ISSUE 32

6th September 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

With this week’s release of the Morghast Archai and Morghast Harbingers – Nagash’s fell equerries from beyond – the Supreme Lord of the Undead stands poised to conquer all before him. But he has reckoned without the stout hearts of men; can he be repulsed? Adam and Dan attempt to find out with an epic, no-holds-barred battle report in this issue, with no less than Karl Franz himself taking to the field to stop the predations of the dread Necromancer.

Elsewhere, War Diary returns once more with a feast of fabulous painting as our entrants get really stuck into their displays. (Apart from our Glenn, who has a bit of catching up to do…) Alongside that, ’Eavy Metal pop in to chat about the finest exemplars of their art that they’ve seen this month. Frankly, I don’t know how they do it. Inspirational stuff indeed.

All of which leaves me to wish you a week filled with painting and gaming goodness – why not let us know about some of the battles you’ve fought? Enjoy the issue!

Jes Bickham - White Dwarf Editor

Morghasts are the dreaded enforcers of Nagash’s will, nightmare creatures of magic-infested bone bound together through the power of Necromancy. Now, as Nagash returns to the world, the Morghast Archai once again rise to do their master’s foul bidding.

Thousands of years ago the god Ptra heard the cries of the faithful and despatched his winged heralds to smite the Necromancer. These were the hammurai and they fought Nagash atop the spires of Nagashizzar for 40 days before the Great Necromancer triumphed. Nagash looked upon these slain warriors and saw in them great potential. Drawing on his dark power, they were reborn, no longer the gleaming and pure emissaries of the God of Light, but accursed creatures suffused with the power of dark magic.

The Morghast Archai are Nagash’s chosen guard and wear suits of ebon-wrought armour upon their bodies of sculpted bone. Their weapons are immense, corrupted parodies of the solar-forged blades of the hammurai; within their hafts writhe faces of the slain, their agony drawing others to share their torment.

The Morghast Archai kit enables you to build two multi-part plastic models, including four glaives, so you can build some real variety into your regiment. AT

Left - The Morghast Archai wear ebon-wrought armour, in homage to Morikhane, the armour worn by Nagash himself. These suits of armour were created at the instruction of the Archai to channel the magic of the world into them in the wake of Nagash’s passing. Each suit is inset with black warpstone, taken from the depths of Cripple Peak.

Right - The Morghast Archai are borne aloft on tattered wings, a grotesque perversion of the heavenly warriors of Ptra. Swirling around their feet are the howling souls of the damned, unfortunates drawn to the powerful dark magic that suffuses the Morghast Archai.

The Morghast Harbingers are Nagash’s warriors of vengeance. Marching at the head of his armies they are executioners and heralds alike, meting out their judgements with the inexorable rise and fall of their blades, bringing inevitable death to all in their path.

When Nagash fell to the treachery of the Skaven and the insane rage of King Alcadizzar, the Morghasts, his most loyal servants, fought on for a time. As his magic waned, so did the power of the Morghasts until finally they were overcome by their foes. Even so, the magic of their creation was too powerful to be undone, so their enemies sealed them in tombs, laying curses on them that they might not awaken. For centuries, Necromancers, wizards and other dabblers in darkness sought to bring them to life, but without success. Only now do they awaken, the resurrection of Nagash a clarion call to these immortal servants, eager to do their master’s bidding once more.

The Morghast Harbingers eschew the thick armour plates of their peers. Instead, their monstrous skull faces and rib cages are bared fearlessly, a lone warpstone gem set into their sternums. They each clutch a pair of cleaver-like swords, matched weapons designed to separate souls from bodies with bone-shattering blows. AT

Top left - Each Morghast Harbinger carries a pair of eldritch cleavers, hook-bladed weapons with the screaming faces of the slain crying out from the guard and pommel. The Morghast Harbinger kit contains four pairs of two weapons, each of which are subtly different.

Bottom left - The bodies of the Morghasts have been created by the will of Nagash, impossible combinations of bones forming horrific shapes, from the way the top of the Morghast’s rib cage encases the plaque holding the warpstone gem to the hunched back between the Morghast’s wings that resembles a second rib cage.

Right - Scores of glowing skulls fill the cavities of the Morghast’s body, a perverse ossuary made possible only by the immense necromantic power of Nagash.

The people of the Empire believe that upon death a man’s soul passes into the underworld, to the rest of Morr. The souls of murderers and traitors, however, are easily enslaved through Necromancy, unleashed upon the battlefield to bring more death to the living.

A soul denied access to the land of Morr is said to live in endless torment, denied the peace of death in the underworld. These once-men exist as phantasms, ethereal creatures that are as immune to blade and cannonball as fog or shadow. Though they possess no body, the touch of their spirit is enough to stop a foe’s heart and their ghostly knives are keen enough to sever a soul from its body.

The new Spirit Host box contains three plastic Spirit Hosts, each an eerie conglomeration of ghostly figures rising from the graves of the damned. In design they are an uncanny match for the ghostly shapes swirling around the feet of Nagash, the Mortarchs and the Morghasts. Distended mouths yawn open, as if caught in a perpetual shriek or ravening hunger, while spindly fingers clutch ethereal blades with murderous intent. These models are as creepy as it gets, with the most sinister element being the way they emerge from skeletal remains themselves seemingly in utter torment. AT

Left - The Spirit Host kit comes with three Spirit Hosts, and basing elements that conjure the imagery of an Old World graveyard. The gravestone here has a comet of Sigmar etched upon it. Whether the man within the grave was perhaps less devout than some considered him to be, or the rising power of Nagash can even enslave the faithful dead is up to you to decide…

Right - Each Spirit Host is emerging from the skeletal remains of some poor soul. The skeletons appear wracked by pain, while above them a cloud of malicious ghosts gathers, ready to wreak havoc upon the living.

Night Haunter is wounded and the Dark Angels close in for the kill. Can Sevatar rally the Night Lords?

By Aaron Dembski-Bowden

Hardback | 128 pages

Prince of Crows is a Horus Heresy novella originally published as part of the Shadows of Treachery compilation. Within it, Aaron Dembski-Bowden describes the aftermath of the fateful encounter between Lion El’Jonson and Conrad Curze, a bloody fight that effectively signals the end of the Thramas Crusade. The Dark Angels have broken the back of the Night Lords fleet and stand poised to crush them utterly. But, in spite of their predicament, and Night Haunter’s injuries, First Captain Sevatar is a resourceful leader and will not see the Night Lords destroyed.

Available now in hardback, this is an exceptional tale of the surprising loyalty and bravery of a vile traitor, a monster you cannot help but love. AT

EASY LISTENING

Prince of Crows is also available as an unabridged audiobook, available as an MP3 download from the Black Library website – ideal if you want the caustic wit and dry sarcasm of the Night Lords First Captain brought to life while you paint.

Nick Kyme is back with the limited first edition of Rebirth, his latest Salamanders novel.

By Nick Kyme
Hardback | 400 pages

Following in the charred, body-strewn wake of the Tome of Fire trilogy comes Rebirth, a tale of the Salamander’s Fifth Company. Bound in a hardback cover with a gilt Chapter symbol on the front, this limited first edition is a master-crafted artefact worthy of a Son of Vulkan. The four character vignettes alone make the book a worthwhile purchase, but if you’ve read Kyme’s work before, you’ll know it’s the story that’s the real gold.

This time round it’s the reserve Fifth Company in the thick of the action, caught in a hopeless conflict with the Black Legion on the world of Heletine during the Promethean War. Chaos trickery, power-armoured action, loads of flamers… this is Kyme at his very best. DH

FURTHER READING

Nick Kyme is renowned for his Salamanders novels and I urge you, if you haven’t already, to read Salamanders: The Omnibus. The three books follow Da’kir and Tsu’gan as they battle against Orks, Dark Eldar, Chaos Space Marines, traitors of their own Chapter and, on a couple of occasions, each other. If that doesn’t sate your thirst for the sons of Nocturne, there are also several eBooks and short stories about them available to download from blacklibrary.com. Search for Tome of Fire to download the complete collection.

The elite of the Salamanders Legion, Firedrakes are chosen not just for their prodigious martial skill, but also for their fortitude and discipline. Tempered by the fires of battle these incredible warriors match incredible skill at arms with phenomenal willpower.

Even within a Legion renowned for the courage and discipline of its warriors, the Firedrakes stand apart as paragons among their brethren. Chosen for their matchless prowess and indefatigable spirit both, Firedrakes are deployed wherever the Legion needs the crushing strength of their thunder hammers and the inviolable protection of their storm shields. They shirk from no duty, whether it means spearheading an assault, leading a boarding action or guarding the person of their Primarch Vulkan.

The Firedrake miniatures capture these courageous warriors, a set of five resin models armed with thunder hammer and storm shield and clad in a heavily customised suit of Cataphractii pattern Terminator armour. As well as offering enough protection to deflect incoming autocannon rounds, this armour is decorated with the traditional motifs of the Salamanders Legion – each model is subtly different too, with fetishes and trophies hung across their breastplates and the bosses of their storm shields.

This month, Robin Cruddace introduces Tactical Priority, a new twist to using Tactical Objectives in your games of Warhammer 40,000, plus a new mission.

Robin Cruddace is one of the Citadel rules writers, responsible for the rules in all our rulebooks, army books and Codexes. Robin deputises for Jervis this month, who is currently ensconced in ++REDACTED++.

When the Citadel Rules Team designed the Tactical Objectives for the latest edition of Warhammer 40,000 we attached a ‘Type’ to each of the cards. This was originally done to help group similarly-themed objectives and put them in some sort of context. We also thought it might be useful for future missions and expansions to be able to label and call out certain types of Tactical Objectives. That way, we could write missions where, for example, the Annihilation Tactical Objectives awarded double Victory Points, or missions where Take & Hold Tactical Objectives couldn’t be voluntarily discarded. After a bit of musing, we thought why not give that choice to the players themselves? And so the idea of Tactical Priority was born.

The Tactical Priority rule is designed to provide Maelstrom of War games with a strategic focus, where certain objectives are more vital than others. The choice of which Type of Tactical Objectives you wish to elevate in importance is up to you and can be tailored to match the skills and strengths of your force. With a little thought, you can use this rule to field an army designed to excel at certain Types of Tactical Objectives and be rewarded for doing so. However, by specialising at one thing, be it capturing objectives or smiting your foe, you may sacrifice a touch of flexibility. The Tactical Priority rule also imposes a stiff penalty if you choose to discard a priority objective, which should make ignoring those hard-to-achieve objectives in favour of easier pickings a much more unattractive decision. Choosing which objectives to pursue and which ones to ignore is a problem faced by all generals already, but how will your decisions change now that there is more to be gained, and more to be lost? Will you fight all the harder to secure a priority objective? Will you ever cede a measure of your hard-won glory by disregarding a priority objective?

How to use Tactical Priority

Tactical Priority is a new mission special rule that can be used in any Warhammer 40,000 scenario that uses Tactical Objectives. It is used in the Battle Gambit mission opposite but can be incorporated into any Maelstrom of War mission from Warhammer 40,000: The Rules.

Tactical Priority: Before the game begins, each player nominates a single Tactical Objective Type (e.g. Take & Hold, Storm & Defend, Purge, Orks, Space Wolves etc.). During the game, you score one additional Victory Point for each Tactical Objective you achieve of your nominated Type. However, you immediately lose a Victory Point each time you choose to discard a Tactical Objective of your nominated Type.

If at the end of the game both players have scored the same number of Victory points, but one player has achieved more Tactical Objectives of their nominated Type than their opponent has of their nominated Type, that player receives one additional Victory Point (and hence wins the game).

BATTLE GAMBIT

Operational command has fallen to you and as the enemy approaches the time has come to choose between a steady, cautious advance and an aggressive sweep into the crucible of war. The greater the risk, the greater the reward, but half measures will not be tolerated – report back with complete success or do not report at all.

THE ARMIES

Choose an army to an agreed points limit.

THE BATTLEFIELD

Set up terrain as described in Preparing for Battle. Then, use the Deployment Map included with this mission or, if both players agree, use Random Deployment Zones to determine which Deployment Map will be used for this mission. Each player rolls a D6, re-rolling ties. Whoever scores higher can decide which half of the table they wish to deploy in. The opposing player will deploy in the opposite half.

Objective Markers

After terrain has been set up, but before determining Deployment Maps and table halves, the players must place 6 Objective Markers that are individually numbered 1 through 6 on the battlefield, using the rules for Placing Objective Markers.

DEPLOYMENT

Players must deploy using the Standard Deployment Method.

FIRST TURN

The player that set up first can choose to take the first or second turn. If they decide to take the first turn, their opponent can attempt to Seize the Initiative.

Tactical Objectives

Each player generates 1, 2 or 3 Tactical Objectives at the start of his first turn (current player’s choice).

GAME LENGTH

The mission uses Variable Game Length.

VICTORY CONDITIONS

At the end of the game, the player who has scored the most Victory Points is the winner. If both players have the same number of Victory points, but one player has achieved more Tactical Objectives of their nominated Type (see the Tactical Priority mission special rule for details) than their opponent has of their nominated Type, that player receives one additional Victory Point (and hence wins the game). Otherwise, the game is a draw.

Primary Objective

Achieve as many Tactical Objectives as possible. If, at the start of a player’s turn, he has no Active Tactical Objectives, he must generate 1, 2 or 3 new Tactical Objectives (current player’s choice).

Secondary Objectives

Slay the Warlord, First Blood, Linebreaker.

MISSION SPECIAL RULES

Night Fighting, Reserves, Mysterious Objectives, Tactical Objectives, Tactical Priority.

All or Nothing: In this mission, you must achieve all of your Active Tactical Objectives at the end of your turn in order to achieve any of them. If it is not possible to achieve even a single one of your Active Tactical Objectives at the end of you turn, you score no Victory Points from any Tactical Objectives this turn and discard none of them – these will remain Active in your subsequent turn and may need to be achieved again. If a player fails to achieve all of his Active Tactical Objectives at the end of his turn, he can instead choose to discard a single Active Tactical Objective – this scores no Victory Points, but may cause you to lose a Victory Point if it is a Tactical Objective of your nominated Type (see the Tactical Priority mission special rule for details).

War Diary tracks the progress of 14 hobbyists as they prepare for Armies on Parade, Games Workshop’s annual hobby extravaganza. Here’s how the team’s getting on so far.

Armies on Parade 2014 is now well underway and, with the deadline looming like a certain Undead Necromancer, our intrepid hobbyists have been cracking on with their projects to get them finished in time for the Parade Day.

In this issue, we chat to Hobby team painter James Gallagher about the Horrors of Tzeentch, Phil Stutcinskas from the Forge World Studio introduces his Imperial Fists, our very own Matt Hutson shows off his trees (and the Elves that live in them) and War Diary veteran Carl Dafforn gets over-excited about weathering powders.

Remember, you too can take part in this year’s Armies on Parade competition; simply chat to the staff in your local Games Workshop store to find out more.

PINK, PURPLE AND SWIRLY WHIRLIES

James Gallagher spends all day painting miniatures for the Studio armies before heading home to paint even more models for his own collection. Currently he’s got a thing for Pink Horrors.

“I’ve wanted to paint a Daemon army for some time,” says James, “so when I heard about Armies on Parade, I had to get involved. “The story behind my army is that an Empire Wizard got carried away with a spell, detonated Witchfate Tor and caused a Daemonic rift to open. The plan is to have a ruined tower in the top corner of the board with tentacles and daemonic whatnots erupting from it, with the Daemon army arrayed in front.

“The first unit I worked on was a gaggle of Pink Horrors. I had a spare vortex from the Slaughterbrute kit that I made into a mini diorama for the unit, Pink Horrors erupting from it as they entered the mortal realm. I also painted my Horrors a much darker shade of pink than usual. In reality it wasn’t a conscious decision, but a happy accident. I used Screamer Pink as the basecoat and liked the colour so much I decided to use it as their main colour.”

NOT AS DIRTY AS YOU’D THINK

Phil Stutcinskas is a member of the Forge World sculpting team and an award-winning painter. For this year’s War Diary he’s getting down and dirty(ish) with the Imperial Fists.

Phil is renowned for his realistic painting style and his Imperial Guard tanks can often be found covered in dirt, grime and battle damage. “I didn’t do that with my Imperial Fists,” says Phil. “The Adeptus Astartes are very proud of their wargear, so I reckon they’d get it cleaned and repaired as soon as possible after each battle. Besides, yellow is a really bright colour and even a tiny amount of weathering will dull them down. That’s why I kept it to a minimum on this army.

“Originally I planned to use a Realm of Battle board tile, but after seeing the Tyranid infested city board that Mark Bedford’s working on, I decided to follow his lead and also use one of the Forge World Cityscape tiles as the base for my display. We can even join them together as they’re painted in the same style. Below you can see the first models in my project: a Destroyer Squad and a Sicaran Battle Tank painted like the ones shown in The Horus Heresy Book Three: Extermination.”

AUTUMN COMES TO ATHEL LOREN

White Dwarf’s Matt Hutson used this year’s Armies on Parade competition to build on his fledgling Wood Elf army and create an arboreal realm for them to live in.

When the War Diary challenge was thrown down in the White Dwarf bunker, Matt was the first to answer the call. “The new Wood Elves had just come out when we started planning War Diary,” says Matt. “I had a small force of them from years back so this was the perfect excuse to paint the new kits, add some of the existing ones I’d never painted to my collection and make some scenery for my army. Having the deadline for the Parade Day really helps, because it makes you get models finished, you don’t just sit there faffing about, you actually get stuff painted.

“Where most people start Armies on Parade with the army and build the board afterwards, I started with the board first. The plan was to make the densest forest possible, with one large heartwood tree in the centre. I could then hide the units in between the trees or, in the case of the Warhawk Riders, perch them on top – which is admittedly tricky, as they’re metal. My centrepiece tree is converted from three Citadel Trees fused together with Green Stuff to cover the gaps.

“One of my goals was to make all the scenery modular so I could use it in my games. The sheer volume of trees on my display board means there’s easily enough to cover a normal 6’ by 4’ gaming table. So, when I finish my project I’ll have both a cool-looking board and a new set of scenery for my gaming table.”

WHAT’S BLACK WHITE AND RED ALL OVER?

Last year, Carl Dafforn entered a wintry Ogre Kingdoms force into Armies on Parade. This year he’s back with a Deathwing strike force and a very red board…

Having painted a Warhammer army for last year’s contest, Carl Dafforn opted to make a Warhammer 40,000 one this year. “I was really pleased with my display last year,” says Carl, “but I felt my board over-shadowed the Ogres on it. It is Armies on Parade, after all, not scenery on parade. This year I reigned in the scenery a bit and concentrated on painting an army that would really stand out: a strike force of Deathwing Terminators.

”The plan was to paint several squads of Deathwing Terminators, backed up by a Dreadnought, a Land Raider and an Imperial Knight. I started by painting the Deathwing Knights, finishing each unit to completion before moving on to the next one. Originally I planned to paint the Knight a different colour to the Deathwing to make him stand out. Ironically, I kept getting drawn back to House Griffith, who share the same colour scheme.

“For my display board I wanted it to be quite sparse; post-apocalyptic. I settled on a toxic red Martian wasteland, using Forge World weathering powders around the feet and on the bases of the models to tie them to it. Amazingly I only used half a pot for the whole display. If I had one piece of advice for using weathering powders, it would be to apply them sparingly and build up the layers gradually. Then varnish your models, otherwise everything you touch will end up red.”

Regular readers will have noticed that Photo Editor Glenn hasn’t painted anything for War Diary! Apparently he’s rocking out in France and left his cats in charge of his project.

’Eavy Metal is our regular feature celebrating beautifully-painted Citadel miniatures. Curated by the members of the renowned ’Eavy Metal team, we feature their models along with those of select guests.

Darren Latham, now a Citadel designer, used to be an ’Eavy Metal painter. As a result, they keep a close eye on his latest projects.

Darren: This paint job (and conversion) came about when I found I had a weekend to myself, with nothing planned. I get quite into the background of the projects I take on, so I read up on Clan Raukaan, and based a conversion on their Captain, Kardan Stronos.

I was mindful that Iron Hands are typically black and silver, so part of the challenge I set myself was to inject plenty of colour into the piece. I used blue colours to highlight the power armour. When painting black you have three choices for your highlights: blue, white or brown. I’ve found that blue, such as I’ve used here, gives your model a clean finish, which is what I was looking for. I’ve tied this in by using blue shading on the white areas, such as the gun casing and the bottom of the iconography, and by mixing in a little blue with the metallics. I even painted the lens on his bionic eye and the power bars on his combi-melta blue. Of course, the red of the sash and cloak help to offset all this, balancing the colour of the model.

For Stronos’s head I used pictures of shaved heads to get the stubble right. I’m really pleased with how that came out.

Max’s painting came to the attention of the ’Eavy Metal team some time ago. They’ve been looking for a chance to showcase it ever since.

Anja Wettergren is a long-standing member of the ’Eavy Metal team. Here she explains why Max Faleij’s miniatures so impressed them.

Anja: Max Faleij has a clean, crisp style of painting which is similar to what we do in the ’Eavy Metal team. All his models are painted to exacting standards, like he is always striving for excellence. When you consider that he paints models in the busy environment of the Stockholm Games Workshop store, it’s even more impressive.

On the specifics of this model, Max has emulated the imagery of John Blanche, such as we see in Blanchitsu or his artwork. Max has emulated the colour palette and feel of that artwork and imagery, yet still retained the clean style and the crisp highlights and smooth blending that first caught our eye. On top of that, the conversion work on this model is really very good – it’s sympathetic to the model, and not overpowering.

A last mention must go to the base. Complicated bases often draw attention away from the model, but Max has done a great job of creating a base that frames the model without distracting from it. AT

Nagash has asserted his will over the White Dwarf team, demanding that Adam raise him an army with which to terrorise the mortal realm. But will his Undead host get the better of Dan’s Empire army in this classic match-up of good versus evil?

THE UNDYING HOST OF THE GREAT NECROMANCER

LORDS & HEROES

Nagash, the Supreme Lord of the Undead.

Arkhan the Black, Mortarch of Sacrament.

CORE

The Spears of Damnation: 40 Skeleton Warriors with Spears

The Blades of Sylvania: 40 Skeleton Warriors

The Dead Eaters: 40 Crypt Ghouls

The Shambling Legion: 40 Zombies

SPECIAL

The Howling Souls: 5 Spirit Hosts

The Bale Riders: 6 Hexwraiths

The Harbingers of Death: 2 Morghast Harbingers

The Corpse Feasters: 4 Crypt Horrors

RARE

The Fallen: 4 Morghast Archai

Adam: The world’s most powerful Necromancer is mine to command, and Nagash and his most faithful Mortarch are poised to plunge the world into Undeath. My plan is simple, hurl massive units of Undead forwards and summon more using Nagash and Arkhan. Each successful spell gives me a Raise Dead token, and it’s my hope to be swimming in them by battle’s end. The Empire will fall, and from its broken corpse, the dead will rise!

THE MUSTER OF OSTERMARK

LORDS & HEROES

The Emperor Karl Franz: riding Deathclaw

Jovi Sunscryer: Level 4 Wizard Lord (Lore of Light)

Arch Lector Davian: On War Altar

Lord Garion: Empire General

Corin Blackheart: Level 2 Wizard (Lore of Undeath)

Gavis Strand: Level 2 Wizard (Lore of Metal)

Mathius Teyger: Battle Standard Bearer

Alberich von Korden: Witch Hunter

CORE

The Comets: 20 Spearmen

The Death’s Heads: 10 Halberdiers

The Silver Bullets: 10 Handgunners

The Masked Men: 10 Militia

The Everlasting Light: 5 Inner Circle Knights

SPECIAL

The Peacocks: 19 Greatswords

The Essen Pistolier Corp: 6 Pistoliers

The Hammer of Witches: Great Cannon

The Bone Sifters: 20 Flagellants

RARE

Old Reliable: Helblaster Volley Gun

The Sunmaker: Helstorm Rocket Battery

The Templehof Luminark: Luminark of Hysh

Glint: Cockatrice

PREPARING FOR WAR

In the Battleline scenario both players start on an even footing on opposite sides of the battlefield. The winner is the player who scores the most victory points by wiping out enemy units.

Adam deployed his Undead Legions in an extended line, with the Crypt Ghouls and Crypt Horrors anchoring his left flank (A). In the centre Nagash advanced behind the Blades of Sylvania (B), while Arkhan the Black and the Howling Souls took refuge behind a Haunted Forest. The Undead Legion’s right flank was secured by the Bale Riders and the Zombie horde (C). Finally, within the ruins of Dreadstone Blight lurked the Morghast Archai and Morghast Harbingers (D), positioned to swoop forwards alongside the rest of the army.

Dan deployed his Greatswords, their accompanying detachment of Militia and the Pistoliers opposite Adam’s ghoulish minions (E). On the opposite flank he deployed the Great Cannon and the Luminark of Hysh, giving them a good line of sight across the battlefield (F). The Knights of the Everlasting Light and the Death’s Head Halberdiers stood nearby to offer them protection. Dan placed his most reliable units in the centre of his force (G) – the Spearmen, the Flagellants and the War Altar, backed up by Karl Franz on Deathclaw. The Helblaster Volley Gun and the Handgunners stationed themselves in and around Skullvane Manse (H) while Glint, the Cockatrice, skulked around behind it.

Because flying units can move and charge over other regiments, both Adam and Dan deployed their winged warriors behind their main battlelines.

Dan: And I, the noble defender of the mortal realm, plan to stop him. How can I possibly hope to face down Nagash, I hear you cry? With the greatest hero of the Empire, of course – Karl Franz. Plus as many black powder weapons, unbreakable nut-jobs and morally dubious Wizards as I can feasibly congregate in one place. This is going to be a battle to the death, followed by a battle against Undeath. Then, maybe, just death.

The last time we saw Nagash and the Undead Legion in action was in a very specific scenario from Warhammer: Nagash. The result was a crushing victory for the Great Necromancer. It really whetted our appetite to see how the Supreme Lord of the Undead would fare in a ‘standard’ game of Warhammer. With that in mind, Dan and Adam decided to play a Pitched Battle from the Warhammer rulebook. Dan rolled to see which scenario they would be playing, scoring a 1 – Battleline, which many Warhammer fans would consider the archetypal Warhammer battle. For their battlefield, Dan and Adam created a blasted landscape of haunted trees and crumbling towers, with a skull-circled Sinister Statue standing at the centre of the field – the perfect site for a clash between Nagash and Sigmar’s heirs. Finally, they deployed their armies, jockeying for position with alternate deployment. Finally, they rolled for first turn. Rolling a 6 (with +1 for finishing deployment first) Adam felt very smug as the battle began…

Adam Turn 1: With a certain joy I kicked off the battle by advancing everything in my army in an effort to get to grips with Dan’s men as fast as possible. The Winds of Magic only gave me seven dice (and Dan Channelled to even the odds), so Nagash and Arkhan drew thirstily on their own power in an attempt to raise more dead to the ranks. Despite their efforts, Jovi Sunscryer, Dan’s Light Wizard, dispelled everything they cast, although he had to use his Dispel Scroll. A slow start, but there was plenty of time yet.

Dan Turn 1: Adam had moved his Morghast Harbingers suspiciously close to my Knights but, rather than taking the bait, I charged them with Karl Franz instead. My Magic and Shooting phases were relatively uneventful, my spells easily stopped by the Great Necromancer. He even shrugged off a cannonball with only minor damage. Karl Franz’s combat went seriously awry. Scoring only one hit with Ghal Maraz, he didn’t kill a single Harbinger, but took two Wounds in return. I’d almost lost my General in the first turn!

MAGICAL DUELS

Adam: Throughout the battle, but especially in the first turn the Magic phases had the feel of a real clash of magical titans. Nagash and Arkhan, without doubt two of the most famous and feared sorcerers in the Warhammer world, threw every spell they had at the Empire ranks, while Dan’s beleaguered Light Wizard, Jovi Sunscryer, valiantly tried to stave off their attacks.

With some clever dice-marshalling and a lot of faith in Karl Franz’s Ward save and Leadership (he was several times the victim of Khizaar – the Soul Stealer, but never once succumbed) Dan turned what most would have expected to be a one-sided magical beating into a nail-biting magical duel.

All good things come to an end, however, and as the game wore on, things got a lot worse for the heroic Empire Wizard.

Adam Turn 2: Although I had nearly killed Karl Franz in Dan’s turn, the Empire had whittled away a lot of models, including killing a swathe of Skeletons with his Cockatrice. I attempted several charges and, while Dan fled from the Blades of Sylvania with the aforementioned Cockatrice, my Spirit Hosts reached his Militia detachment with ease. In the centre the Morghast Archai charged both the Empire Spearmen and Flagellants and the Zombies charged Karl Franz in the flank to support the Morghast Harbingers. The Magic phase went better for me this turn, as Nagash and Arkhan kept Jovi Sunscryer on his toes, as he dispelled Khizaar – the Soul Stealer and Arkhan’s effort at Ryze – the Grave Call, only to be left powerless to halt Nagash as he summoned a regiment of six Ushabti directly in front of the Empire Greatswords.

In combat the Morghast Archai cut down several Flagellants and badly wounded Jovi Sunscryer, who was in the front rank of the Spearmen, for nearly no injury in return. While the Flagellants fought on, the Spearmen fled, taking Jovi to safety. Karl Franz smashed the last of the Harbingers to dust and staved off the grasping hands of the Zombie horde.

Dan Turn 2: Karl Franz was still going strong, though I charged the Knights of the Everlasting Light into the Zombies to ensure a clean(ish) victory. Nearby, the Death’s Heads and the War Altar piled into the Morghast Archai alongside the Flagellants. The Greatswords charged the Ushabti. It had to be done, if only to avoid the encroaching Ghouls.

The Winds of Magic blew strong, though again Nagash dispelled all bar one spell – Glittering Robes – which Adam let through. The spell proved to be immensely useful in the combat phase, where it gave the Greatswords a whopping 2+ save. That, combined with their stubbornness, kept them in the fight with the Ushabti.

Meanwhile, in the swirling melee taking place in the centre of the battlefield, Karl Franz and the Knights obliterated the Zombie horde. Close by, the Flagellants got so excited by the prospect of death that four of them martyred themselves before the Archai could even hit them. When they did, though, the damage was catastrophic, leaving just the Prophet of Doom alive. Alberich von Korden, the Witch Hunter, surprised everyone by killing one of the Archai single-handed.

RYZE!

Adam: No spell had a greater effect on the battle than Ryze – the Grave Call. This incredible power, which is actually the signature spell for the Lore of Undeath, was incredible. Across the course of the game it allowed me to summon 6 Ushabti, 30 Zombies, 23 Tomb Guard and 10 Grave Guard… and that was in spite of Dan’s excellent dispelling.

What made it even more useful was the fact that Nagash triples the range and effect of all of the Summoning spells in the Lore of Undeath (and Arkhan doubles it), so whenever I successfully sneaked the spell through I was able to get plenty of models for my efforts.

Even Dan caught the summoning bug at the end, as even Corin Blackheart tried his hand at the spell too…

Adam Turn 3: At this point I felt that the battle was favouring me a little, but there was much to be done if I was to win outright. Arkhan charged the Knights of Everlasting Light to get rid of them. In a scene that would repeat several times more, the Crypt Horrors charged the Pistoliers, who fled to safety. The Hexwraiths bungled a charge on the Great Cannon too – curse them.

Magically-speaking, I gambled six of my meagre eight Power dice casting Invocation of Nehek with Nagash (it would restore D6+5 wounds to all Undead units within 18”). Once again, Jovi Sunscryer stopped it. Curse him. Miffed, I summoned 10 Grave Guard behind Jovi’s regiment, ready to charge him next turn and stored a power dice in Nagash’s staff.

While Arkhan fought the Knight Preceptor (and failed to make a lasting impression), the other combats on the table ground on. The Spirit Hosts killed more militiamen, the Ushabti and Greatswords took bloody casualties of their own and the melee in the centre saw the Halberdiers flee from the Morghast Archai, who were worn down to their last two models by the efforts of the Witch Hunter and Arch Lector.

INSPIRING PRESENCE

Dan: This is the first time I’ve used Karl Franz in a game, so when I discovered he had a 24” Inspiring Presence, I was over the moon. His high Leadership ensured my troops stayed in the battle, thwarting Adam’s attempts to break them. He also made taking Fear tests much easier and negated the worst effects of Khizaar – the Soul Stealer.

While all this is great, my original plan for Karl Franz was to charge Arkhan the Black and smash his dirty teeth in with Ghal Maraz. Sadly, his first combat of the game reduced him to a single Wound, making future fights a risky prospect. By the time I’d built up the courage to charge, Adam had summoned a unit of 23 Tomb Guard to protect Arkhan. I charged anyway. Karl Franz isn’t a man to stand around idle.

Dan Turn 3: Everything was hanging in the balance. I reckoned I had the upper hand in the centre of the battlefield and, with Arkhan tied up, my left flank looked secure, too. My right flank, however, was about to crumble under the weight of nearly 100 Undead infantry.

Rolling an 11 for the Winds of Magic, Jovi Sunscryer finally cast Banishment on the Hexwraiths and obliterated the unit. Seeing his success, Gavis Strand cast Glittering Robes again, this time with Irresistible Force. The resulting magical backlash wounded every one of my Wizards and, much to my dismay (and Adam’s delight), killed Jovi.

On that miserable note, I began the Shooting phase, which saw the Helstorm blow up and the Helblaster jam while trying to mow down the recently raised Grave Guard. Sigmar smiled upon me, however, as the Hammer of Witches fired the cannonball of all cannonballs at Nagash, penetrating the Black Armour and causing a mighty six Wounds. The Great Necromancer was dead! The icing on the cake was Karl Franz smashing apart the Morghast Archai in the centre of the battlefield. What a turn!

THE FALL OF NAGASH

Dan: With the Luminark proving ineffective due to Nagash’s magical dominance, I had to rely on the Great Cannon to try and kill Nagash at range. After causing a single Wound on him in the first turn, and bouncing a cannonball off him in the second, I was losing hope.

The third shot restored my faith, the cannonball hitting Nagash square in the chest. One failed Ward save by Adam left me holding the die that would seal Nagash’s fate. All I needed was a 6. And, to both our amazement, I got it.

Suffice to say, Adam was less than amused by my joyous capering around the gaming table. He got a measure of revenge in the next turn, however, when the Great Cannon blew itself, and its crew, to smithereens.

Adam Turn 4: Nagash was dead, which meant Arkhan had to shine. While my Crypt Ghouls charged the Militia in the rear (easily overcoming them and overrunning into the remaining Greatswords, for the record), and the summoned Grave Guard charged Dan’s Spearmen, Arkhan set about harnessing the Winds of Magic. I rolled a 12 for Power dice and unleashed Khizaar on Karl Franz again, just to try killing him the easy way. He passed his saves. Dan then dispelled Razkhar – the Abyssal Swarm, which was a lure to get some dice out of the way before I cast Ryze and used all of my accumulated Raise Dead tokens to summon 23 Tomb Guard to anchor Arkhan’s flank against Karl Franz if Dan saw fit to charge. It seemed really fitting that in his hour of desperation, Arkhan would call on the Nehekharan elite to protect him.

The many close combats continued bloodily. The Grave Guard chopped up a few more Spearmen, though the Skeletons in the centre of the battlefield struggled against the Arch Lector. Sure, I was losing models, but Dan was too and he wasn’t summoning replacements…

Dan Turn 4: Adam was right, I was losing regiments and fast. My only chance was to take down Arkhan. Surprisingly (and maybe a little grudgingly), my Knights had lived a lot longer than either me or Adam had expected and were blocking Karl Franz’s route to the Liche King, leaving him only one choice: to charge the newly risen Tomb Guard.

Without Jovi to boost my spellcasting, my Magic phase was miserable. Corin Blackheart, in an effort to harness the Lore of Undeath, tried to summon a unit of Skeletons to help the Empire, but was denied by Arkhan the Black, who stopped the spell with contemptuous ease.

While the Greatswords continued their never ending combat, Karl Franz tore into the Tomb Guard. Despite killing eight of them, he was cut down by their inexorable blade thrusts. Deathclaw, as expected, went berserk, leaving just nine Tomb Guard alive at the end of combat.

Adam Turn 5: The Emperor was dead, and with him the resolve of all the men around him who had been using his incredible Leadership 10 to bolster their courage. My fifth turn was brief: I summoned 30 more Zombies with Arkhan, lining them up to charge Deathclaw. Arkhan finished off the last of the Knights and on the far end of the field the Spirit Hosts used their ghostly blades to kill the Gold Wizard. Things were slowly falling into place.

IN THE FACE OF DEATH

Dan: Last time I fought the Undead, I ended up in a lot of protracted combats, my poor Empire soldiers fighting a war of attrition they couldn’t hope to win. My solution this time was to cram as many Stubborn units into my army as possible to ensure they held their ground when they got outnumbered in combat. The plan worked, the Greatswords holding their own against Ushabti, Ghouls and Spirit Hosts. They actually spent four out of six turns in combat! The War Altar fared similarly well against the Morghast Archai and the Skeleton Warriors that followed it, the Arch Lector only losing his resolve in the closing stages of the game. My advice: take as many Stubborn units as you can when facing the Undead. The Crown of Command is particularly handy for this.

Dan Turn 5: Things were getting desperate. So desperate, in fact, that Corin Blackheart encouraged the remaining Halberdiers to charge Arkhan the Black. Surprised by the sudden charge, Adam didn’t expect the Wizard to cast Sulekhim – The Hand of Dust. Bolstered by his magical success, Corin challenged Arkhan to a duel and turned a chunk of him to dust. In return, Arkhan tore the Wizard to pieces, re-knitting his own bones in the process. Nearby, Deathclaw set about chewing through Adam’s Zombies.

Adam Turn 6: By my reckoning, unless I could kill Deathclaw, I was behind on Victory Points, so I hastily tried to claw some back. The Grave Guard charged the Arch Lector in the rear and wounded him. As he broke from combat, the shambling Wights not only ran him down and killed him, but also caught and destroyed the fleeing Spearmen too! The Crypt Horrors finally got to grips with the Pistoliers and wiped them out, while Arkhan stabbed the Witch Hunter to death. Unfortunately, I was unable to finish off Deathclaw, despite wounding him with Khizaar and causing him to flee. Had I done enough?

Dan Turn 6: Everything hinged on killing Arkhan. With Deathclaw rallying and the Cockatrice swamped by Zombies, my only hope was the combined efforts of the Luminark of Hysh and the Helblaster Volley Gun. The Luminark turned round and, for the first time in the battle, blasted an incandescent beam of light towards Arkhan… who extinguished it like a candle (see Extreme Rolling, right). The Helblaster caused a single Wound despite getting 24 shots at close range. It was all over. Had I scraped a draw?

THE DEAD GO MARCHING ON…

Adam: If Deathclaw had lost his final wound or failed to rally, I’d have been the clear winner. As it was, I scraped the most pyrrhic of victories as the dead mounted up on both sides and the Emperor and Nagash both bought the farm.

The game was really enjoyable, a real to-and-fro affair where every Magic phase felt like armageddon and iconic heroes from the Warhammer world did battle. There are plenty of things I‘d do differently if we played again: I’d keep Nagash out of harm’s way, I’d store more dice within Nagash’s and Arkhan’s staffs, I’d have been a bit quicker with the Crypt Ghouls and Horrors, but those are incidental. Mostly I’m pleased the game was exciting and close fought. I think people are going to get real a kick out of using the Undead Legion, or trying to stop it. An army like that makes for a legendary encounter.

BRING OUT YER UNDEAD!

Dan: Fighting Nagash was one of the most exciting battlefield experiences I’ve ever had. He is terrifying. Were it not for a bit of luck in the Magic phases, I would have been toast by turn 3. As it happened, it took all my wit, cunning and a great deal of effort to face Nagash and survive.

This game proved several things to me. Firstly, Nagash is hard as nails, but not invincible. It’s nice to know that the Great Necromancer can be ‘killed’ in a regular game of Warhammer. Sure, I was lucky, but if the Great Cannon hadn’t done it, Karl Franz would have (he says, hopefully). Secondly, the Lore of Undeath is a real game-changer. The ability to summon new units, no matter your race, is an exciting prospect (as Daemon summoners will know in Warhammer 40,000) and I urge you all to give it a go. At least the Undead never run away when the going gets tough.

EXTREME ROLLING

Adam: Sometimes over the course of a game you can witness some wild luck, and this battle was no different. Dan’s desperate cannon ball that snuffed out the Great Necromancer had us both gaping in disbelief. When Karl Franz passed three saves with his Silver Seal to ward off the grasping hands of my Zombie horde, we marvelled at the cool image it conjured.

I probably took the biscuit, however, as I readied my Dispel dice to save Arkhan the Black from Dan’s Luminark. All game long the sun-laser had failed to have any real effect and Dan was elated to finally get a decent casting roll of 22 when he fired it at the Liche King. Grimly I picked up my last three Dispel dice and said, “I’ll need three sixes to stop this.” Sorry Dan.

MAN OF THE MATCH

Adam: There are several contenders for the man of the match award in this battle: Karl Franz bolstered the men around him, inspiring bravery at every turn. Jovi Sunscryer was a wizarding marvel while the Morghast Archai wreaked bloody havoc in the centre of the battlefield. Even Arkhan, who held the Undead Legion together after the death of his master, is worthy of note.

In the end though, the accolade could only go to the courageous efforts of Lord Garion. Not only did Garion acquit himself well in combat, smashing Ushabti and pulping Crypt Ghouls, but his courage kept the Greatswords in the fight to the last man. Even when they died he remained, hammer in hand, to the bitter end. A true hero.

Paint Splatter provides handy tips and stage-by-stage painting guides for the week’s new releases. This week, we take a look at painting Spirit Hosts and Skeleton Warriors.

With Undead creatures roaming across the Warhammer world, we came up with a range of stage-by-stage guides for painting Spirit Hosts and Skeletons. Below you can see four methods for painting Spirit Hosts, including a guide from the Studio Hobby team for painting the spooks to the left. All the guides below were painted over a Skull White undercoat.

As Skeletons will make up the majority of your Undead minions, we also came up with five guides for painting bones. The Studio Skeletons follow the tried-and-tested method that’s been used by the army painters for years, while the other four are variations on the theme.

Hobby team painter Tom Moore suggests using different washes (such as Athonian Camoshade and Agrax Earthshade) to make Skeletons appear dirty, while Dan prefers his Skeletons to be bleached white by the desert sun. All methods except Matt’s use a Skull White undercoat. DH

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, we talk about Harbingers of Death, Tactical Priority, toads and mixed herbs.

CREATING EFFIGIES TO THE REALM OF DEATH

The Morghast Archai and Harbingers are the handiwork of a team of designers who laboured to bring Nagash’s minions to life.

“Nagash’s power is such that he can create anything his foul mind can conceive,” says Seb Perbet, the designer responsible for dreaming up the Morghasts. “He can meld and reshape bones, combine corpses and shift anatomy to suit his purposes. With the Morghasts, I wanted skeletal soldiers that were imposing, towering above the zombie hordes. But I didn’t just want them to be the remains of larger creatures. I imagined them as the fevered creations of someone making a monster from the parts of the dead, the unnaturally arranged bones grinding as they moved. There’s no cartilage or tissue between their joints holding them together, just dry bone.”

Seb’s fevered imaginings were taken on by Martin Footitt and Mike Fores. “We wanted to make sure the Morghasts were truly horrific,” says Mike, referring to the stature of the models alongside Skeletons, Men or Elves. “Their size gives you a sense of Nagash’s madness. They are huge mortis constructs, with eldritch skulls leering out between ribs and in place of rib cages. The stuff of nightmares and the horror of the underworld brought vilely to life.”

MORGHASTS

SOLAR-FORGED

The hammurai sent forth by the Sun God Ptra bore solar-forged blades against Nagash. These heavenly weapons blazed with the light and purity of their creation, but against the vile magic of Nagash, bloated by the rich hoard of black warpstone beneath Nagashizzar, they could not triumph. The weapons the Morghasts carry into battle are a foul perversion of those holy blades, their surfaces wracked by the howling faces of the damned. It is said that they cry out for other souls to join them in their suffering.

GRINDING BONE

Within the limbs and chest of the Morghasts are scores of skulls, magically imbued at the moment of their creation. When a Morghast moves, these grind together with a foul rumbling noise, nothing less than a cacophonous chorus. This noise is all the more shocking when it is heard because the Morghasts can glide towards the foe relatively silently, borne on tattered wings – only breaking into full motion moments before they unleash their murderous wrath.

This week’s Paint Splatter (page 26) utilises plenty of drybrushing, so you’ll want to get out your Dry compounds if you’re following the stage-by-stages.

What you might not know is that many of the Dry compounds have an equivalent colour elsewhere in the paint range. This means you can use different techniques for different parts of a model (or different units), but maintain a consistent colour. For instance, you might want the quick coverage and highlighting effect of Necron Compound for a suit of chain mail, and then paint layers on the model’s sword using Runefang Steel.

Once the White Dwarf team started prodding Robin Cruddace for suggestions on new ways of using tactical objectives, the ideas just didn’t stop with Tactial Priority (see page eight)…

TACTICAL PRIORITY VARIENTS

Robin: Tactical Priority is a simple and subtle rule that alters the way Tactical Objectives work in your games in a profound way. The brilliant thing about rules like this is that they can themselves be easily modified or expanded to better suit the whims of individual players. Here are just a few ideas you could use to tailor Tactical Priority to your games:

- Impose greater rewards and penalties for the ‘priority’ Tactical Objectives.

- Make it impossible to voluntarily discard a priority Tactical Objective.

- Nominate several different Types of Tactical Objectives at the start of the game instead of only one each.

- Grant an additional bonus Victory Point if your Warlord personally achieves a priority Tactical Objective.

- Randomise which Type of Tactical Objectives are your priority by assigning each Type a number before the beginning of the game and rolling a D6.

- Make it so that the very first Tactical Objective you generate (and all other Objectives that match its Type) determines your priority.

- Ask your opponent to nominate a Type instead of choosing one yourself. We have found this variant particularly good for those who like a challenge.

Hidden by enterprising Skinks in the enemy’s equipment, the presence of a Blot Toad drives Ripperdactyls crazy. Upon seeing these innocuous-looking giant purple frogs, Ripperdactyls will descend upon the enemy like toad-seeking missiles, tearing them to ribbons to get at the slimy little beast. Beware the Blot Toad, for it is said that those who go near it croak soon after...

Orks seem to be a popular choice for submissions at the moment, with this Bad Moon Nob by John Margiotta bullying his way to the front of the queue.

Made exclusively from the Ork Nobz box, former Golden Demon winner John has really gone to town on this model. The Ork’s armour is scuffed, dented and rusted, while the Ork himself has the leathery skin of a seasoned brawler. The metal drain covers on the base are taken from the Warhammer 40,000 Basing Kit.

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.

For some time now Erik and Kris have been plotting a game of Warhammer, and last night Erik’s Dwarfs took to the field against Kris’s Chaos Warriors. The battle, however, was short and bloody as Erik’s bearded warriors not only employed a refused flank tactic, but also took a lot of guns and cannons. As Kris’s warriors advanced, Erik shot them to death, winning a crushing victory (and ending Erik’s lengthy losing streak). Kris, meanwhile is thirsty for revenge and has been canvassing for help around the bunker: exactly how do you beat a Dwarf gunline?

When Dan’s Empire army took part in the Sigmar’s Blood campaign at the end of last year, Volkmar the Grim was his army commander. “Sadly, Volkmar was captured by Mannfred von Carstein, who did some truly horrible things to him,” cries Dan. “I would love to have taken him in this battle but, considering who I was facing, it may have felt bit odd. After all, Volkmar did have a hand in Nagash’s resurrection…”

Found in the Thunderwolf Cavalry set, this helmet is a reminder of the Space Wolves’ hatred for the Thousand Sons. Sadly there’s nothing grisly inside, just some dust and a few cobwebs.

While Adam was chatting to Darren about his Space Marine Captain in this week’s ’Eavy Metal article, Darren explained just how involved the conversion was.

Darren: I get quite involved with the background behind the models that I am converting, and the more I learned about Kardan Stronos the more I enjoyed converting the model. He carries a combi-melta, so I swapped the Captain’s storm bolter out which involved changing his right arm completely. I wanted to give him some bionics too, so I used the spare head from the plastic Space Marine Captain, along with a scratch-built leg using plasticard and modelling putty.

To accommodate his Clan Company badge, I used a spare shoulder pad, which involved re-sculpting a little of the cloak, while the strange servo arms are actually part of Fabius Bile’s backpack, which has been sat in my bits box for ages.

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

CAN CHAOS EVER WIN?

If creatures of the Warp are human emotions made manifest, why are the forces of Chaos always trying to destroy the mortal realm? Surely that would result in their own destruction?
- Grand Theologian Paulo Pirola

GROMBRINDAL SAYS

Theology? At this time in the morning? I drank a lot of Bugman’s XXXXXX last night so I’m going to pass this one on to Andy Clark from the Studio:

Andy: It may seem that the forces of Chaos are trying to wipe out all life, but actually they want to enslave everything. If you think about it, Nurgle loves death, but revels in creating life from it, just stinky, noxious life. Tzeentch changes and manipulates. If everything was dead, he’d have nothing to play with. Slaanesh feasts on pleasure and perversion and needs mortal creatures to enact them. Khorne lusts for eternal war. They’re all looking for that perfect balance.
- Grombrindal (and Andy)

Notes from the worlds of Warhammer. This week: famous mounts.

DEATHCLAW

Probably the most famous steed in the Old World, Deathclaw is the famously loyal Imperial Griffon of Karl Franz. This towering creature fights bravely beside the Emperor and, at the battle of Blood Keep, protected Franz as he lay injured, keeping him safe through hours of intense fighting. During the End Times, Deathclaw falls foul of the Warriors of Chaos, but such is the loyalty between Emperor and Griffon that Karl Franz himself effected Deathclaw’s rescue from the Chaos encampment.

STORMWING

If Deathclaw is the most famous Griffon in the Old World, Stormwing is his counterpart on Ulthuan. Stormwing is a savage Griffon that serves as the mount for Eltharion the Grim, Warden of Tor Yvresse. Having duelled with a Wyvern high above the city during the invasion of Grom the Paunch, and bested scores of Dark Elves, Stormwing remains with his master as Eltharion leads a taskforce of High Elves to thwart the rising darkness in Sylvania.

SULEPHET

Sulephet is a Dark Pegasus, the chosen steed of Morathi, the Hag Sorceress. Upon Sulephet’s sleek back Morathi is able to swoop swiftly across the battlefield, launching endless salvoes of dark magic at the enemy. Rumours about Sulephet’s nature abound in Naggaroth and beyond. Some say it eats only the freshly slaughtered flesh of Elven slaves and others that Sulephet was not stolen from the Iron Mountains, like most Dark Pegasi, but rather was drawn inexorably to Morathi’s side like a moth to a brightly burning flame.

Earlier in the issue we showed off a few of the Wood Elves that Matt has been working on for his Armies on Parade board. Being the enterprising painter that he is, Matt has also finished a unit of Sisters of the Thorn to ride into battle alongside his other tree-dwellers.

“The Steeds of Isha are magical creatures,” says Matt, “so I didn’t want to paint them a natural brown. My Wood Elf army is painted in an autumnal scheme, all reds and oranges, so I continued the theme with the Sisters of the Thorn and painted their noble steeds red, too.”

Matt has an unusual method for basing his Wood Elves, a trick he learnt from the Studio painters. “After sanding the base and painting it as normal, I cover it in PVA glue and sprinkle it with dried, mixed herbs. Because of their size and colour, they look like fallen leaves. They smell nice, too, which is a bonus.”

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