculpted captures him so well; from the brim of the hat sitting low over Gandalf’s brow to his belt looped to hang down from his waist, he looks wise, old and dangerous all at the same time. The reason for all of this is that Brian is passionate about points of detail, and goes to great lengths to get them just right. When I see this model, even today, I am as impressed as I was the first time.

Left: “Getting Gandalf the Grey’s hat just right took a lot of back and forth,” says Brian. “I had to make sure it had just the right number of creases in it, and that the point was at the right angle. As a result, it gave our mould makers a really hard time casting it.”

Right: “One piece of feedback I received on my first iteration of Gandalf concerned his grip on the staff,” Brian says. “Gandalf was gripping the staff too high and tightly, they explained, like a baseball player choking his bat.”

Brian: Working on the miniatures for The Lord of the Rings and later The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has always been a fascinating experience. We were provided with an extensive library of pictures by the team at Weta Workshop, which included hundreds of images of the various characters, from every conceivable angle. These were absolutely indispensable in making Gandalf the Grey and the rest of The Fellowship, but there was a lot of secrecy involved. Along with Alan Perry and Michael Perry, and a select few other painters, sculptors and writers, we were cloistered away in an oubliette for several months, with all the visual assets hidden safely away, and only brought out when they were needed.

Getting the faces right on Gandalf the Grey and the rest of The Fellowship was the greatest part of the challenge, and I had to resculpt several faces (especially Aragorn) more than a dozen times each. I actually found that my best method was to study the face in detail, and then put away the resource and sculpt from my memory. The models are so small, that I had to aim for an immediate likeness of the character. I’m very flattered Mark likes the result.

Exalted Flamers of Tzeentch can be seen streaking through the skies of the Realm of Chaos atop Burning Chariots of Tzeentch, only occasionally deigning to appear otherwise, perhaps when robbed of their chariot by a conniving Herald of Tzeentch.

Exalted Flamers are amongst the most powerful of all the Flamers of Tzeentch and exude sorcery from every pore and wrinkle of their fungoid flesh. Unlike their lesser brethren, they are capable of independent thought and action, and are powerful enough to act upon their own if they wish. More often than not, however, they are found leading units of Flamers or Pink Horrors. Exalted Flamers are able to channel magical flame to a far greater extent than ordinary Flamers and Pyrocasters, and can conjure up great billowing sheets of Warp-magic, or hurl bolts of sorcerous change that make the very air sizzle with their passing.

BATTLESCROLLS & DATASLATES

Battlescrolls and Dataslates allow you to add unique battlefield formations to your games of Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 respectively. Each Battlescroll lists its Race or Faction (the Warhammer Armies book or Warhammer 40,000 Codex it is considered part of), and will present either an Army List Entry (the rules and point values for a single model or unit) or a Formation (a specific group of units that enable you to use special rules when you include them in your army).

RACE/FACTION

Each Battlescroll or Dataslate will list the Race or Faction it is part of. Race is used on Battlescrolls, and determines which Warhammer Armies book the Battlescroll is considered part of for all rules purposes, while Faction is used on Dataslates and determines the Codex the Dataslate is treated as being part of. For example, a Battlescroll for a new Empire Army List Entry can be used in any army chosen from Warhammer: Empire, while a Dataslate for a new Ork Formation would be treated as being part of Codex: Orks, and so on.

ARMY LIST ENTRIES

An Army List Entry provides all the relevant information to field a single unit in games of Warhammer or Warhammer 40,000. The unit can be used as part of any army or detachment that corresponds to the Race or Faction listed on the Battlescroll or Dataslate (see above). Battlescrolls can only be used in games of Warhammer, and Dataslates can only be used in games of Warhammer 40,000.

FORMATIONS

Formations list several units, rather than just one. When you choose an army, you can take one or more Formations as part of your army. The Battlescroll or Dataslate will tell you what units you need to take in order to field the Formation and any extra options or restrictions that apply to the units that make it up. Army List Entries for each unit in the Formation (unit profiles, points values, unit size, options, special rules, etc.) can be found in the army book or Codex for the unit in question.

WARHAMMER 40,000 DATASLATE: EXALTED FLAMER OF TZEENTCH

50 Points

RACE: Chaos Daemons

BATTLEFIELD ROLE: HQ (Counts as one Herald)

UNIT TYPE: Infantry (Character).

UNIT COMPOSITION: 1

DAEMONIC GIFTS: Blue Fire of Tzeentch, Pink Fire of Tzeentch. (See Codex: Chaos Daemons, page 61.)

SPECIAL RULES: Daemon of Tzeentch, Daemonic Instability, Deep Strike, Independent Character, Warpflame. (See Codex: Chaos Daemons, page 61.)

WARHAMMER BATTLESCROLL: EXALTED FLAMER OF TZEENTCH

90 Points

RACE: Daemons of Chaos

UNIT CATEGORY: Heroes

TROOP TYPE: Infantry (Character)

UNIT SIZE: 1

SPECIAL RULES: Daemon of Tzeentch, Daemonic, Warpflame. (See Warhammer: Daemons of Chaos, page 26.)

Exalted Fire of Tzeentch: During the Shooting phase, the Exalted Flamer can shoot either Pink Fire or Blue Fire. This can be done even if the Exalted Flamer moved in the preceding Movement phase. Pink Fire uses the rules for fire throwers, Blue Fire uses the rules for grapeshot.

Pink Fire

Range - N/A

Strength - D6

Special - Slow to Fire, Warpflame

Blue Fire

Range - 12”

Strength - D6+3

Special - Slow to Fire, Warpflame

If a misfire is rolled when resolving Pink Fire or Blue Fire, the Exalted Flamer suffers D6 Strength D6 hits with the Warpflame special rule. Armour saves cannot be taken against Wounds caused by these hits.

Warpflame: At the end of each phase, any unit that suffered one or more unsaved Wounds from an attack with this special rule (or from an attack made by a model with this special rule) during that phase must take a Toughness test. If the test is failed, the unit immediately suffers D3 Wounds with no armour saves allowed. If the test is passed, all models in that unit gain the Regeneration (6+) special rule for the rest of the game. Any models in the unit that already have the Regeneration special rule instead gain +1 to all Regeneration saving throws for the rest of the game. Chaos is fickle!

The ’Eavy Metal team paint some of the most incredible miniatures in the world and their work is the stuff of legend. Here, Dave Heathfield and Tom Winstone talk about painting the new Helbrute kit.

Dave Heathfield: The colour scheme for the Crimson Slaughter renegades was already well-established from when we painted the Chaos Space Marines for Dark Vengeance, so choosing the colours for the Helbrute was pretty easy for me – it had to match the rest of the army.

Tom Winstone: I took a completely different approach with the Thousand Sons Dreadnought – it didn’t have to fit with a particular army or collection, so I painted it just how I wanted to. It was very liberating to paint without constraints.

Dave: What I really like about the kit is the fusion of flesh, metal and armour – I like the idea of all the parts constantly changing and morphing into each other. I used a lot of subtle washes and shades on the model to convey that feel, using red as the unifying colour across the whole model. Even the gold areas are all basecoated with red-gold tones such as Warplock Bronze and Brass Scorpion, and carefully shaded with very thin layers of Reikland Fleshshade and Agrax Earthshade around the rivets and recesses to give it that battered red effect, like well-worn antique jewellery.

When you’re painting a bare metal effect on a model, it’s worth looking at real metal to see how it reflects light. Jewellery and watch straps are particularly good for that kind of thing as they often have curved surfaces (just like Space Marine shoulder pads). You’ll notice that the light doesn’t fall how you’d expect it to, changing from light to dark very dramatically. This ‘horizon’ is often the hardest part to get right, but well worth the practice.

Tom: I also opted for a limited palette, sticking to blue and the two colours either side of it on the colour wheel – purple and green. I took the blending to a different extreme, opting for dramatic changes in colour, particularly around the weapons and cables. I also used purple to shade the blue armour, using combinations of Naggaroth Night, Xereus Purple and Druchii Violet to get the right tone. It’s hard to say exactly how I applied them; painting is more of a feeling than a process and what works in one place might not work in another. Following basic principles, though, the shading was applied to the lower portions of the armour to emphasise light reflecting off the uppermost parts.

If you choose an elaborate colour scheme, it’s worth considering how much time it will take to paint it. This Hebrute was a one-off model and took several weeks to complete. Painting an army like this, even a small one, would take years. Before you embark on a new project, think really carefully about what you want to achieve. There’s no point painting a stunning miniature only to find that you don’t have the desire to replicate the effect. DH

Left: “The skin colour is a 2:1 mix of Pallid Wych Flesh and Kislev Flesh, with thin layers of Xereus Purple used to shade it,” says Tom “I thinned it down with water and applied it in a dozen or so very thin layers, slowly building it up in the recesses. The more vibrant, bruised flesh is pure Screamer Pink, washed in the recesses and applied more thickly towards the edges.”

Right: “The plasma vents are a focal point on the model. I used Sybarite Green highlighted with Gauss Blaster Green and White Scar. The eyes and lenses are painted the same for consistency.”

Paint Splatter provides handy tips and stage-by-stage painting guides for the week’s new releases. This week, we look at the Alpha Legion Helbrute.

Last week we featured a Thousand Sons Helbrute painted by Hobby team painter Aidan Daly. Clearly not finished with the blue paint, Aidan also created a stage-by-stage guide for this Alpha Legion Helbrute.

“As with all the Helbrute kits we painted for the Studio armies, I painted the skin first as it’s the largest area on the model. I then worked up to the armour, metal trim, horns, eyes and final details in that order,” says Aidan.

“The Alpha Legion are unusual in that their blue armour is highlighted with sharp green edge highlights and shaded with purple. Because green and purple are both next to blue on the colour wheel, they work perfectly as highlights and shades, giving the armour an iridescent quality, kind of like a fish’s scales, which is a common motif on Chaos Space Marines of the Alpha Legion.

“There are a lot of blended textures on this model – metal flowing into muscle, cables and tubes joining with skin, horns sprouting out of armour and flesh, and so on, and the sharp edge highlights are a great way to help define the armour panels. They were deliberately painted in the same way as the rest of the Studio’s Alpha Legion force to visually tie the Helbrute to the rest of the army.

“When painting any model, it’s always important to consider your spot colours,” continues Aidan. “The Alpha Legion aren’t showy like other Legions and have bare metal trims on their armour instead of gold or brass. The cool steel also ties in nicely with the cold blue armour.

In contrast, I painted the eyes and dripping cables a vibrant, almost toxic, orange – the same colour as the eye lenses on our Alpha Legion army. For the skin, I also chose a ruddy red tone, as it helps it stand out from the cold metalwork and armour plates around it.” DH

GETTING AHEAD IN LIFE

“The heads in the kit all tell a different story,“ says Aidan. “One has fallen to Nurgle, while another wears the skull mask of Khorne. I chose the one with the broken helmet as it‘s clearly unalligned, just like the Alpha Legion.”

Apocalypse War Zone: Damocles is packed with new gaming content, including a host of Datasheets for use in your games. Adam and Dan put the Imperial Knight Household Spearhead under the microscope, and discuss how they would use it.

IMPERIAL KNIGHT

HOUSEHOLD SPEARHEAD

Household Spearheads consist of several Imperial Knights, often led by a seneschal or the lord of a knightly house. When the Titan Legions of the Adeptus Mechanicus march to war, Imperial Knight Household Spearheads go with them, and they are also sent to fight as support for Imperial Guard regiments or Space Marine Chapters. Arriving at the war zone, the Knights will quickly be hurled into battle, fighting directly in support of their allies, or operating independently as fast-moving scouts and outriders.

FORMATION COMPOSITION: 3-5 Knight Paladins and/or Knight Errants

FORMATION RESTRICTIONS: The detachment’s Command Vehicle is a Knight Warlord
(see Codex: Imperial Knights).

SPECIAL RULES:

Battlefield Role: When this formation is deployed, the player who controls it must state if it will be fighting as Support, or as Outriders.

- An Imperial Knight Household that is operating as Support has the Interceptor special rule.

- An Imperial Knight Household that is operating as Outriders has the Scout special rule.

HEROIC DEFENDERS

Adam: Three Imperial Knights are a dangerous enough prospect, but what makes the Household Spearhead so incredibly deadly is the ability to assign the formation as Support, at which point the whole formation gains the Interceptor rule. Normally we associate Interceptor with anti-flyer weapons, and it typically comes into play dealing with aircraft and flying monstrous creatures, but a model with Interceptor can open fire at any enemy unit that enters play from reserve!

In Apocalypse, so many units enter play from reserve that a formation with this level of firepower will wreak a bloody toll in no time. Just think about the possibilities for a moment: you can blow a unit to smithereens once it enters play, but before it ever gets a chance to act. An Ork Kult of Speed enters play on your flank? Blow it to bits with battle cannons. A Cult of Destruction Deep Strikes into play with enough firepower to cripple your Knights? Turn them to molten slag with your thermal cannons. Essentially, if any unit enters play from reserves, at the end of the Movement phase you get to shoot it… and that’s where the hard choices come in, because any weapons you fire as an Interceptor can’t be used in your subsequent shooting phase, so you still need to keep your wits about you. My advice is to fire at units that pose an immediate danger, and since models can rarely (if ever) assault in the turn they arrive from reserve, that means dealing with high-firepower enemies. AT

CHARGE, NOBLE WARRIORS!

Dan: The other battlefield role for the Imperial Knights is as Scouts (albeit very big ones). They get to move an additional 12” before the battle begins which means they can be in the enemy’s deployment zone by the end of the first turn. This dramatic, aggressive style of warfare certainly fits with their background as noble warriors spearheading a glorious assault. Granted, they can’t charge because of the Scout move, but they’ll be able to use their thermal cannons at short range, they’ll be in a position to assault virtually anything in the enemy army in the next turn and they will almost certainly terrify your opponent into making rash decisions in their shooting phase. Just make sure your Knights end their move out of sight of any dreaded Destroyer weapons.

The Scout rule also confers the Outflank rule to the Knights, which has the potential to cause a world of pain for your opponents. You don’t declare the Knights’ battlefield role until they are deployed, so if you keep them in reserve you can still change their role if you need to. However, imagine a Household Spearhead arriving from reserve on the flank of your opponent’s army in the second turn, tearing through the side and rear armour of enemy vehicles and rolling up their battle line. It also makes them harder to target, as units on your opponent’s other flank are likely to be out of range or line of sight, minimising the damage to your Knights. The only downside is that you lose a turn of using them, though that’s a trade-off I’d be willing to take. DH

The Tau Empire are on the move once more, determined to annex an area of Imperial space known as the Damocles Gulf. Simon Grant, author of the new War Zone expansion, explains why this is the harbinger of calamitous events.

“The first major war between the Imperium and the Tau Empire took place in what was named by the Imperium as the Damocles Gulf Crusade,” says Simon, by way of an introduction to the subject of War Zone: Damocles. “This was a bloody encounter for the Tau and, while they survived, many believe it was simply because the Imperial crusade force arrayed against them was recalled to fight elsewhere. War Zone: Damocles is set roughly 250 years after the events of that encounter. Now the Tau Empire is driving hard into Imperial space, determined to capture the area to the galactic west of the Damocles Gulf, which hems the Tau Empire into the extreme eastern fringe of the galaxy. The gulf is exceedingly perilous to travel through, especially for the Tau, who lack the capacity to travel through the Warp. They have now learned the few safe routes through it, and intend to use them as a highway into the heart of the Imperium.

“This aggressive conquest is at the heart of War Zone: Damocles,” Simon says. “Despite their urbane demeanour, the Tau are fiercely expansionist, and they see the lightly defended worlds on the Imperium’s Eastern Fringe as easy prey. Control of the Damocles Gulf, and Hive World Agrellan in particular, is the jewel in the crown of the whole Third Sphere of Expansion.

“Such is the importance of this conquest that the Tau are deploying their absolute elite into the fray from the onset,” Simon says. “Commander Shadowsun is considered the finest general in the Tau Empire, and she brings with her an elite force of veteran Fire Caste troops, hardened by wars against the Orks. Under her dynamic leadership, and goaded ever onwards by Ethereal Supreme Aun’Va, many worlds quickly fall under Tau control. The Tau’s military efforts during these battles show how far they have come in two centuries – they truly are a force to be reckoned with now and, though there is great danger in waking the sleeping giant that is the Imperium, they are better equipped and more able to contain the threat than ever before.

“The Imperial response to the Tau offensive is championed by the Raven Guard, White Scars and Imperial Knights of House Terryn,” Simon adds. “Kor’Sarro Khan of the White Scars finds himself torn between desire and duty. His homeworld of Kolchis faces imminent invasion, and yet he is deployed far away on the toxin-ravaged Agrellan. Though he would rather be fighting for the honour of his Chapter elsewhere, Khan goes about his duty on Agrellan with savage pride, vowing to hunt down and slay Shadowsun. The White Scars are instrumental in slowing down the Tau offensive, and only their lightning raids stop the early phases of the war for Agrellan becoming a complete rout.

“The Raven Guard, too, play their part in the battle,” Simon says. “Though their arrival cannot prevent the fall of Agrellan, Shrike and his Chapter Master, Corvin Severax, ensure the Imperial Forces are able to withdraw to fight again, rather than being completely destroyed by Shadowsun’s strategic superiority. The stealth of the Raven Guard proves a real problem for the Tau philosophy of the Patient Hunter employed by Shadowsun. Something I really enjoyed weaving into the Raven Guard’s narrative in the events was the role of Severax, the Raven Guard Chapter Master. He has never been described before, but in this War Zone book we see he is a shrewd and merciless opponent, and he’s not afraid to make some cold, calculating decisions.

“The Imperial Knights of House Terryn are quick to answer the call to war, and become the self-declared protectors of the Hive City Agrellan Prime,” Simon adds. “This is a true act of nobility, and their mighty war machines drive the Tau back time and again. Even when the Imperial forces are ordered to retreat, the Knights of Terryn do not go willingly, instead acting as a mighty rearguard. Their leader, Patriarch Tybalt, chooses the location for the final battle in the Damocles campaign, one that threatens the future of his entire knightly house.

“The closing years of the 41st Millennium are referred to as the Time of Ending for good reason,” says Simon, turning the conversation towards the ramifications of this aggressive Tau expansion. “The Damocles campaign is an event that places the Tau Empire on a knife-edge. Their aggressive attack across the gulf, and securing Agrellan (which they arrogantly rename Mu’gulath Bay) is extremely effective – Imperial worlds fall quickly to their advance, and even the Space Marines and Imperial Knights cannot halt them completely. This is a dramatic reversal of their fate during the Damocles Gulf Crusade 250 years ago. The Tau Empire has become a genuine threat on the Imperium’s eastern border.

“While that may seem like an accolade of sorts to the Tau fans out there, it’s not all good news,” Simon warns. “The Tau Empire, which until now, had escaped the worst of the Imperium’s wrath because of more deadly threats posed by longer established foes, have bloodied the Imperium’s nose. That’s a bit like poking a Clawed Fiend with a sharp stick, and hoping to get away with it. Right now, the Tau have made massive gains, but as the recoiling Imperium comes to terms with their actions, a reckoning is at hand. One the Tau will be lucky to survive.” AT

HEROES OF DAMOCLES

Commander Shadowsun, or O’Shassera to use her Tau name, is the supreme commander of the Fire Caste forces during the Damocles campaign. She is both a strategic genius and consummate warrior.

Patriarch Tybalt is the lord of House Terryn. He leads his warriors in defence of Agrellan and, later, shamed by the defeat there, he offers his own home world of Voltaris as the site of a major battle.

Kor’Sarro Khan’s White Scars are the first major power in to the fray against the Tau, and do their best to halt their advances on Agrellan. Khan has sworn to execute Shadowsun.

The arrival of Shadow Captain Shrike and his warriors shifted the balance of power. While Chapter Master Severax oversaw the Imperial war effort, Shrike led a bloody guerilla campaign that left countless Tau dead.

Join us for a round-up of the week as we share comment, opinion and trivia on the all latest releases, plus other fun tidbits that have cropped up in the White Dwarf bunker. The Tau and the Damocles campaign are at the forefront this week.

WE LOOK AT THE TAU EMPIRE’S MISSION FOR GALACTIC CONQUEST

Apocalypse War Zone: Damocles is set within the period of time known as the Tau Empire’s Third Sphere of Expansion. Each of these expansions marks a time of aggressive conquest.

During the First Sphere of Expansion, the Tau reached into the stars and, over the course of a thousand years, secured no less than eight worlds. The Great Expansion, as it was referred to at the time, was only halted when the population proved unable to sustain the necessary growth and the limits of Tau space travel technology were reached. In addition to new Sept worlds, the Tau were joined by several alien races, notably the Kroot, who remain steadfast allies to this day.

The Second Sphere of Expansion saw further additions to the Tau Empire’s domain, but is most notable for the rise of Commander Puretide, the greatest ever Tau Commander. Thanks to his tactical brilliance, whole systems quickly fell to the Tau advance. Only vicious contact with the Imperium eventually halted the Second Sphere of Expansion.

The Third Sphere, led by Commander Shadowsun and Ethereal Supreme Aun’va, now continues to claim more worlds. AT

TAU LORE

MAKING FRIENDS

Although the Tau Empire is renowned for its inclusiveness and willingness to integrate other races for the Greater Good, it has not always gone well. The Poctroon were the first to join the Tau Empire, although within only a few generations they had all died out owing to a mysterious disease. The Tau, immune to its effects, resettled the Poctroon’s home world.

BLOOD BROTHERS

The Tau warrior society known as the Fire Caste has a number of traditions that govern it. Foremost is the rite of bonding, known as the Ta’lissera. Warriors united by this ritual will fight and die for one another with a fearlessness bordering on zealotry.

AIR CASTE PILOTS

While it is the Fire Caste that form the armies of the Tau, the Air Caste make exceptional pilots, and thus crew fighter craft and space ships. Their bodies have adapted over time to the rigours of rapid acceleration, pressure changes and the extreme g-forces associated with aerial combat.

We asked Simon Grant, as the author of War Zone Damocles, what his favourite part of the new book is: “Woven throughout the Damocles campaign are a series of valiant and heroic encounters,” he says. “My personal favourite is the charge of House Terryn as Shadowsun’s Fire Warriors closed in on the retreating Imperial forces. Even as the White Scars Space Marines and Catachan II regiment were cut off and facing annihilation, the Imperial Knights of House Terryn strode to the rescue, using the power of their mighty guns, and even sacrificing their own lives, so that their allies could fall back to the waiting transports.” AT

Phil Kelly authored one of the novellas in the Damocles omnibus released by Black Library this week. His story portrays the conflict between Kor’sarro Khan and Shadowsun. “I enjoyed the opportunity to portray the Tau Empire at large, and how they wage total war,” he says. “There is a stark contrast between the pugnacious, hate-filled war engine of the Imperium and the more pragmatic warrior culture of the Tau. It was fun to show how these ideologies react when they come into conflict with each other.

“The overriding theme of my story, Blood Oath, is how both Kor’sarro and Shadowsun must learn to adapt their philosophies,” Phil says. “Shadowsun is the embodiment of the patient hunter, the Tau Kauyon, while Khan is driven from the heart, with barbaric savagery. As they get the measure of each other, they must change styles or face defeat.” AT

Adam’s Imperial Knight has a rather fetching checker pattern repeated on several of its armour plates. We asked him how he did it.

“It’s as simple as marking out a series of lines vertically on the surface you want your checks on using paint, and then crossing over them horizontally,” Adam says. “Then, paint in alternate squares. I kept it fairly rough and ready, with three layers of colour on each square.”

Fun facts from the worlds of Warhammer. This week: Damocles.

KOR’SARRO KHAN

Bearing the title Master of the Hunt, White Scars Captain Kor’sarro Khan has a duty that sets him apart from other Space Marine Captains. As well as leading a battle company, Khan is also charged with hunting down and slaying the Chapter’s most hated foes. In this, Kor’sarro is a relentless hunter. His prey has never eluded him, no matter how far he has to search.

ETHEREAL SUPREME

The current Ethereal Supreme Aun’va is an especially ancient member of the Ethereal caste. As the Master of the Undying Spirit, he has the power to sway all Tau to his cause, with one exception – it haunts Aun’va, even now, that the great Commander O’Shovah has apparently turned renegade. Within the Tau Empire, it is now tantamount to heresy to offer support for Commander Farsight, and those who do so have been known to go missing without explanation.

THE OBSIDIAN KNIGHT

Renowned as a bitter enemy of the Tau Empire, the Obsidian Knight joined the fray during the battle for Agrellan Prime. His arrival was planned by the meticulous Corvin Severax, Chapter Master of the Raven Guard. With the coming of the Obsidian Knight, the hard-pressed Imperial forces earned a temporary reprieve.

SHADOWSUN’S DRONES

Commander Shadowsun is followed into battle by two shield drones (Oe-nu and Oe-hei) and a command drone (O-ken-yon). Unusually for a warrioress who is known for her dispassionate manner in battle, Shadowsun seems almost fond of her robotic helpers, conversing and communicating with them as though they were sentient creatures.

Jokaero digital weapons are highly sought-after in the Imperium. They commonly resemble a ring or other innocuous piece of hand-jewellery that fires a spray of tiny laser beams at point-blank range. This has led to several fatal handshaking incidents. The Jokaero themselves carry the most powerful form of the digital weapon, which can even fire gouts of flame and massive laser blasts. Just don’t volunteer to pull their finger…

On a wintery Friday afternoon, the White Dwarf team declared open war and embarked on an six-player game of Warhammer 40,000. Cramming into the hobby room like Ogryns in a Chimera, the players divided into two (roughly even) teams. Essentially it was a battle of the Imperium versus the rest of the galaxy as Adam and Jes, fielding Tyranids, struck an uneasy alliance with Dan’s Orks against a triumvirate of Space Marines under the command of Matt, Kris and Ben.

The battle was a fast and frenetic affair (with much ribald mockery on the sidelines from those gathered to watch the spectacle), but in the end the forces of the Imperium triumphed. “Mostly it’s because Tyranids don’t know how to take orders,” said Dan, laying the blame squarely on Adam and Jes. “When it’s time to fight, get on and fight! People says Orks are simple-minded, but at least they don’t confuse a battle with dinner time.”

The White Dwarf team is a font of hobby knowledge, a metaphorical repository of useful facts. If you have a question about Warhammer 40,000 or Warhammer, need a bit of painting advice or you’re after a few tactical tips, drop us a line: team@whitedwarf.co.uk

WHO ARE YOU CALLIN’ YELLOW?

How did the ’Eavy Metal team paint the Imperial Fists in Codex: Space Marines? They’re just so yellow!
- Captain Mirko, Fourth Company

GROMBRINDAL SAYS

Yellow? What you really want is a nice silver; that’s a proper colour. But, if you insist on looking like Drungi’s custard…

“The Imperial Fists were undercoated with Chaos Black Spray and basecoated Yriel Yellow with the Citadel Spray Gun,” says ’Eavy Metal painter, Tom Winstone. “The lower halves of the armour were carefully shaded with watered-down XV88 before the recesses were shaded even further with Mournfang Brown. Watered-down Yriel Yellow was used to re-highlight the upper portions of the armour and ensure a smooth blend between the colours. The first edge highlight is a 3:1 mix of Yriel Yellow and White Scar, followed by a fine edge highlight of the same colours mixed 1:1.”
- Grombrindal

This rendition of The Goblin King was painted by Andrew King, an avid fan of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Having basecoated the model with Bugman’s Glow, Andrew added progressively lighter shades of grey to the basecoat to give the model a pallid, unhealthy skin tone. He then shaded The Goblin King using Seraphim Sepia, Reikland Fleshshade and Agrax Earthshade to give the skin a bruised, battered appearance. Still not content with his revolting creation, Andrew finished the model by painting tiny blue veins onto the its skin using Guilliman Blue. The end result is truly disgusting.

If you’ve painted miniatures that you think are worthy of a place in White Dwarf then why not send some pictures to:

team@whitedwarf.co.uk.

If it’s something we can use, we’ll be sure to get in touch.

While converting Chaos Space Marines, Dan took a particular interest in the Slaanesh Head in the Forsaken kit. “It’s the lack of nose that does it,” says Dan. “It makes the model’s face look really creepy. It also fits perfectly on a Chaos Space Marine torso.”

This week in the bunker we are proud (in a manner of speaking) to introduce Kris Shield’s Warhammer Giant. This heavily converted monstrosity has been a topic of endless conversation as the White Dwarf team have marvelled at its flabbergasting unpleasantness. “Letchtongue is the first part of my Warhammer army devoted to the Chaos God Slaanesh,” Kris says fondly. “I wanted to make something that conveyed the twisting, mutating power of Chaos, and was a little disturbing. Judging by the reaction of the rest of the White Dwarf team, I got it about right.”

Meanwhile, Dan Harden has continued to muster his Orkish throng, adding an Ork Warboss to the ever-growing Waaagh! “Goffs should always be at the front of the fighting, so I have covered their weapons in Blood for the Blood God,” says Dan.

Above: Kris’s Slaanesh Giant is, without a doubt, the creepiest model in the White Dwarf office. The slack-jawed expression and fleshy cranial protuberance left us feeling particularly sullied.

Below: Dan’s Ork Warboss has been converted to carry a combi-flamer. “Always give Orks combi-flamers,” says Dan slyly. “At least that way they’ll hit something with their shooting for a change.”

Copyright © Games Workshop Limited 2014 excepting all materials pertaining to the New Line theatrical productions: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY and THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG™, which are © 2014 New Line Productions, Inc. All rights reserved. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and the names of the characters, items, events and places therein are trademarks of The Saul Zaentz Company d/b/a Middle-earth Enterprises under license to New Line Productions, Inc. © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All rights reserved. THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY, THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG™ and the names of the characters, items, events and places therein are trademarks of The Saul Zaentz Company d/b/a Middle-earth Enterprises under license to New Line Productions, Inc. (s14)

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