ISSUE 16 - 17th MAY 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

After our sneak peek last week at the new edition of Warhamer 40,000, this issue of White Dwarf proves to be something of a momentous occasion for fans of the grim darkness of the far future. We dive deep into the new edition this week (which goes on sale next week!) with an interview with the rules team behind all the new changes, and in-depth explorations of how Tactical Objectives work, the new psychic phase and Unbound armies. This latter development is a profound one for Warhammer 40,000, as it lets you simply take whatever you’ve got in your collection in your army. Got seven Wraithknights? Then you can use them all! Exciting stuff.

Adam, meanwhile, dives into the murky world of the psychic phase and Daemonology, which is also sure to rock the foundations of Warhammer 40,000. Will you damn your soul and embrace Chaos to ensure battlefield victory? The choice is yours… I hope you enjoy the issue!

Next week, the latest edition of Warhammer 40,000 is released, the key to the hobby of collecting, painting and playing games set within the far future of Mankind. Presented as a trio of hardback books in a lavish slipcase, the Dark Millennium has never looked so good.

Left - A Galaxy of War is a 144-page volume devoted to the art of collecting Warhammer 40,000 miniatures. Within it is perhaps the most glorious gallery of Warhammer 40,000 models ever assembled.

Middle - Dark Millennium contains the background and history of Warhammer 40,000. It’s a formidable 128-page volume, and serves as the definitive source for learning about the galaxy at war and the many factions that vie for supremacy during the 41st Millennium.

Right - The Rules is a massive 208-page tome that contains all the information you need to play games of Warhammer 40,000.

In the distant future, the galaxy is riven by unending war. Humanity clings to its fragile existence through tenacity, force of will and the implacable might of the Emperor’s armies. It is an unimaginably cruel universe, for countless aliens, heretics and daemons seek to overthrow the Imperium of Man and claim the galaxy for their own. There is no time for peace in this dark millennium, for only constant war keeps Mankind from the precipice of annihilation. Against this bleak tableau the heroic warriors of the Adeptus Astartes, the Astra Militarum and the manifold organs of the Imperium battle valiantly against savage Ork hordes, the rapacious hunger of the Tyranid Hive Fleets, the machinations of the Tau Empire and more. Worst of all is the corrupting power of Chaos, a power so dark and insidious that it can turn a true-hearted warrior into an abominable murderer, the champion of dark and perverse gods.

For more than three decades, Warhammer 40,000 has been the setting for a fantastically rich and immersive hobby of collecting and painting Citadel miniatures and playing games. The latest edition of Warhammer 40,000 gathers up the sensational imagery, stories and gameplay that are the bedrock of the Warhammer 40,000 hobby and presents them in a new and exciting way. All this is contained in an incredible package, a trio of beautifully-presented hardback books collected in an imposing slipcase. These three books are: A Galaxy of War, which presents the definitive guide to the Warhammer 40,000 hobby, Dark Millennium, the key to the background of Warhammer 40,000, and The Rules, which contains everything you need to play games of Warhammer 40,000 with your miniatures.

The beauty of presenting Warhammer 40,000 in these three separate volumes is that each focuses on a specific aspect of the hobby. The first of these, A Galaxy of War, begins with an explanation of how to embark on your own collecting, painting and gaming journey, and is written in a chatty and engaging style conveying just how easy it is to begin your own hobby journey. All this good advice is presented alongside glorious examples of painted miniatures, such as an Ultramarines collection entitled Strike Force Ultra, a specific task force which defeated the Necrons at Santarro. This is a sterling example of how a collection of models can have its own history and pedigree, and its own place within the background of Warhammer 40,000. The latter portion of A Galaxy of War is an incredible showcase of Citadel miniatures from the Studio collection. The photos in this book are interspersed with quotes and catechisms from the characters of the Warhammer 40,000 universe, each of the pictures a beautiful example of just how wonderful a collection of models can really look.

Dark Millennium lays out the history of the 41st Millennium, describing the immense power of the Emperor, the corpse-god of humanity, and the unending war he wages against the denizens of the Warp. Here detailed is the organisation of the galaxy-spanning Imperium of Man, a colossal empire so vast as to stretch from one side of the galaxy to the other, encompassing a million worlds and untold billions of souls. To defend such a domain is a herculean task and requires the greatest army the galaxy has ever known.

All this information is conveyed through artwork and stories, with evocative fiction describing the denizens of the galaxy, and timelines showing the tumultuous history of the Imperium. Dark Millennium is a visual feast, laden with the gothic imagery of Warhammer 40,000.

Dark Millennium also introduces the many aliens who struggle against humanity and each other within the war-wracked galaxy. Each of these, from the enigmatic Eldar (and their sadistic cousins the Dark Eldar) to the ancient Necrons are explained. Each of these races has a unique history and character of its own, developed throughout the lifetime of the Warhammer 40,000 hobby – and the background contained within Dark Millennium gives you a tantalising glimpse into each. Greatest of the threats arrayed against Mankind are the servants of Chaos, from traitors and cultists to Daemons, foul servants of dark gods who dwell in the otherworldly domain known as the Warp.

The third volume in the set is appropriately titled The Rules. Last, but by no means least, The Rules underpins the immensely enjoyable act of using your Warhammer 40,000 collection to play games. The Rules is a whopping 208-page tome loaded with easy-to-follow explanations, diagrams and evocative snippets alongside the rules themselves.

Veterans of the Warhammer 40,000 hobby will see that for this latest edition, the rules have been gracefully massaged, with the feedback from thousands of games combining to create an even more enjoyable experience. In addition to the ‘mechanics’ of organising your collection into an army to unleash on the tabletop, and the rules by which they move and fight, there are also two series of missions to play: Eternal War missions that established hobbyists will certainly recognise from previous editions, and new Maelstrom of War missions, which offer a different tactical challenge. There are also new rules for harnessing the dreaded power of the Warp, with a new (and incredibly potent) psychic phase, as well as the option to use either a Battle-forged or Unbound army, and far more. All this combines to make an utterly compelling Warhammer 40,000 gaming experience, one that has the whole White Dwarf team champing at the bit to assemble, paint and play more. AT

Above - Strikeforce Ultra is the Ultramarines battle group that triumphed over the Necrons at Santarro.

Left - The Courageous Cadian Shock Troopers struggle to stem the tide of Hive Fleet Leviathan.

Right - The closing years of the 41st Millennium are known as the Time of Ending, a portentous reference to the impending cataclysm.

Left - Stunning internal artwork is a feast for the eyes as you browse the pages of Dark Millennium.

Right - Even something as functional as The Rules book has been designed with aesthetics in mind, combining elegant page layout, concise information, full-colour artwork and photography with the ease of finding the rule you need, when you need it.

DARK VENGEANCE

The Dark Vengeance box set currently contains a copy of the rules from the last edition of Warhammer 40,000 – rest assured that in the near future this will be updated to contain the new edition of The Rules. Stay tuned to White Dwarf for news on this exciting development.

To celebrate the release of the new Warhammer 40,000, the Studio has produced an exclusive Munitorum Edition, presented in an impressive chest box and loaded with goodies. This is a must-have item for hardcore Warhammer 40,000 fans.

The Munitorum Edition of Warhammer 40,000 is an impressive sight, contained in a sturdy war chest made from premium stock card. The outer of the case has a weathered finish and is stamped with an individual number. It looks like a piece of Imperial hardware repurposed for alternative use. As stunning as this all is, it’s the contents that are the most exciting part. Upon opening the hinged lid you discover a treasure trove of exclusive Warhammer 40,000 content.

The four books in the Munitorum Edition are A Galaxy of War, Dark Millennium, The Rules and Visions of the Dark Millennium. The first three provide the same content as those found in the standard edition, but are bound with a finish unique to the Munitorum Edition. Visions of The Dark Millennium is a collection of Warhammer 40,000 artwork, the pictures unmarred by extraneous text or graphics, it’s a real feast for the eyes. A special note must be made of The Rules, too: it is presented in a small format (150mm by 205mm) that makes it ideal for taking to your gaming sessions.

The art wallet within the case contains an amazing A1 map titled Imperius Dominus, a massive version of the map within Dark Millennium, ideal for putting on your wall (or hiding away safely). There’s also a set of six metal objective markers. These are also exclusive to the set, and are finished in a weathered brass effect. Finally, the Munitorum Edition contains 36 Tactical Objective cards and 50 Psychic Power cards in a design exclusive to this unique Munitorum Edition. AT

Above - The Rules feature atmospheric artwork, and comes with ribbons to hold your page during the heat of battle.

Above - The Munitorum Edition includes six coins, numbered one to six. These beautiful artefacts are ideal for marking out objectives in your games, or just keeping tucked safely away in their space in the chest.

Above - Each of the Warhammer 40,000 books is bound in a finish unique to the Munitorum Edition.

Above - The Munitorum Edition, sealed within an adeptus grade chest, marked Manufact Anathema. Allhallow gauntlets are advised for safe handling.

A dazzling showcase of artwork and imagery collected from the galaxy of Warhammer 40,000.

144 Pages

Hardback

For more than 30 years, the artwork produced by a cadre of select artists has informed the imagery and characters of the Warhammer 40,000 universe.

Visions of the Dark Millennium is a 144-page celebration of this fantastic art, presented in a hardback book and contained within a slipcase that matches the style of Warhammer 40,000. Within its pages you’ll find fantastic artwork both old and new, along with inspirational quotes that set the mood for the Dark Millennium. The finish of the book, from the sturdy slipcase and glossy cover to the silver-inked section pages make Visions of the Dark Millennium an incredibly attractive volume, one collectors will want to pore over for years to come. AT

Warhammer 40,000 is also available as a digital edition for use on your favourite device.

Available in eBook and in eBook and iPad/Apple Interactive Editions

The digital edition of Warhammer 40,000 contains all the same rules, background and artwork you’ll find in the standard, paper edition of the book, with the added functionality that you can access it from your preferred device.

There are two versions of this digital edition: the first is an eBook edition which can be used on almost any smart phone, tablet, computer or eReader.

The second is the Interactive Edition, a premium version designed for iPads and Apple computers. The Interactive Edition contains a wealth of extra functionality, such as quick links to special rules, making it easier than ever to access what you need in the midst of your games. AT

On the field of battle, both sides can find themselves drawn into the swirling maelstrom.

36 large-format cards

One of the most exciting aspects of the new Warhammer 40,000 is the Maelstrom of War missions. In these tense games objectives constantly shift and change as high command call for ground to be held, specific targets to be eliminated or a fearless advance to be made.

The Tactical Objectives set contains all 36 objectives found in the D66 table in The Rules. This deck of cards enables you to simply shuffle the cards at the start of the game, and draw from the stack as you play. Not only does this make your game run more smoothly (you don’t need to keep referring back to the table) but it’s also a lot of fun to pick up the cards in a conspiratorial manner and act like you’re hatching the galaxy’s most cunning plan. AT

Of all the weapons unleashed in the 41st Millennium, few are as feared as psychic powers.

50 large-format cards

While most warriors fight with guns and blades, some are blessed (or cursed) with the power to draw on the Warp, and smite their foes with blinding spears of eldritch energy, to explode skulls with a mere thought or to turn brother against brother with the blink of an eye. These are psykers, individuals held in awe and reviled in equal measure.

Warhammer 40,000: Psychic Powers is a set of cards containing all of the powers from the seven disciplines in the Warhammer 40,000 rules. These are incredibly useful to have on hand when playing your games, enabling you to keep track of which powers your psykers have, and remind you of lingering effects during the game. AT

The rules in the new edition of Warhammer 40,000 have been overhauled, ready for a new era of tabletop warfare. Adam Troke sat down with the rules team responsible for the latest edition to learn what’s changed and why.

I have played Warhammer 40,000 for more than two-thirds of my life, rolling my first dice on the battlefields of the far future when I was a wide-eyed 11 year old, and the rulebook was known as Rogue Trader. Since those days, a lot has changed and I, along with a great many other Warhammer 40,000 fans, have enjoyed countless battles in the decades since.

With the new edition of Warhammer 40,000 coming out next week, the White Dwarf team has been busy playing as many games as we can, working out what we like best about the new rules and trying out the tactics they offer. It’s been an extremely exciting time, and in an effort to learn as much as possible, I corralled the Citadel rules team into the White Dwarf hobby room and quizzed them about their involvement, discovering what had changed in the latest edition and why.

“The new edition of Warhammer 40,000 is a very real chance to make an already great game even better,” says Robin Cruddace. “We had a couple of goals when we started: we wanted to provide people with some new ways to use their models, to really shake up the status quo of the Warhammer 40,000 hobby, and also fine-tune to perfection everything we’d achieved with the last edition.”

“The changes within the rules for Warhammer 40,000 fall into two categories,” says Jervis Johnson. “Firstly, there’s some profoundly exciting big additions that are what I would term ‘game changers’. This edition of Warhammer 40,000 features several of these, such as the addition of the psychic phase, the alterations to the way in which you select your armies before a game, and the new Maelstrom of War missions, which use the new Tactical Objectives. But of course before you do anything like this you have to be sure of the consequences for the game as a whole.

“Take the changes to army selection, for instance: we have introduced a different way of choosing your army prior to the game through the new Unbound army system. With Unbound armies, our plan is to allow hobbyists to match their force to the task forces and battlegroups they have read about in the background, or the stories they have concocted as they build, paint and enjoy their miniatures. In some ways, army selection can stop people doing that. Unbound armies are the baseline for games of Warhammer 40,000 now and we expect to see people enjoying them as they bring their favourite stories and miniatures to the tabletop; you can do pretty much anything you want. The consequence we needed to be aware of is that some hobbyists will prefer more structure, and that’s okay, so the other method of army selection is what we call ‘Battle-forged’. Battle-forged armies get their own advantages as a reward for following the established background and structure found in Codexes and Datasheets. Enlarging on this information has been a big part of what we’ve been doing in recent years, with Codex Supplements and Codexes that unlock new alliances, such as Codex: Inquisition or Legion of the Damned. What we’re doing is presenting a thrilling ‘buffet’ for hobbyists to pick from.

“The second category of changes we have made fall into the area of fine-tuning –minor improvements in the rules. These are relatively small but fundamental changes, and they are informed by our experiences (and the comments and requests of the Warhammer 40,000 fanbase). Most of these changes are tiny, and many players wouldn’t even notice them from one game to another: things like unit coherency being increased to 6” when measured vertically, Split Fire no longer requiring a Leadership test and some small changes to the Mysterious Objectives.” One thing worth noting is the sheer volume of these fine-tuning changes and additions; we on White Dwarf have noticed that they are everywhere, and serve to make an already-excellent game even better. You’ll now find, for example, the rules for Super-heavy vehicles, Gargantuan Creatures and Destroyer weapons in The Rules book, along with specific rules for all the different scenery sets you can buy from Games Workshop; they each get their own datasheet.

“Of course, some of these changes are more visible than others,” Jervis notes. “A good example is the way in which wounds are allocated in the new rules. For some reason, ‘wound allocation’ has been quite a prickly nettle to grasp over the years, but our solution to the problem is simple enough, and hopefully players will find it nice and intuitive. Now, when a squad or vehicle shoots, you fire, roll to hit, wound and resolve wounds with one class of weapons in the unit at a time, and casualties are the models which are closest to the firers. So, in a Tactical squad you might choose to fire your flamer first, resolving its effects before unleashing the bolters and lastly a missile launcher. This gives the active player some tactical choices as to which weapons to fire in which order. It’s really simple once you get your head around the small changes.”

“Vehicle survivability is another good example,” Robin adds. “Something we had become acutely aware of was that tanks and other vehicles were often killed too quickly. Not that tanks getting blown sky-high is a problem; in fact, it’s a very cool part of a game of Warhammer 40,000, but it only works if it’s satisfying for both players. Our reasoning behind the change was that a single krak missile or axe blow cannot kill a Tyranid Carnifex or Eldar Wraithlord, so why should it destroy a Predator tank? It was one of those topics that straddled the background and also the sticky issue of game balance.

“The change we made was simply a matter of making it so that a Penetrating hit would require a score of 7 on the Vehicle Damage table to destroy a vehicle outright. You can still kill a tank in two ways, either by whittling it down through weight of fire (you can imagine an autocannon smashing chunks out of it) or blowing it up with a single attack from a dedicated anti-tank weapon (the fiery blaze of a multi-melta). The big difference is that a speculative shot isn’t likely to get the job done in a single shot now. This also makes the +1 or +2 bonus on the Vehicle Damage table for certain weapons invaluable.”

“Once you’ve wrapped your head around it all, the best advice we can offer is play a few games,” adds Simon. “You’ll want your rulebook on hand, and I suggest checking all of the rules as you play. If you just assume knowledge, you’ll miss a whole bunch of very exciting changes and additions, such as the way a unit charges through Difficult Terrain now (-2” to the charge distance), or exactly which units count as scoring when it comes to claiming objectives (all units, for the most part). Within a few games, you’ll find you’re completely up-to-speed.” AT

UNBINDING YOUR COLLECTION

“Warhammer 40,000 now enables you to organise your army in two ways,” says Robin Cruddace. “Battle-forged and Unbound. Battle-forged armies are a very familiar method for established Warhammer 40,000 hobbyists: organise your collection into Detachments using the Force Organisation chart found in The Rules book.

“Fielding a Battle-forged army is straightforward enough, but we also wanted to provide a way for hobbyists to get the most out of their collection without being unfairly fettered,” Robin adds.”The result is using an Unbound army. Doing this couldn’t be simpler. Choose the models in your Warhammer 40,000 collection you fancy using, tot up the points and play your game. This freedom exists to let hobbyists recreate the armies and forces in our background, or to use their favourite models, without having to worry about if it is allowed.”

UNRAVELLING THE IMMATERIUM

One of the more involved topics that the rules team engaged with while developing Warhammer 40,000 was psykers and the nature of the Warp. “The relationship between the races of the galaxy and the Warp is a massive part of what makes the Warhammer 40,000 universe so compelling,” says Robin. “Psykers are able to manipulate the Warp to do incredible things – we’ve all got our favourite examples from the background, from rogue psykers turning hapless victims into pillars of blood, to Librarians punching holes in battle tanks or Ork Weirdboyz vomiting a torrent of raw energy. We all shared the conviction that they often lost out a little to other heroes, particularly those who were experts in close combat. Their concept was no less cool, who doesn’t love the idea of a super-powerful ‘space wizard’? But, in spite of that, I still found that I was less likely to use a Librarian than a Captain or Chaplain in my Space Marines army, for instance. That was an imbalance we wanted to address.

“So, we decided to place fresh emphasis on psykers, and make them as exciting to use in the game as they are to read about in the background,” Robin says. “The answer to how to make this work was two-fold: introduce a psychic phase and increase exactly what a psyker could do in any given turn. We also made sure that the psychic phase was scalable – that’s why psykers lend their own Psychic Mastery level to the Warp Charge pool. That means the more psykers present on the battlefield, the more power you have at your disposal.”

“We have also introduced the Battle Focus rule,” Simon adds. “This has the potential to increase the amount of psychic powers that you have at the start of the game. If you choose all your powers from the same psychic discipline then you get the Primaris Power in addition, which means that every psyker can have at least two to use. This extra choice makes them more dynamic and flexible than ever before.”

TACTICAL OBJECTIVES

Throughout this issue, you’ll see the term Tactical Objectives popping up with a certain frequency. “These are a feature of the new Maelstrom of War missions,” explains Simon Grant. “In Eternal War missions both players have the same objective throughout the battle, whereas in Maelstrom missions the parameters can change from one turn to another. This simulates high command changing the orders your warriors receive throughout the battle. Having fought valiantly to seize a trench in the enemy deployment area, you might find yourself tasked with eradicating enemy psykers, seeking glory in close combat or battling your way across the corpse-strewn ground to claim an objective. You score points for your achieved objectives at the end of each of your turns. Not only do these keep you on your toes in the middle of a game, but they ensure that you have a fighting chance right until the end of the game.”

There are six new missions in Warhammer 40,000, known as Maelstrom of War missions, designed to tax your tactical acumen with objectives that change throughout the battle. Dan and Jes couldn’t wait to try them out.

Dan: One of the new additions to Warhammer 40,000 is the Tactical Objectives used in Maelstrom of War missions, orders passed down from high command to seize specific points on the battlefield, take out major threats and generally give the enemy a good mauling. And, just to keep you on your toes, they change. Constantly. For this first battle, I chose a Battle-forged Ork army with plenty of vehicles. Jes, meanwhile, has taken a liking to Unbound Tyranid armies consisting entirely of Monstrous Creatures and went for as many big creatures as he could fit in 1200 points (you can see our army lists on page 29). For our game, we rolled The Spoils of War, a mission with a strong focus on capturing the Objective Markers dotted around the battlefield. We then set up our armies, each drew three Tactical Objectives and surveyed the battlefield. The game was on.

Ork Turn 1 Objectives: Domination, Hungry for Glory, Secure Objective 3.

Dan aimed his Ork Trukks straight for the Tyranid lines. Shooting was sporadic, a Carnifex taking only minor injuries from a hail of big shoota shells. Meanwhile, one of the Grots crewing the Looted Wagon wondered what the big red button on the dashboard did and launched the Trukk hurtling forwards towards the enemy. Unable to reach Objective 3 (which was sitting between the two Carnifexes), Dan’s Orks failed to score any Victory Points in the first turn.

Tyranid Turn 1 Objectives: Big Game Hunter, Secure Objective 3, Supremacy.

Advancing his Tyranids towards the Orks, Jes set about causing as much carnage as possible. A salvo of brainleech worms from the two Carnifexes hit Warboss Skorgrin’s Trukk, pureed the crew and tore the chassis in half, fulfilling the Big Game Hunter objective. Unfortunately for Jes, what happened next was unexpected. Careening wildly, the Ork Trukk headed straight for the Carnifexes and exploded, depositing Skorgrin and his retinue right in front of them and on top of Objective 3, exactly where Dan needed them to be (see ‘Forged in Battle’, right).

Intent on sorting out the Orks, Jes charged his Carnifexes forwards, causing grievous damage as they piled into the Orks. Armed with a power klaw, Skorgrin was too slow to react and was smashed into the dirt by the mighty beasts. Having slain the Warlord and achieved First Blood, Jes bagged a whopping four Victory Points.

Ork Turn 2 Objectives: Hungry for Glory, Kingslayer, Overwhelming Firepower.

With the Ork army leaderless, Dan settled for doing what Orks do best: getting stuck in and causing violence. A lucky shot from the Looted Wagon tore a chunk out of a looming Carnifex, while an even luckier shot from an Ork with a rokkit launcha blew its head off, achieving the Overwhelming Firepower objective. Intent on bagging another couple of kills, Dan fired with the rest of the Ork army and hit… nothing.

Resorting to choppas and power klaws, Dan moved Krusha’s Ladz into combat with the Tervigon. Issuing a challenge, Dan was disappointed to find that the big green alien wasn’t a character as he originally thought and had to settle for chopping its legs off one at a time. Nearby, Redeye’s Bikers almost killed the second Carnifex before it tore two of them in half, leaving the Nob to fight the beast alone. Dan also decided to leave Rokboss’s Boyz lurking in the trees on Objective 2 instead of charging the Exocrine. Was he being cowardly, or tactically astute?

Tyranid Turn 2 Objectives: Supremacy, Secure Objective 2, Secure Objective 4.

With the Orks holding Objective 2 and with Objective 4 miles away from the action, Jes brought the Hive Tyrant known as the Vengeful Sky on to the table, ready to claim it next turn. Spore Fiend the Harpy arrived to tackle Rokboss’s Boyz. The Tervigon, fearing for its life, spawned 14 Termagants, wailing in agony when it found itself, as is customary in all of Jes’s games, empty of critters.

Eager to use his psychic powers, Jes cast Catalyst on Vengeful Sky, which became the unwitting victim of a Daemonic attack. Reeling in agony, it instead fired its many devourers, shredding Gazlog’s Boyz and leaving the Nob standing in a pile of steaming green offal. Combined shooting from the Termagants, the Exocrine and the Harpy reduced Rokboss’s unit to a few cowering Orks, which Jes happily assaulted with the Exocrine, charging through the trees to get into combat. Despite being wounded and near to death, the Exocrine caused enough casualties to break the Orks before dumping itself on Objective 2, stealing it from the Ork horde.

Ork Turn 3 Objectives: Kingslayer, Assassination, Psychological Warfare.

Desperate to claim more Victory Points, Dan brought the Dakkajet Uzgob’s Fury onto the battlefield, all its super-shootas aimed at the Hive Tyrant. Bullets flying, it tore chunks out of the beast, but failed to ground it. Krusha and his ladz finally tore all the legs off the Tervigon, triggering a synaptic backlash that caused the remaining Termagants to flee, completing the Psychological Warfare objective.

Tyranid Turn 3 Objectives: Supremacy, Domination, Secure Objective 4.

With Jes’s monsters controlling most of the Objective Markers, the Hive Tyrant landed on Objective 4, claiming not only it, but fulfilling both the Domination and Supremacy missions at the same time. Despite the lack of Synapse Creatures on the battlefield, the majority of the remaining Tyranids didn’t eat themselves and set about mulching the few Orks left nearby. From that point on (and for the following two turns), it was merely a case of mopping up for Jes. The Tyranids had won a mighty victory, 9 Victory Points to 2.

FORGED IN BATTLE

Dan: Almost every unit can control an Objective Marker, which means you’ll have some hard-fought battles wrestling them away from Tyrannofexes or from underneath the tracks of a Land Raider. One of the advantages of being a Battle-forged army is that your Troops always trump an opponent’s scoring units (unless they too are Battle-forged), enabling them to capture objectives even with enemy units nearby. With three mobs of Orks and my Nobz counting as Troops because of my Warboss, I had the potential to steal Objective Markers from Jes really easily. The only downside was that I would have to get very close to some of his units, possibly even getting into combat! No, wait, that’s a good thing, isn’t it? I’ve been using Tau for too long…

OBJECTIVE SECURED

Jes: Every turn you’ll have a set of Tactical Objectives to complete. Some of them will be cards already in your hand from the previous turn, while others will be picked fresh (or randomly generated) that turn. Unless a card has already come up, you’ll have no way of guessing what will turn up next, so it’s really hard to cover all eventualities. It may be that I have Scour the Skies, but that my opponent has no Flyers on the board, prompting me to keep it for another turn in the hope that it’ll appear and net me a Victory Point. Here you can see just a few of the cards that came up in our battle, including Supremacy, which paid dividends later in the game, and Overwhelming Firepower, which amused Dan no end due to his Orks’ inability to hit anything.

NO, NOT THAT ONE!

Dan: In Maelstrom of War battles, each player starts the game with a set number of Tactical Objectives. At the end of each turn you can discard one Tactical Objective (normally the one you’re least likely to achieve) in favour of a new one. In Spoils of War, however, you can never discard a card that requires you to control an Objective Marker as these are the whole reason for fighting.However, this mission has a twist. Normally you only score Victory Points by achieving your own Tactical Objectives, but in the Spoils of War any cards that require you to Secure an Objective can be claimed by either player. So, when Jes picked out two of them, both of which my Orks held, it became a race to see if his Tyranids could steal them before the end of his turn.

TO KILL A TYRANT

Jes: My Hive Tyrant unwittingly became a key objective when Dan drew the Kingslayer card, which awards D3 Victory Points if the enemy warlord has been removed as a casualty by the end of the turn. Dan then drew Assassination. If he could kill the Hive Tyrant, he could gain a possible five Victory Points – one for Slay the Warlord, one for Assassination, and up to three for Kingslayer. Combining cards like this makes Maelstrom of War games very intense. Do you keep the cards you’re dealt and hope you can achieve them? Do you discard one and hope for a better one? Do you hold out on completing a Tactical Objective in the hope of achieving D3 Victory Points from it instead of one? It’s a real head-scratcher.

FUTURE PLANNING

Dan: So what do Tactical Objectives mean for our Warhammer 40,000 armies? Well, as Jes showed, having an Unbound army didn’t stop him capturing Objective Markers, he just had to put more effort in than I did. If just one Ork had survived on Objective 2, I would have scored the point instead of Jes, who had to commit three units to clear my Orks off it (and only just, at that). It’s also worth considering all the other Tactical Objectives. Some, like Psychological Warfare and Big Game Hunter, are great for racking up opportunistic Victory Points throughout the game, but it’s big ones such as Kingslayer, Domination, Supremacy and Ascendancy that can net you some serious Victory Points. What will you include in your army to ensure victory in your next battle?

EXTRA-GALACTIC VICTORS

Jes: That was all over the place! Tactical Objectives mean the fortunes of a given army can swing wildly from turn to turn, and canny generalship is required to concentrate your efforts and score as many Victory Points as possible.

My terrific first turn was a perfect storm of point-scoring; the destroyed Ork Trukk careening towards Objective 3 allowed me to assault Dan’s Warlord and score points not just for destroying a vehicle (Big Game Hunter) but also Slay the Warlord, First Blood and Secure Objective 3. Nevertheless, despite such a strong first turn, Dan could still have won, especially when he pulled the Kingslayer and Assassination Tactical Objectives. Such is the beauty of the Maelstrom of War missions: there’s always a chance to win!

THE SECOND BEST GREENSKINS

Dan: Well that didn’t go as planned! The new Maelstrom of War missions are absolutely hilarious and this game only helped confirm my opinion. Right from the start my Orks were causing a nuisance, the moment of hilarity being my Warboss’s Trukk accidentally crashing into Objective 3, which I needed to claim in the first turn. Sadly, the ensuing combat didn’t go so well and I lost it to the Tyranids. Orks are great in a fight, but not against two Carnifexes. The best thing about this new way of playing was that even after several turns of losses, I was still in the game, especially when the Hive Tyrant arrived at the same time as all the ‘Kill the Hive Tyrant’ cards came up. If I’d grounded it with my Dakkajet, I would have filled it full of so many holes the Hive Mind itself would have felt it. Next time, maybe…

In the 41st Millennium not all weapons can be seen with the naked eye. Psykers stride the battlefield, harnessing the deadly power of the Warp to smite their foes with eldritch fire. Adam Troke takes a look at the new psychic phase, and what it means for your games.

On the battlefields of the 41st Millennium there are weapons that can pulp flesh and pulverise armour with alarming ease, from the lethal power of a thunder hammer to the technological wizardry of a Tau railgun. Of all the weapons used to smite the foe, however, none conjure such horror as the Warp-fuelled powers of psykers. Psykers are rare individuals able to harness a portion of the infinite power of the Immaterium and unleash it as a weapon, either to smite the enemy with crackling beams of death, to heal those around them or, in exceptional cases, to sunder the veil between dimensions.

Warhammer 40,000 is far more than a mere science fiction setting – it is a galaxy inhabited by powers that defy logic and reason. Daemons leer from the Warp, waiting for an untrained psyker to create a breach through which they can invade.

The rules writers behind the latest edition of Warhammer 40,000 have toiled long and hard to place this uniquely Warhammer 40,000 aspect of the universe squarely at the heart of the game, and the result is the new psychic phase, which sits between the movement and shooting phases and brings a host of new possibilities.

The pyschic phase allows the active player to generate a pool of Warp Charge points, which he then spends attempting to cast powers with any psykers in his force – the more psykers he has at his disposal, the more carnage he can wreak, but as ever when it comes to the dread art of Warpcraft, nothing is certain…

In our experience in the White Dwarf bunker so far, this has injected a very exciting dynamic into our games of Warhammer 40,000. If you’re the active player you’ve got to weigh your available Warp Charge pool against the things you want to accomplish; sometimes the veil between the Immaterium and the physical world is thin, and you’ll have all the Warp Charge you need and more. Other times, you must make do with only a few dice with which to blast the foe. There’s also the fact that you can’t risk hurling all your Warp Charge into one big effort (unless you’re desperate) because the Warp is a dangerous and deceptive thing. If you roll two or more 6s in your attempt to manifest a psychic power something has gone awry and your errant psyker must face the Perils of the Warp. The results of this test are seldom kind, and can range from the psyker being dragged screaming into the Warp to mind-shattering Empyric Feedback or a powerful Warp Surge.

In addition to an all-new psychic phase, the new Warhammer 40,000 rules also contain seven psychic disciplines, five of which are well known from the previous edition: Biomancy, Divination, Pyromancy, Telekinesis and Telepathy. The other two are entirely new to the game: Sanctic and Malefic Daemonology. These new disciplines are at the very heart of the maddening power of the warp and are available to many psykers now. Malefic Daemonology, in particular, adds a fascinating new dynamic: it’s the forbidden art of attempting to harness the power of Chaos itself and can (among other things) involve summoning Daemons from the Warp to your aid. Such an act is utterly forbidden by all but the most evil or insane, and yet there is a saying that the end always justifies the means… AT

DENYING THE WITCH

For certain races within the Warhammer 40,000 universe, harnessing the power of the Warp is an impossibility – neither the Tau or the Necrons possess any true psychic talent. While this means that they are unable to turn their enemies inside out in a gory display or protect themselves with a shimmering field of warp energy, it does not leave them entirely powerless.

Whenever a psychic power is manifested, the opposing player can attempt to Deny the Witch – the controlling player can roll dice from his own Warp Charge pool in an effort to nullify the effects. Sadly, it’s generally harder to nullify a power than to manifest it, but on the plus side nullifying doesn’t risk the Perils of the Warp. Of course, if you want some extra clout to help you deal with psychic attacks, you could always consider taking on the help of a psyker or two from a friendly (or at least, less-hostile) race.

MALEFIC POWERS

PRIMARIS POWER

SUMMONING - Warp Charge 3

The psyker completes a vile ritual that echoes through the Immaterium, summoning vile Daemons into the mortal realm.

Summoning is a conjuration with a range of 12” that creates one of the following units (your choice): 10 Bloodletters of Khorne, 10 Pink Horrors of Tzeentch, 10 Plaguebearers of Nurgle, 10 Daemonettes of Slaanesh, 5 Flesh Hounds of Khorne, 3 Flamers of Tzeentch, 3 Nurgling swarms or 5 Seekers of Slaanesh. Rules for these units can be found in Codex: Chaos Daemons.

1 - CURSED EARTH - Warp Charge 1

The psyker becomes a conduit through which the energies of the Warp flow, tainting the very ground and sustaining the Daemons that walk upon it.

Cursed Earth is a blessing that targets the Psyker. Whilst the power is in effect, all models with the Daemon special rule (friend or foe) within 12” of the Psyker have a +1 bonus to their invulnerable save (normally increasing it to 4+). This is cumulative with any other modifiers to a Daemon’s invulnerable save. In addition, whilst the power is in effect, friendly units with the Daemon special rule will not scatter when arriving from Deep Strike Reserve so long as the first model is placed within 12” of the Psyker.

2 - DARK FLAME - Warp Charge 1

The psyker projects a dark ball of psychic flame that immolates his foes’ souls as well as their bodies.

Dark Flame is a witchfire power with the following profile:

3 - INFERNAL GAZE - Warp Charge 1

Unholy power streams forth from the psyker’s eyes, charring and melting all flesh, metal and stone caught in its path.

Infernal Gaze is a beam with the following profile:

4 - SACRIFICE - Warp Charge 1

The psyker sacrifices one of his followers’ souls to summon forth one of the Chaos Gods’ most trusted servants.

Sacrifice is a conjuration with a range of 6” that creates one of the following units (your choice): 1 Herald of Khorne, 1 Herald of Tzeentch, 1 Herald of Nurgle or 1 Herald of Slaanesh, with up to 30 points’ worth of options. Rules for these units can be found in Codex: Chaos Daemons. If this power is successfully manifested, one friendly model within 6” of the Psyker (or the Psyker himself) immediately suffers a single Wound with no saves of any kind allowed.

5 - INCURSION - Warp Charge 3

The psyker opens a portal to the Realm of Chaos through which the daemonic legions spill into the mortal plane.

Incursion is a conjuration with a range of 12” that creates one of the following units (your choice): 3 Bloodcrushers of Khorne, 3 Screamers of Tzeentch, 3 Plague Drones of Nurgle or 3 Fiends of Slaanesh. Rules for these units can be found in Codex: Chaos Daemons.

6 - POSSESSION - Warp Charge 3

The psyker sacrifices his own soul and a Greater Daemon of Chaos hungrily possesses him, bursting forth from the host’s body in an explosion of psychic energy.

Possession is a conjuration with a range of 6” that creates one of the following new units (your choice): 1 Bloodthirster, 1 Lord of Change, 1 Great Unclean One or 1 Keeper of Secrets. Rules for these units can be found in Codex: Chaos Daemons. If this power is successfully manifested, the Psyker is immediately removed as a casualty (if the Psyker was part of a unit with the Brotherhood of Psykers/Sorcerers special rule, remove the entire unit as casualties). If, when using this power, the Psyker fails his Psychic test, he automatically suffers Perils of the Warp.

GAMBLING YOUR IMMORTAL SOUL

Adam: Harnessing Malefic Daemonology is exceedingly perilous, so my first (and best) piece of advice is never stray from the path of sanity. The risk is too great, since any doubles in your Psychic test will result in the Perils of the Warp, and your psyker wont survive long if that happens.

But… just look at the power they offer. You could ignore my previous advice and start unleashing the Warp. If you generate all your psychic powers from one discipline you get the Primaris power in addition to your other abilities, so that means you have Summoning, which is an exceptionally useful starting block. Use Summoning every turn of the game that you can, and attempt to manifest it with at least six dice. Yes, it’s very dangerous, but the payoff is huge. Any doubles will cause a Perils of the Warp test, but you can usually survive one of those anyway (assuming your psyker has 2 Wounds), and if you roll less than six dice you’re not really giving yourself a fair chance of rolling the three successes you need to manifest the power. Who wants to live forever anyway? Pick what you summon carefully, based on your needs for the rest of the battle. Need combat troops? Take Bloodletters. Need objective holders? Take Plaguebearers…

Common wisdom round here is to only use Possession if your psyker is on his last Wound. I disagree. While it kills your psyker to trade him in for a Greater Daemon, summon one that’s a psyker and you can choose the Lore of Daemonology for your new addition, and keep using Summoning (only more safely). So, if you’re lucky enough to get Possession, go big and upgrade to a Lord of Change!

A final word on Daemonology, though: for all it offers, it remains dark and dangerous and can be a little too easy to talk yourself into. Beware. Such is the lure of Chaos…

MAKING SACRIFICES

Dan: For the most part, I’m averse to using psychic powers in all their guises, so stooping to Daemonology is a big no-no for me. However, that hasn’t stopped me taking a peek, just in case, you know, they might be really good. And they are. Half the powers are similar to those of other psychic disciplines, so if you’re planning to use your psyker for damage-dealing or Blessings then I’d suggest looking elsewhere, as other powers are just as deadly and less likely to kill the user (always a bonus). As Adam points out, the real advantage of Daemonology comes from the top three Malefic powers and the Primaris power, though I’d be inclined to use them in a slightly different way to him.

Where Adam is more than willing to sacrifice a powerful psyker to the Warp, I’d be more inclined to use a Brotherhood of Psykers to cast Malefic powers. The two units that spring to mind are Pink Horrors of Tzeentch and Wyrdvane Pskyers, both of which are wonderfully cheap points-wise, and therefore expendable. Wyrdvane Psykers only generate one psychic power, but if you choose Daemonology then you’ve got a 50/50 chance of getting a power that enables you to create new units, plus the Summoning Primaris power. If, as Adam says, you use all your dice to cast the power and you suffer a Perils of the Warp attack, the worst that will happen is one of your psykers explodes. Oh no, poor insignificant human!

The Pink Horrors are an even more terrifying prospect. If your unit is big enough, they will generate two psychic powers. If they get Sacrifice, blast one of their number into the Warp and turn it into a Herald. Make it a Herald of Tzeentch and you get even more psychic powers with which to summon more Pink Horrors, which can then also be turned into Heralds. There’s a bit of luck involved, but if you’ve already turned to Daemonology then your immortal soul is already damned, so what’s the harm in trying, eh?

The new Warhammer 40,000 offers unlimited potential for utilising your collections of miniatures. Jes Bickham takes a look at what making an Unbound army really means for both your army and the grim darkness of the far future…

Forget what you know. The old ways are dead, and a horizon of limitless possibilities has opened up for the armies of Warhammer 40,000. With the advent of Unbound armies, you can create exactly the army you want. It’s a seismic shift in army creation and a profound change in how games of Warhammer 40,000 can now be played. Let’s explore exactly what it means for you.

There are two ways of creating an army now. Once you and your opponent have decided the points limit of your game (if indeed you want to use points at all), you need to decide whether your army is going to be Battle-forged or Unbound. Battle-forged armies use the Force Organisation chart that you know and love from previous editions of Warhammer 40,000. You’ll need to take at least one HQ and one Troops choice, and use Detachments. There are two types of Detachment – Combined Arms and Allied – and your Primary Detachment will be the one with your Warlord in it. With us so far? You’ll also need to bear in mind Factions (basically the race a particular unit belongs to – Space Marines, Necrons, Imperial Knights or whatever) as units in a Detachment must be of the same Faction, and your Faction also dictates your level of alliance of with other Factions. (More on this next issue!)

This should all sound pretty similar to how armies were constructed in previous editions of Warhammer 40,000, right? But there are added bonuses to being Battle-forged, mainly the ability to re-roll your Warlord trait, and the Objective Secured special rule. This rule applies to Troops units from Battle-forged Detachments; all units are scoring units now in Warhammer 40,000, but Troops units with Objective Secured will always control objectives over and above other units.

And why is this important? Because of the Unbound method of building your army, which offers complete freedom but lacks Objective Secured. The new Warhammer 40,000 has this to say about Unbound armies: simply use whichever units from your collection that you want. It’s that simple… and almost paralysing in the freedom it offers. It’s therefore entirely possible that you won’t have any Troops in an Unbound army at all! (And it explains why the Objective Secured special rule is such a valuable bonus for making a Battle-forged army.)

Rules maestro Robin Cruddace has created a strikeforce of his Howling Griffons (above) using the new Unbound method, with an eye to exploring a particular facet of playing: lots of deep striking Fast Attack action. With six Fast Attack choices, three HQs and only one Troops choice, he wouldn’t be able to make this force using the Battle-forged method, and it lets him explore an unusual and focused way of waging war with his favourite Chapter of Space Marines. We’ve laid down an office challenge against these noble servants of the Emperor, and will be sure to let you know how we get on against them on the field of war…

It’s worth pondering exactly what the line ‘whichever units from your collections that you want’ means, however. Your collection may, of course, include all manner of units from all manner of armies. So, yes, this means you can simply play a game of Warhammer 40,000 with an army as random and diverse as you want. You could have Space Marine Sternguard Veterans, a Bloodthirster of Khorne, a Tyranid Exocrine, a Tau Riptide Battlesuit and a unit of Eldar Guardians as your army. That’s a very silly and extreme example, and you certainly won’t be very popular with your opponents, and we think you’ll find that going radically ‘off-piste’ with theme and background makes for far, far less compelling games and battlefield storytelling. In fact, what makes the Unbound method really exciting is that it allows you to tell the stories that you want to tell, and really drill down into a theme. Let me explain by way of my Tyranids: Hive Fleet Eumenides is currently rapidly adapting in response to the resistance it’s encountering in the form of Imperial Knights. As such, when it goes to war these days it’s funnelling its energies towards a specific purpose: felling giant vehicles. My Unbound theme, then, is a host of myriad bioforms awash with Haywire weapons: Hive Guard with shockcannons, Hive Crones with tentaclids, and Tervigons, Tyrannofexes and Hive Tyrants bred with the electroshock grub thorax swarm. It’s a highly specialised army (no Troops whatsoever!) that will be next to useless against certain forces, but it’s emblematic of how the Hive Mind works, and it really lets me unfold a particular narrative (the Tyranids are fighting back against Imperial Knights!) by picking exactly the monsters I want to use.

Here’s Adam Troke’s take on the Unbound method allowing you to enjoy your army in a very specific way: “The impact of being able to field an Unbound army for me is that it will allow me to focus more fully on the area of the Warhammer 40,000 I love best – the Ravenwing. In many games I’ll probably just take all the Ravenwing units that I have, and back them up with my Deathwing squads, which matches the stories of the black huntsmen chasing down the Fallen before calling in the Inner Circle to deliver justice. (I don’t have that freedom in a Battle-forged army list without taking the Masters of the Deathwing and Ravenwing companies.) I would think that in many games I’ll play in the future, the only Troops choice in my army will be my squad of Scouts, who lead the Ravenwing onto the target before fading back into the background.”

It’s a wonderful example of the things the Unbound method allows you to do. Of course, following the Battle-forged method lets you do the same thing in a different way (by creating a strict Codex Astartes-compliant Ultramarines force, for example), but an Unbound army is free to explore army building without limits. What will you do? Be sure to let us know... JB

THE UNBOUND SWARM

Phil Kelly, one of the Studio’s marvellous background writers, has ‘gone Unbound’ with his Tyranids (see right for a picture). He says: “Usually, I struggle to get more than 180 bodies on the field before I’ve used up my Troops allocation on the Force Organisation chart. This Unbound army gives me a chance to more than double my Tyranids.

“When the Tervigon’s rolling well for spawning Termagants, I can potentially throw 300 critters at the enemy army in a single game! The Tervigon uses the Dominion psychic power to ensure I’ve got a decent synapse range, whilst the Zoanthropes skulk as backup and stay hidden if at all possible. The idea – obviously! – is to swamp the enemy with Gargoyles and Hormagaunts before he’s able to take out my Synapse Creatures, whilst the Termagants drown any enemy counterattacks in skittering bodies. It’s a gamble, but I just like the fact I’ll probably outnumber a Space Marine player six or seven times over – just like in the stories!”

HQ

Tervigon with cluster spines and toxin sacs - 210

ELITES

1 Zoanthrope - 50

1 Zoanthrope - 50

TROOPS

30 Termagants with fleshborers - 120

30 Termagants with fleshborers - 120

30 Termagants with fleshborers - 120

30 Termagants with spinefists - 120

20 Termagants with spinefists - 80

30 Hormagaunts - 150

30 Hormagaunts - 150

30 Hormagaunts - 150

FAST ATTACK

30 Gargoyles - 180

TOTAL: 1500 points (and 263 models!)

Paint Splatter provides tips and handy hints for painting your miniatures. As promised last issue, this week we look at painting Dryads in seasonal colours.

THE VAULTS OF WINTER

This wintry colour scheme was painted by Chris Innes, who was looking for something that reflected the cold, bleak winter months, and was also quick to reproduce. “I used lots of layering in this colour scheme,” he says. “Because of the nature of the model, in this case, rather than treating layering as a slow and careful process, I’ve done it in a very fast and relaxed way.

“My idea was to get a strong basecoat colour down first and then build on it with quick, successive highlights. I undercoated the model with Chaos Black spray and you can see some of the black colour showing through in the recesses on the model. This is fine, because it adds shading to the Dryad Bark basecoat and contrasts nicely with the subsequent highlights.”

THE SPIRITS OF SUMMER

Natalie Slinn painted the summer-themed Dryad. “I wanted to evoke the vibrancy of spring turning into summer, so I’ve gone for a deep green as my starting point, which then turns into something brighter. Towards the end of the bark painting, I used Waywatcher Green glaze, which lends the green the luminosity you see in nature. The orange leaves are a nod to the blossom and fruits you see in summer time, and they were simple enough to evoke with a basecoat, wash and single layer highlight. All this is offset with the blue of the eyes, mouth and spiral.” AT

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. This week our attention is fixed firmly on the new edition of Warhammer 40,000.

EXPLORING THE TIME OF ENDING: ADAM SPEAKS TO MAT WARD

Within the new edition of Warhammer 40,000, the Dark Millennium book contains all the lore and background a hobbyist could need to ground themselves in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. Of particular interest to the White Dwarf team is the timeline that describes the Time of Ending, featuring a host of new events. Adam caught up with Mat Ward to ask him what it’s all about.

“The eight pages that make up the Time of Ending are a clear indicator of the fate of the galaxy,” Mat explains. “Each event in it is a hook that drives the narrative of the 41st Millennium forwards. The galaxy is in greater peril than at any time since the Horus Heresy (and it’s probably fair to say the danger is far worse than it was even during that legendary age). Not only are the traitor Legions and Daemonic cohorts hammering at the gates of the Imperium as Abaddon musters the 13th Black Crusade, but Mankind’s other foes can smell the blood in the water too.

“In essence, the timeline is a slice of the most exciting and important events of contemporary Warhammer 40,000 and the fate of the galaxy is balanced on a knife-edge,” Mat says. “For example, take Shon’tu’s Revenge at the end of 998.M41. This story ties directly into the events of Sentinels of Terra, and leaves you in no doubt that the Imperial Fists’ greatest enemy will not rest until his vengeance is complete. Another fine example is the timeline event called ‘A Prophet of the Waaagh!’. Throughout the Time of Ending, the rising power of Ghazghkull has been recounted, but less than a year after he drives the world of Armageddon into a bloody war, he ups and leaves to pursue a new, unknown agenda.

“Some of the events in the Time of Ending are familiar to fans of the background of Warhammer 40,000 and others are completely new,” Mat says. “Regardless, the purpose is to provide pivotal events for hobbyists to explore with their miniatures collections and the games they play on the tabletop. The time of ending is upon the galaxy, but the fate that awaits is yours to decide with your own games and adventures in the Dark Millennium.

“This new timeline for the Time of Ending hasn’t been done in isolation,” Mat says in conclusion. “The entire writing team in the Design Studio has been involved in plotting out the events and stories that we’ll see in the future. If you look closely, you can see clues and tidbits for things that will appear in Codexes and supplements over the coming years. It’s a great time to be involved in Warhammer 40,000 – it’s like the all-out action scene at the end of an amazing action movie. It’s the big fight we’ve all been waiting for.” AT

DIRE PROPHECIES

At the end of the 41st Millennium, it isn’t just the Imperium in turmoil. The Eldar race is on the brink of destruction, prompting alliances between them and their dark kin to ensure survival. The Tau Empire, so keen on conquest, finds itself assailed by Orks and Tyranids while simultaneously waging war against the Imperium. But what of the Necrons? While other races fight for survival, they remain suspiciously quiet. For now…

PARTY LIKE IT’S .999

The last year of the Millennium looks set to be memorable (in a bad way) for the Imperium:

A tendril of Hive Fleet Leviathan is heading for Baal, home world of the Blood Angels.

Valedor is destroyed by the Eldar (as are other worlds nearby) to prevent Hive Fleets Leviathan and Kraken exchanging bio-information.

The Ultramarines return to Damnos to eliminate the Necron threat.

Abaddon launches his 13th Black Crusade. Is this the war that will end all wars?

As Jervis mentions earlier in the issue, there are lots of subtle changes to the Warhammer 40,000 rules. Here are a few of our favourites:

Jes: If a Swooping Flying Monstrous Creature takes a Wound in a given phase, it now takes just a single Grounded test at the end of the phase. Harpy heaven!

Adam: When a character wins a challenge, the Wounds they cause carry over into the unit. Watch out for that Bloodthirster.

Dan: You now get Invulnerable Saves against most Destroyer Weapon attacks. Just hope your opponent doesn’t roll a 6.

HIVE FLEET EUMENIDES

HQ - The Vengeful Sky: Hive Tyrant with wings and twin-linked devourers with brainleech worms.

Brood Mother: Tervigon with crushing claws.

FAST ATTACK - Deathly Mistral: Hive Crone. Spore Fiend: Harpy.

HEAVY SUPPORT - One Face of God: Carnifex with two twin-linked devourers with brainleech worms.

The Other Face of God: Carnifex with two twin-linked devourers with brainleech worms.

Hellish Inferno: Exocrine.

1180 points

WAAGH! SKORGRIN

HQ - Warboss Skogrin: with ’eavy armour, cybork body, kombi-flamer and power klaw.

Big Mek Gazmek: with ’eavy armour and kustom force field.

TROOPS - Skogrin’s Nobz: 5 Nobz in a Trukk, wearing ’eavy armour and equipped with two big choppas, a kombi-flamer and a power klaw.

Krusha’s Ladz: 10 Ork Boyz with a rokkit launcha, a Trukk and a Nob equipped with a power klaw and ’eavy armour.

Gazlog’s Boyz: 10 Ork Boyz with a rokkit launcha and a Nob equipped with a power klaw and ’eavy armour.

Kanhamma’s Boyz: 10 Ork Boyz with a rokkit launcha and a Nob equipped with a power klaw and ’eavy armour.

Rokboss’s Boyz: 11 Ork Boyz with a big shoota and a Nob equipped with a kombi-rokkit and ’eavy armour.

FAST ATTACK - Redeye’s Bikers: 3 Ork Bikers including a Nob with a power klaw.

Uzgob’s Fury: Dakkajet with extra super-shootas and a flyboss.

HEAVY SUPPORT - Da Boomtrukk: Looted Wagon with a boomgun.

1196 points

HORDES VS MONSTERS

Jes and Dan couldn’t have picked two more different armies for their battle this week. Dan’s image of Orks at war is of hordes of Ork Boyz piling forward to dominate the battlefield with overwhelming numbers. As mentioned on pages 10 and 11, Dan’s army easily fits into a force organisation chart, making it Battle-forged.

Jes, on the other claw, has been experimenting with different types of Tyranid armies, ranging from balanced, Battle-forged forces to collections of Unbound monsters. It was one of these monster-heavy armies that he chose for this battle, intending to win by causing damage rather than taking Objective Markers.

Notes from the worlds of Warhammer. This week: Daemonology.

DAEMONIC INVASION

One of the greatest threats to the Imperium, and indeed the entire galaxy, is the risk of an untrained psyker attempting to harness the power of the Warp. Such an occurrence runs a very real risk of causing a cataclysmic rift in the fabric of reality that would enable Daemons from the Realm of Chaos to spill out into the material world. For this reason, the Inquisition ruthlessly pursues such individuals, either for summary execution or for transportation to Terra upon the ominous Black Ships.

DAEMON WEAPONS

Through use of forbidden and arcane warpcraft it is possible to bind the soul of a Daemon into inanimate objects. Typically this is used by Chaos Space Marine sorcerer-engineers known as Warpsmiths to bind Daemons into war machines, such as Heldrakes or Forgefiends. There are those, even within the ranks of the Imperium, however, who believe that the power of Daemons can be more readily controlled, and thus bind them into items such as swords, axes or staffs in an effort to gain an advantage over their enemies. Radical Inquisitors, Chaos Sorcerers and even Space Marines of the Relictors Chapter have all been guilty of using such weapons in the past.

EXORCISM

The Exorcists Chapter of Space Marines are put through a very controversial method of enhancement during their recruitment. Each initiate is subjected to Daemonic possession, with a Chaos Daemon bound into their body. This is then banished using Sanctic powers, leaving the initiate either a gibbering wreck in need of swift mercy or utterly immune to the effects of Daemons in the future.

This Ogre Butcher was featured in Warhammer: Visions issue 2, but sadly we didn’t know who painted it. Fortunately, Keith Rankin got in touch with us to say that it was, in fact, his creation, which won him a finalist medal at the Golden Demon painting competition in Memphis last year. Not content with the goriness of the Ogre Butcher as it was, Keith converted the model to be holding loops of entrails and guts made from metal wire and Green Stuff, making it look as though the Ogre Butcher is casting some kind of diabolical Gut Magic spell. A healthy smattering of blood completes an excellent model.

If you’ve painted a miniature that you think is worthy of a place in White Dwarf then why not send a picture to:

team@whitedwarf.co.uk

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

When Adam pointed out that wounds caused in challenges carry over into a unit, we debated how that would look on the battlefield. “A Hive Tyrant would butcher a Space Marine Sergeant and wouldn’t stop to consider his honourable sacrifice,” says Adam. “Imagine getting hit by Ghazghkull. The challenge would be less of a fight and more of a collision. He’s so massive he might not even notice as he steams into the unit.” But would more honour-bound characters stoop to such bloodthirsty actions? “Lysander wouldn’t,” says Matt. “Well, maybe if they were heretics.” Dan thought it was more about the character’s foes: “A Phoenix Lord would fight honourably,” says Dan, “but I can’t imagine Orks giving him any quarter, so he’d have to slaughter them for their impudence.”

Where most weapons fire bullets or energy projectiles, the Doom Siren fires a wave of discordant sonic destruction, a squalling barrage of intolerable noise (much like 21st century pop music – Ed). While most tanks can survive the crushing cacophony, light vehicles can be literally shaken to pieces, while infantrymen are utterly incapacitated, their eardrums ruptured if they’re lucky, their brains leaking out their noses if they’re not.

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

QUESTION

It’s great to see you’re back, Grombrindal. It’s been almost eight years since you were last in the pages of White Dwarf. What have you been up to for so long? Have you been at Karak Eight Peaks helping Belegar Ironhammer reclaim the great city from the filthy Goblins and Skaven? What happened at Black Skull Mountain? Did you ever defeat your evil nemesis, or did he get away? I heard you might have been at the Battle of a Hundred Cannons disguised as a humble Longbeard and that many Ogres felt the wrath of your axe. Does your left eye still bulge ominously when you get angry? What’s your favourite brew – are you a Durgrund’s Hellfire kind of Dwarf or are you into the more traditional Bugman’s XXXXXX? Please answer my questions!
- Tom McNichols, Grombrindal’s No. 1 fan

GROMBRINDAL SAYS

Well I would if you left me any space to answer them in! I guess those stories will just have to wait for another day now…
- Grombrindal

You’ve seen Phil Kelly’s massive Tyranid horde on page 25. When painting as many gribblies as that, you want a colour scheme which is easy to replicate, so here is Phil’s. “You could add a mid-stage of Yriel Yellow between the Averland Sunset and Ceramite White,” says Phil, “or even a couple of layers of blending if you really want. I don’t do anything with the black, though – ‘Ardcoat does that for me. I use loads of it, like they’re covered in ichor.”

If you’ve painted a miniature that you think is worthy of a place in White Dwarf then why not send a picture to:

team@whitedwarf.co.uk

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

This brain-like Tyranid bio-morph is a great piece for personalising Tyranid monsters. It would also work well as an Objective Marker, or even latched on to the underside of a piece of terrain, representing a Tyranid infestation.

Matt Hutson has been busy over the past few days painting a new Taurox for his Steel Legion Astra Militarum army. “I really enjoy painting the interior of vehicles, so I got quite excited about the Taurox,” Matt says. “Not only is the crew area fully detailed, but it also has a driver and gunner. I painted the model over the weekend, and probably spent as much time on the inside of the Taurox as I did the outside. The crewmen are great, and I got a real kick out of putting the gunner’s seat in a higher position so you can see him looking out through the vision slit in the turret.”

Something we really like is the fact Matt hasn’t glued the roof in place, so we can remove it to have a look at all the detail on the inside.

Above - Matt’s Taurox, painted in the traditional grey and sand colours of the Armageddon Steel Legion.

Left - The driver and gunner sit behind the vehicle’s vision slits.

Right - The interior of the Taurox, painted with as much care and enthusiasm as the outside.

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