ISSUE 33

13th 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

Space Hulk is back! This fantastic classic board game – in which the Blood Angels and Genestealers clash aboard the eponymous ship – has returned with all-new missions and board components, and we’ve had a whale of a time getting to grips with it all (and, of course, ogling the astonishing Citadel miniatures inside the box). We’ve got a battle report over on page 12, where we play through the new Beachhead mission, but that’s not all – on page 18 you’ll find another new mission from the pen of the rules team, one that’s entirely exclusive to White Dwarf. Along with painting guides for Terminators and Genestealers, we hope we’ve got all you need for some deep space combat.

We’re still deep in the End Times, too, as Dan takes a look at making an Undead Legion and also how to convert your Skeleton hordes to better reflect the world-changing stories and battles you’ll find in Warhammer: Nagash. Enjoy!

Jes Bickham - White Dwarf Editor

Space Hulk is the game of desperate battle between man and alien. Heroic Blood Angels Terminators and lethal, insidious Genestealers fight to the death in the dark and cramped confines of the space-bound wreck known as the Sin of Damnation.

In the void drifts a harbinger of death. A vast space hulk known as the Sin of Damnation, infested with alien lifesigns, has entered the Baal sector, home of the Blood Angels. A small, hand-picked task force has been sent to intercept the space hulk before it can threaten Baal and the surrounding worlds, Terminators of the 1st Company ready to purge the Genestealer horde whatever the cost. Humiliated centuries ago in a failed bid to cleanse another such derelict, for the Blood Angels this is a time for vengeance.

This is Space Hulk, the classic board game where players command the Blood Angels or Genestealers and battle for control of the vast space hulk. The boxed game contains more than 35 models (12 Blood Angels Terminators, 22 Genestealers, a Broodlord, a dead Space Marine and more), with scores of counters, a sand timer, dice, amazing full-colour board sections, a Rulebook and a Mission Book.

One of the things that sets Space Hulk apart from other games is the creative way the game board is put together. Rather than being played on a traditional square or rectangular board, in Space Hulk the playing area is made from dozens of smaller tiles that fit together to create the cramped confines of an ancient spaceship. These tiles are decorated with phenomenal artwork showing boarding torpedoes, turbo lifts, blood-splattered corridors, battered walkways and damaged machinery. Space Hulks are star-faring wrecks, monstrous agglomerations of smashed space ships, satellites and space stations that have been crushed together by incredible forces. This gives the game board a really diverse and exciting appearance, so that a corridor might lead from a sinister Adeptus Biologis laboratory into a shattered chapel or archivium. The best thing about all of this is the nearly limitless ways the board can be put together. Each of the 16 missions uses a different set-up, and there are millions more possibilities to explore if you wish.

The rules to play the game and the missions you recreate are all contained within two full colour booklets, the Rulebook and Mission Book. The Rulebook contains clear, concise and illustrated explanations on how to play the game, from the basics of moving a Terminator or Genestealer to unleashing the dreaded assault cannon or fighting bloody assaults with thunder hammers and lightning claws.

The Mission Book provides the sinister backdrop to Space Hulk, recounting the tale of the Blood Angels’ attack on the Sin of Damnation with missions to recreate the struggle for control of the ancient vessel. For instance, Mission One: Beachhead sees the Blood Angels arrive via boarding torpedoes in a race to secure a foothold on the space hulk before the Genestealer hordes awaken. Each mission explains which board tiles you need, which models take part, and all the rules you need to fight your way through it – something you’ll want to do again and again.

Above - Space Hulk is played on a gaming area made up of high-quality card tiles. These have a resilient gloss finish and debossed details. The new turbo lift section enables models to move from one section of the board to another.

Above - The Blood Angels assault the Sin of Damnation by boarding torpedo. Two of these brand-new additions are included.

Above - Space Hulk uses counters to track Genestealer movements, entry points, ammo levels and more. As well as a mission status board there are over 70 colour counters to help keep track of essential mission events.

Above - This room, new to this edition of Space Hulk, represents an area with a breached hull that must be sealed off in the Hard Vacuum mission.

BLOOD ANGELS

The Blood Angels are the heroes of Space Hulk. Within the box there are 12 unique miniatures to represent them, each a different character from the unfolding story. These Terminators are wonderfully dynamic, as much a part of the evocative, claustrophobic feel of Space Hulk as the lurking Genestealers and moody, atmospheric board sections. Sergeant Lorenzo, for instance, is advancing mid-step, his storm bolter raised to fire, while his face is drawn up in a snarling warcry. You can even see tiny fangs within his mouth, a genetic marker that sets the Blood Angels apart from other Chapters.

The armour of each of these Space Marines is hung with icons, honours and purity seals. These details, combined with their armament and pose makes each Terminator not just a fantastic miniature, but a heroic character you can identify from his brothers with a glance. Amazingly, all of the models in the set are assembled via simple push-fittings, so they can be ready to play within minutes.

GENESTEALERS

The greatest of battles feature the greatest of nemeses, and the Genestealers in Space Hulk certainly live up to that billing. Genestealers are one of the iconic images of Warhammer 40,000’s heritage, swift and agile killers who can slaughter even a Space Marine in close combat. The 22 Genestealers in Space Hulk take this classic look and magnify it with models that are exceptional in their dynamism – some Genestealers are sprinting at full pace while others sit hunched atop broken gantries and bulkheads. Some are even bursting through the floor, the twisted metal of the Space Hulk buckling around their bodies. Others perch upon mangled ruins of the foe or clutch the severed helmets of fallen Blood Angels.

The centrepiece of the Genestealer throng (and possibly the whole Space Hulk set) is the Broodlord, a massive Genestealer who towers above his brood kin, he is the arch-villain of the story, and the model oozes the menace he brings to the game. You wouldn’t want to meet him.

The Blood Angels battle Genestealers and their own dark history aboard the Sin of Damnation.

By Gav Thorpe
Hardback | 128 pages

Sin of Damnation is hardback novella that combines Gav Thorpe’s excellent Space Hulk story, the eponymous Sin of Damnation, with an all-new short story about Librarian Calistarius, ‘Sanguis Irae’.

Sin of Damnation is a fast-paced and ultra-violent recounting of the events depicted in the Space Hulk game. The visceral action grounds you in the kill-or-be-killed nature of such confined battles while the time-stamps throughout give the story a riveting sense of pace and urgency.

‘Sanguis Irae’ shows Calistarius several years after Sin of Damnation, where he must match wits with a new and terrible foe. The two stories connect well – and also nod at his destiny as Mephiston, Lord of Death.

Did you know Black Library release a brand new digital story every Monday? No? Read on…

More details: blacklibrary.com/quick-reads

Over at the Black Library site, Monday is Digital Monday, bringing you a brand new quick read every single week, many slotting neatly in to your favourite Warhammer 40,000, Warhammer and Horus Heresy series, and penned by some of your favourite authors. Each Digital Monday title is a short story or novella available for download direct from Black Library. This is the first – indeed, often the only – place you can read many of these cracking tales.

What’s more, this week sees the release of a whole slew of Space Hulk quick reads as well as two MP3 audio dramas, available exclusively online, as the Ultramarines, Space Wolves and Black Templars each battle their own void-dwelling nemeses.

QUICK READS

The Space Hulk Quick Reads mentioned opposite include the short stories ‘Hunt-Sense’ and ‘The Black Pilgrims’ as well as the MP3 audio dramas ‘Accept No Failure’ and ‘Hunger’, plus something by a certain bald Scotsman. Can you guess which Chapter features in each? Check out the Black Library website to get these ripping yarns and find out.

The Dimachaeron is deployed by the Hive fleets to eliminate the leaders of the enemy force with talon and claw. Any caught in its deadly embrace are reduced to an empty corpse, their nutrients siphoned away to feed the creature’s voracious appetite.

The Tyranid Dimachaeron is a true giant, sent into battle by the Tyranid Hive Fleet to wipe out the command structure of the foe when the subtle methods of the Lictors and Genestealers have already failed. Eschewing clandestine tactics, the Dimachaeron instead charges at the enemy in leaping bounds that can launch it over barricades and battle tanks to land right at the heart of the foe where its massive sickle claws and grasping talons can tear and rend at the foe. The most disgusting aspect of the Dimachaeron’s methods of killing, however, lie within its cavernous chest. Upon reaching its prey, the Dimachaeron’s ribs yawn open to reveal the spine maw, launching a massive spike at the foe with brutal force.

Any victim unfortunate enough to be caught by this attack is pulled into the Dimachaeron’s chest where it is pumped full of deadly digestion acids and swiftly drained of all nutrients. To face a Dimachaeron is to witness the full horror of the Hive Mind’s creation and know death.

This week sees the emergence of the space hulk Sin of Damnation from centuries lost in the warp and with it the arrival of Space Hulk. Only moderately terrified of the cold, forbidding darkness inhabiting the box, we plunged straight in for this week’s Battle Report…

Hurtling through the void, infested with Genestealers, is the space hulk Sin of Damnation. Determined to avenge their Chapter’s humiliating defeat centuries earlier aboard another space hulk, the Blood Angels respond immediately to the hulk’s presence, sending squads of Terminators to board it and purge it of the Genestealer menace. This is the setting for the game of Space Hulk, and for this week’s Battle Report.

The Space Hulk Mission Book provides 16 missions and we decided to play through the first, Beachhead, with the Blood Angels entering the hulk via boarding torpedoes – their mission: to eradicate the xenos threat and secure a staging point for the rest of the First Company. Aboard the Sin of Damnation, the Genestealers lie dormant after decades adrift in the Warp. Yet their numbers are all but limitless and they will not be slow to awaken…

SET-UP

The Blood Angels enter play in this scenario via boarding torpedoes, arriving at a randomly determined point along the southern edge of the space hulk. Squad Lorenzo, the first Blood Angels unit to set foot on the Sin of Damnation, arrived at location point 4 (A). The Space Marines in the boarding torpedo lined up for a quick exit behind Sergeant Lorenzo in vanguard formation, with battle brothers Noctis, Zael (bearer of the squad’s heavy flamer), Deino and Goriel ready for action.

Along the southern corridor there are three rooms, the biologis sanctum (B), scriptorum (C) and archivium (D).

North of the Blood Angels ingress point are two further rooms, the reactor access room (E) and tacticus room (F) and on the north corridor there is the principle control room (G).

The Genestealers start the mission with 10 blip counters placed in five of the six rooms. Having only just awakened from their decades-long slumber, the Genestealers remain in something of a torpor, receiving only three action points in each of the first two turns, rather than their usual six. As we’ll see, that generally makes it a good idea to put the more expendable blips (representing one or two Genestealers) nearer the Space Marines while keeping those representing three Genestealers further back. Accordingly, the principle control room plays host to six of the alien beasts. Of course, the Blood Angels don’t know this yet…

On the orders of Captain Raphael, the warriors of the Blood Angels’ 1st Company began their assault upon the space hulk Sin of Damnation. Launched from their parent ship, boarding torpedoes thundered through the void. The missile-like craft boasted bulky ram shields upon their prows, designed specifically to breach the outer hulls of enemy warships. As each torpedo slammed into the gnarled hide of the hulk, it smashed an entrance into the chambers and corridors beyond.

The moment the torpedoes came to rest, squads of Terminators disembarked from them and moved to secure the breach. A beachhead was required in order to bring aboard vital support personnel. As such, the first priority was elimination of all Genestealers within Captain Raphael’s designated perimeter. Enemy concentrations were only now rousing from dormancy – their swift extermination was required so that the Blood Angels could maintain the element of surprise.

FORCES & DEPLOYMENT

Space Marines: The Space Marine player has two squads. Squad 1 consists of a Sergeant armed with storm bolter and power sword, a Space Marine armed with heavy flamer and power fist, a Space Marine armed with storm bolter and chainfist, and two Space Marines armed with storm bolters and power fists. Squad 2 consists of a Sergeant armed with thunder hammer and storm shield, a Space Marine armed with an assault cannon and power fist, and three Space Marines armed with storm bolters and power fists.

Squad 1 deploys in the starting squares in one boarding torpedo, and Squad 2 deploys in the starting squares in the other boarding torpedo. One boarding torpedo, chosen by the Space Marine player, arrives at the start of the first Space Marine turn. The other boarding torpedo arrives at the start of the second Space Marine turn.

Genestealers: The Genestealer player starts the mission with 10 blips. The Genestealer player must place two blips in each room apart from the one that can be used by the Space Marines to board the ship (the room marked with a green ‘3’ on the deployment map). Starting on turn four and finishing on turn nine the Genestealer player receives one reinforcement blip per turn (a total of six reinforcement blips). Blips may enter play at any entry area.

SPECIAL RULES

Dormant: All Genestealers and blips have 3 APs on the first two turns, instead of 6 APs as would normally be the case. In addition, the Space Marine player does not have to use the timer for the first two turns, and so has an unlimited amount of time to complete each of the his first two turns.

Boarding Torpedoes: When a boarding torpedo reaches the Space Hulk, the Space Marine player must roll a dice, and must place the boarding torpedo section so that it is connected to the board section that corresponds to the result of the dice roll. On a roll of 6, the Space Marine player can choose freely from any of the five marked board sections. The sections and squares that can be used are highlighted in green on the map (see right).

The boarding torpedoes arrive at the start of the Space Marine player’s turn, before the Space Marine Command Phase. Place the boarding torpedo section so that the front end is touching the highlighted outer edge of the board section corresponding to the dice roll, and use a boarding torpedo ramp to show exactly which of the highlighted squares in the section the torpedo is connected to (see the diagrams on the right). The two boarding torpedoes cannot be placed so that they overlap; if it is impossible to place the second torpedo because of this, roll again to see which section is used, until you roll a section where it is possible to place the second torpedo.

Once the boarding torpedo is connected to the ship, the boarding torpedo and its ramp are treated in all ways as a single six square long corridor section that is part of the Space Hulk.

VICTORY

The mission ends at the end of the 12th turn. The Space Marine player wins if more than seven Space Marines are alive and there are no Genestealers in any of the rooms on the board at the end of the game. The Genestealer player wins if less than five Space Marines are still alive at the end of the game. Any other result is a draw.

The boarding torpedo shuddered to a halt. A warning chime sounded within, and crimson lights flicked to green. The torpedo’s prow opened with a metallic whine, revealing the darkness beyond.

Sergeant Lorenzo was already moving. Power surging through his limbs, he strode down the boarding ramp and onto the decks of the Sin of Damnation.

The Sergeant’s helmet display flickered with data inloads. He gazed into the gloom, feeling a frisson of disquiet as he surveyed the corridor in which he stood.

Memories of another space hulk threatened to surface, another battle he had fought long ago. Lorenzo pushed them down with a scowl.

This time would be different – aboard the Sin of Damnation the Blood Angels would find not death, but absolution.

Behind him, the warriors of his squad thumped down the ramp. Silhouetted by the torpedo’s harsh lumen, they spread out and surveyed their surroundings.

‘Brothers,’ growled Sergeant Lorenzo, ‘confirm combat readiness.’ A chorus of affirmations crackled back through
his comm.

‘We are ready for war, Brother-Sergeant,’ added Valencio. His eagerness for battle was clear in his voice.

The corridor gave a sudden lurch as another boarding torpedo smashed through the hulk’s hull, some distance to their right.

‘Very well,’ growled Lorenzo, as more Terminators began to disembark from the newly arrived craft. ‘The enemy await. Purge Pattern Extremis, squad advance.’ Orders issued, Sergeant Lorenzo stomped forward into the darkness, and his loyal brothers followed.

MISSION START: HULL BREACH

Blood Angels Turn 1: In Space Hulk, each Terminator gets four action points per turn with which to move and fight. The Blood Angels player also gets a random number of command points each turn to spend at any time to perform additional actions. Sergeant Lorenzo, first out of the boarding torpedo, used his action points to move (each square of movement costing a single action point), firing as he went. Advancing, Lorenzo destroyed the door to the tacticus room before turning right and shooting the doorway to the archivium too.

With a clear line of sight into the tacticus room, Brother Zael advanced clear of the boarding torpedo and fired his heavy flamer. When the heavy flamer fires, everything in the target board section is hit, even blips. Zael’s shooting destroyed one blip, the other escaping unscathed. Finally, the remaining command points were spent to put Lorenzo on overwatch. Costing two action points, overwatch allows Terminators to fire in the Genestealers’ turn, so Lorenzo could guard against the blips in the archivium.

Above - The Blood Angels plan is to fan out from their entry craft and destroy the Genestealers, using Sergeant Lorenzo to destroy doors at a distance rather than opening them.

Genestealers Turn 1: Genestealers and blips usually get six action points each, but their fugue state reduced this to three for the first two turns. As a result, they held back, rather than risk exposing themselves to the Blood Angels’ guns.

Blood Angels Turn 2: At the start of the turn, Squad Gideon arrived. Sergeant Gideon was first out of the torpedo, striding purposefully towards the biologis sanctum. Brother Leon, armed with the assault cannon, advanced, unleashing a blistering volley towards the reactor access room. This used all his action points as well as two command points (and six shots – the assault cannon only gets 10 shots before it must be reloaded). Leon’s shots tore through door, revealing one of the blips. Three Genestealers appeared, but Leon’s fire scythed them all down. Zael continued his advance into the tacticus room, unleashing another gout of flame and killing the remaining blip.

Above - Gideon’s boarding torpedo slams into the Sin of Damnation at point 2, directly opposite the reactor access room and the incoming blip.

Above - The heavy flamer can fire up to 12 squares, hitting everything in the target room. Because Lorenzo destroyed the door to the tacticus room, Zael has a clear shot into it.

Genestealers Turn 2: Still sluggish, one of the blips in the principle control room advanced towards the tacticus room, while the blip in the reactor access room (which represented three Genestealers) wisely used an action to close the door rather than face Leon’s assault cannon again.

Blood Angels Turn 3: The freshly closed door into the reactor access room didn’t last long in the face of Leon’s implacable advance, another salvo from the assault cannon tearing it to shreds. Sergeant Gideon braced behind his storm shield and went on guard, enabling him to re-roll a dice in close combat.

Genestealers Turn 3: Now fully awakened, and with six action points each to spend, the Genestealers at last unleashed a furious assault, and in no small numbers. Four opened the door to the biologis sanctum and rushed down the corridor towards Gideon. Smashing the first Genestealer apart with his thunder hammer, Gideon was overwhelmed by the second and cruelly slain, his killer in turn shot by Omnio on overwatch. Omnio’s vengeance was short-lived, however, his quick trigger finger unable to save him a second time, his gun jamming as the third Genestealer tore off his head.

Above - While Squad Gideon rushes on the left flank, and the venerable Sergeant meets a sticky end, his counterpart, Lorenzo takes it slow and steady, advancing with Goriel on overwatch behind him.

Blood Angels Turn 4: The death of Gideon and Omnio left the Blood Angels’ left flank exposed, so Scipio turned and advanced on their killers, using command points to ensure he had enough actions to shoot one of the Genestealers before going into overwatch. Lorenzo marched into the archivium, killing the Genestealers within, while Zael secured the tacticus room.

Above - Zael and Deino advance into the tacticus room. With Noctis on Overwatch in the corridor behind them, they secure the room.

Above - After four turns, Lorenzo finally enters the archivium to find just two Genestealers waiting for him. He kills both easily, though their persistent lurking delayed his advance. Sometimes it pays to be patient with the Genestealers.

Genestealers Turn 4: A pair of Genestealers pelted into the tacticus room after Zael, but the first was gunned down by Noctis’s overwatch before Deino claimed the second at point-blank range. In the reactor room, the situation was very different, a trio of Genestealers leaping at Leon. Despite overwatch fire from Valencio, Leon was dragged down. Valencio fell shortly after. Nearby, Scipio was assaulted by another Genestealer, but crushed its skull with his power fist.

Above - Zael advances into the smouldering ruins of the tacticus room, covered by Noctis and Deino, whose overwatch fire spells death for the Genestealers who try to rush in.

Above - With the reactor access room purged, Leon moves in, covered by Valencio’s overwatch. Unfortunately, Valencio misses and his gun jams, costing both Terminators their lives.

Above - Not only did Valencio fail to protect Leon with his overwatch fire, but he suffered a gun jam as a double 3 was rolled to hit. Unable to clear the jam, he was easy prey for the next Genestealer.

Blood Angels Turn 5: With only one command point this turn, the Blood Angels’ advance slowed alarmingly. Lorenzo pushed along the east corridor while Scipio, alone on the flank, turned and fired on Valencio’s killers, but missed. Desperate, he went into overwatch.

Genestealers Turn 5: Hungry for another kill, Valencio’s nemesis leapt at Scipio and was rewarded with a bolter round to the face. The remaining Genestealer in the reactor access room ran away but elsewhere several blips closed in…

Above - Scipio ended up as the last survivor of Squad Gideon, gunning down several Genestealers and even besting one in close assault. Unfortunately he was too slow to avenge Valencio’s death.

Blood Angels Turn 6: Victory slipping from them, the Blood Angels pushed on. Scipio began the lonely walk to the biologis sanctum to hunt the rogue Genestealer, Noctis doubling back to support him. Fuel tanks burning ever lower, Zael continued his advance on the primary control room.

Genestealers Turn 6: With very few Genestealers left, the remaining blips headed towards the primary control room.

Blood Angels Turn 7: While Lorenzo stalked up the east corridor, carefully on overwatch, Goriel split off, heading to support Zael and Deino. Zael himself came into sight of the primary control room, revealing another blip. He loosed a gout of flame, killing a Genestealer, but leaving him with only one shot remaining.

Above - As time began to run out, Zael faced the problem of a waning fuel supply for his flamer as the Genestealers forced him to advance behind a corridor of flames.

Genestealers Turn 7: With the control room bathed in flames, the only Genestealer able to move was the one near Lorenzo. Leaping around the corner, it was greeted by the sound of a jammed storm bolter. A swift sprint later it tore Lorenzo in half.

Above - Having cleaned out the archivium single-handed, Sergeant Lorenzo met a grisly end as he advanced down the eastern corridor. On overwatch, he faced a Genestealer rush and the horror of a gun jam, death following shortly afterwards.

Blood Angels Turn 8: Lorenzo’s death was the doom of the Blood Angels. One more loss would spell defeat. Desperately the survivors tried to cover themselves, while Zael and Deino tried to clear the principle control room.

Genestealers Turn 8: It was not to be. Sprinting up the corridor, the Genestealer that killed Lorenzo caught up with Goriel and ripped his legs from under him. The battle was over, the aliens had won.

THE SIN OF DEFEAT

Although the Blood Angels controlled most of the combat area, and only a few Genestealers were at large, by the end of the eighth turn the extent of their casualties meant that they could no longer achieve victory – it would fall to others to secure the beachhead.

Despite the loss, the battle was closely fought, with the Blood Angels’ early gains costing the Genestealers dearly, but a careless move of Leon into the reactor access room, covered crudely by Noctis’s overwatch, cost the Space Marines one of their best weapons. Likewise, a poor roll from Gideon in close combat (while on guard, no less) cost not only Gideon but brother Omnio right behind him. A loss in Space Hulk is never the end of things, however. There’s always the chance to refight the battle and try a different tactic or swap over the forces to see if your opponent can do better.

GENE… STOLEN

They may only just have woken up, but this mission goes to show that even a sleepy Genestealer is a dangerous foe. Victory went to the alien menace.

Playing aggressively with the Genestealers is a must in this mission. As long as the Terminators can be held up for long enough, the Genestealers will win. Placing low-number blips near the Terminators at the start may seem counter-intuitive to this as it effectively gifts the Space Marines two or three rooms early on, but considering the sluggishness of the Genestealers, it’s better to lose a few of them in the opening turns rather than a lot. The main tactic in this scenario is for the Genestealers to wait patiently for the Blood Angels to come to them and capitalise when they get caught out. Both Leon and Gideon found out what it meant to get too close too quickly. Lorenzo’s death was a tasty (lucky) bonus.

Hidden behind a shroud of void shields, the Space Hulk Sorrow’s Hammer tumbled out of the Warp toward the Imperial world of Xegist, the vessel’s dark heart heavy with horrors. The ancient behemoth impervious to his Strike Cruiser’s macro cannon, Captain Raphael quickly ordered a Terminator boarding torpedo assault to bring down the Space Hulk’s shields. With time running out, Squad Lorenzo moved swiftly to their craft, its Sergeant mindful that he had but hours before the Space Hulk would make planetfall and spread its vile cargo across Xegist. On wings of fire the Blood Angels Terminators arced across the void, the terrible twisted mass of the Sorrow’s Hammer swelling in their vision and blotting out the stars.

Sergeant Lorenzo stepped out onto the Hammer, his heavy boots crushing smoking plasteel underfoot. As his brothers formed up behind him he scanned the darkness with his armour’s stab-light. Then he smelt it – a sour stench upon the air, cloying and foul. Genestealers. Activating his power sword in a flicker of energy, he led his brothers toward the shield controls. As they set out, the darkness closed around them.

FORCES & DEPLOYMENT

Space Marines: The Space Marine player has one squad. It consists of a Sergeant armed with a storm bolter and power sword, one Space Marine armed with a heavy flamer and power fist, one Space Marine armed with storm bolter and chainfist and two Space Marines armed with storm bolters and power fists. The Space Marine player deploys the squad in the starting squares in the boarding torpedo. This boarding torpedo arrives at the start of the first Space Marine turn.

Genestealers: The Genestealer player begins the mission with two blips and receives two reinforcement blips per turn. At the start of the game and until the lift is operated for the first time, blips can only enter play at an entry area on level one. If the lift is operated, then from that point on, all entry areas on both levels can be used.

SPECIAL RULES

Boarding Torpedoes: See Mission I: Beachhead from the Space Hulk Mission book. Note that only a single boarding torpedo is used.

Disabling the Void Shields: In order to disable the void shields, a Space Marine must spend an entire turn on the Void Shield Controls square. The void shields are disabled at the start of the Mission Status phase of that turn. If the Space Marine performs an action during their turn, or is attacked in the Genestealer turn, then the procedure is aborted and must be attempted again in a future turn.

The Turbo-lift: See Mission VIII: Into the Depths from the Space Hulk Mission book.

VICTORY

The Space Marine player wins if he disables the Void shields. Failure to do so results in a Genestealer win.

Following the resurrection of Nagash, the Undead are bound to the Great Necromancer’s will, every one of them fighting at his behest. Here, Dan offers his thoughts on creating an Undead Legion centred around Nagash’s most trusted servant, Arkhan the Black.

Normally found in the mortal realm, Dan has seen the error of his ways and thrown in his lot with Nagash.

When I started collecting Citadel Miniatures back in the 90s (like most Undead, Dan is older than he looks. – Ed) the Undead were one united force, a combination of Skeletons, Wights, Wraiths, Chariots, Mummies and Vampires. Over the years the dead were segregated, creating two very different armies, the Vampire Counts of Sylvania and the Tomb Kings of Khemri, each with their own history and distinctive look. With the rebirth of Nagash, a combined Undead army is now back on the menu, the Warhammer: Nagash book enabling you to create an Undead Legion using any Undead kit you can get your mummified hands on.

When it came to looking for inspiration, my first port of call was Warhammer: Nagash and The Return of Nagash novel. I found myself drawn to Arkhan the Black, whose story would serve as an excellent focal point for an Undead Legion army. During the Bretonnian civil war at the start of the book, Arkhan’s army is comprised of Skeletons and Zombies drawn from the ranks of dead Bretonnians. Upon his return a year later, Arkhan’s army is bolstered by Wights raised from ancient burial grounds, and the Drakenhof Templars, a cadre of Vampire Knights. For the battle of La Maisontaal Abbey he is joined by a horde of Ghouls, Heinrich Kemmler, Krell and, for the first time, the Morghast Harbingers. Following Nagash’s resurrection, Arkhan travels to Nehekhara, his army changing once again to include the denizens of Nagashizzar, Undead mercenaries from the Badlands and Khemrian Undead from the cities of Mahrak and Quatar. It’s this army that you can see to the right, a unified Undead Legion worthy of the Liche King.

There’s huge scope for modelling and painting an army like Arkhan’s. With so many different units to pick and choose from, you’ll be spoilt for choice as to what to paint next. A consistent basing scheme and a unified spot colour across the army will tie the units together and ensure your assembled horde doesn’t look more ragtag than you mean it to. The army to the right was painted by the Studio hobby team, who used purple as their spot colour on every unit. The result is a coherent-looking force based on the units and characters that fought alongside Arkhan.

The Undead Legion also has a lot to offer on the gaming table, making for an exciting, tactically-rewarding and versatile army. Who will lead your Legion, for a start? Will you opt for a Vampire or a Tomb King? Perhaps a Mortarch, or even Nagash himself? Will you go all-out on magic, or rely on wave after wave of Zombies and Skeletons to drown the enemy? Or perhaps an entire army of cavalry, Black Knights and Blood Knights charging across the battlefield alongside Skeleton Horsemen and charioteers? Or maybe a super-resilient army of Animated Constructs, which you can now field alongside Vampires, Terrorgheists and Grave Guard? If that doesn’t put the wind up your opponents, nothing will. The nostalgic among you will also rejoice at being able to field Screaming Skull Catapults and Skeleton Archers alongside Zombies and Ghouls, just like old times.

So what are you waiting for? Pick up a copy of Warhammer: Nagash, crack open a pot of Ushabti Bone and join the silent ranks of the Undead. DH

During his travels across the Old World, Arkhan the Black has raised countless Skeletons and Zombies from the ranks of the enemy dead. Inspired, Dan converted some new troops for his Undead Legion by combining Undead models with Bretonnian and Empire bits.

THE IGNOBLE UNDEAD

One of the most exciting scenes in The Return of Nagash novel is the battle of La Maisontaal Abbey, where Arkhan the Black’s Undead Legion fights a force of beleaguered Bretonnians. Throughout the battle, he raises new Undead warriors from the fallen defenders. Gruesome, eh? Inspired, I converted a few Undead Bretonnians of my own, augmenting Skeleton Warriors and Zombies with spare parts from the Bretonnian Men-at-Arms kit.

Before putting glue to model, I always plan out the parts for my conversion (1), in this case a Bretonnian body plus a pair of arms and a head from a Zombie.

By cutting the arms at the elbows with a pair of Fine Detail Cutters, I was able to fit them into the model’s sleeves (2). I also re-positioned the unfortunate soldier’s leg using Chris Peach’s Zombie-building tip.

The Skeleton Warrior uses a shield and helmet from the Men-at-Arms kit (which you’ll have spare if you use the bodies for Zombies), plus a complete Skeleton (3).

The peasant’s arm was cut from the back of the shield, and his head from his hat using the Fine Detail Cutters once again. I trimmed the top of the Skeleton’s skull off with the modelling knife so that it was flat for the helmet to sit on (4).

In Warhammer: Nagash, Arkhan’s army marches through the Badlands, picking up new ‘recruits’ in the form of dead Empire Soldiers, Militia and civilians. Using spare parts from the Empire State Troops kit (5),

I converted this Skeleton Warrior to look like a long-deceased soldier (6). His shield was battle-damaged by carefully cutting it with a Hobby Knife. His head is from the Empire Greatswords box.

When Arkhan razed the Empire town of Groblech, the civilians were zombified and added to his Legion. Using parts from the Empire Militia box combined with Zombie parts (7), I created this shambling horror.

The arrow was added by drilling a small hole in the model’s torso and gluing the arrow shaft in with Plastic Glue: Thin (8). DH

A WORLD OF UNDEATH

Dan’s not the only person to create units of Undead troops of particular provenance.

“My Undead army hails from Bretonnia,” says Andy Keddie. “All my foot troops are converted to look like Undead Men-at-Arms. I like the idea that when they fell in battle, they were buried with their wargear. More than likely they went into the mud where they fell, only to be resurrected decades later.”

Chris Peach had a different approach with his Zombies. “I wanted them to be fresh-raised from a battlefield in the Empire,” says Chris. “You can tell they were from Averland by what remains of their black and yellow uniforms. My top tip when converting Zombies from other models is to cut their legs at the knees and re-position them at weird angles to make them look they’re shambling along.”

Paint Splatter provides handy hints and stage-by-stage painting guides for the week’s new releases. This week, we take a look at Blood Angels Terminators and Tyranid Genestealers, the protagonists in the Space Hulk boxed game.

Space Hulk comes complete with two forces: Blood Angels Space Marines and Genestealers. While the plastic models in the set are coloured red and blue to make them easy to identify, allowing you to play with them immediately, it’s likely you’ll want to paint them just like any other Citadel miniature in your collection.

Here, Studio painters Chris Peach and Dimitrios Tampakoudis share their wisdom on painting these two very different units.

GENESTEALERS

Chris: Painting the Genestealers in the Space Hulk boxed game is actually pretty straightforward as they’re mainly just two colours, pale purple skin and a bluish-black carapace.

Undercoating the models with Chaos Black Spray provides the perfect basecoat for the Genestealer’s carapace. I then used Stegadon Scale Green and Temple Guard Blue to highlight it, applying the highlights to the very edges of the carapace to give it a sharp, beetle-like appearance, like it’s glistening in the light.

I wanted the skin to appear smooth and fleshy by comparison, using soft highlights and no washes to make it look pale and almost waxy, like the Genestealer has been freshly birthed. One thing you’ll notice is that I used Daemonette Hide as the basecoat for the skin, despite it being lighter than Genestealer Purple. A basecoat of Naggaroth Night would have left the skin too dark and I wanted to make it more lurid, really creepily alien. I then defined the muscles and face with Pallid Wych Flesh and picked out the details, painting the base last.

PAINTING THE HIVE FLEET

Genestealers are the vanguard warriors of the Tyranid Hive Fleets. If you’ve got a Tyranid collection, why not paint your Genestealers to match them. Or, if you like this colour scheme, why not paint some Tyranids to match your new Genestealers!

BLOOD ANGELS TERMINATORS

Dimitrios: Space Marines are predominantly one colour, the colour of their armour, so it’s well-worth investing in one of the Citadel Basecoat Sprays. This Terminator, for example, was basecoated using the Mephiston Red spray. Alternatively, pick a base paint and fire it through the Citadel Spray Gun. It will help you get better, neater coverage on your models while being much quicker to boot.

When applying the Agrax Earthshade wash, don’t drown the model in it. Instead, just apply it neatly to the recesses, it will make your paint job much tidier. I’d also suggest putting the wash around areas that touch the red, too, such as the gold wreath on the shoulder pad. It will help delineate the area when you come to paint it later.

For the armour highlights, make sure the Evil Sunz Scarlet highlight is solidly applied across the whole model before picking out the very top edges of the model with Fire Dragon Bright. I prefer Fire Dragon Bright to a more natural ochre highlight on the armour as it makes it appear more reflective and bright, just how a Blood Angel should be. On that note, the final armour highlight was applied using a Fine Detail Brush, but I used the edge of the brush to apply the paint rather than the tip. It’s not uncommon for our hands to shake when painting and it’s much easier to drag the side of a brush towards you along the edge of a model than it is to control the tip.

CATS, CUPS AND DOORS

Aside from the Terminators and Genestealers, there are several miscellaneous items in the Space Hulk box, namely the door stands, the Artefact and the Cyber-Altered Task unit (also known as the C.A.T). The Door stands can be painted using the same method as the Genestealer flooring, while the skull of the C.A.T can be painted using the same scheme as the Terminator’s purity seal. For the Artefact, use the guide for painting gold on the right.

Join us for a round-up of the week as we share comment, opinion and trivia on all the latest releases, plus other fun tidbits that have cropped up in the White Dwarf bunker. This week it’s mostly boarding actions, Gerantius and a truly massive hammer.

THE DISASTER AT SECORIS, A CHANCE FOR VENGEANCE

Despite their immense bulk, the appearance of a space hulk is actually incredibly rare. So when, in 996.M40, an unidentified and unheralded space hulk of prodigious size appeared in the Secoris System, the Imperial Navy quickly called for the Blood Angels. The Chapter responded in full, marshalling under the leadership of Commander Sangallo.

Determining that destroying a space hulk of such vast size in proximity to the shipping and military hub of Secoris would cause untold devastation, Sangallo instead launched a full-scale assault, deploying the unbridled might of the Chapter. The attack was a debacle as tens of thousands of Genestealers awoke from hibernation to overwhelm the sons of Baal. Quickly the mission became a bloody slaughter as hundreds of Blood Angels died. Finally, they were forced to retreat, and though they slew thousands of Genestealers, less than 50 of the Chapter’s warriors survived. For the Blood Angels, this was the darkest hour since the Horus Heresy and, though they rebuilt their numbers, they also longed to purge the humiliation of defeat. The sighting of a new space hulk, Sin of Damnation, in the Baal system provides the Chapter with the chance to wreak vengeance on the Genestealers.

THE SONS OF BAAL

BLOOD ANGELS

The red-armoured Blood Angels are the beloved champions of humanity, a Chapter of Space Marines renowned not only for their exceptional prowess in battle but also their devotion and heroism against any foe.

The Chapter hails from the polluted hell-hole known as Baal, a cruel world where the inhabitants live short, brutal lives wracked by mutation and disease. Those who are found worthy to join the Blood Angels Chapter are elevated beyond their wildest imagination: reborn through the Chapter’s arcane science as beautiful warriors, their visage a reflection of their angelic Primarch.

Despite their glorious, untarnished record of service to the Imperium, sinister rumours persist about the Chapter and its darkest secrets. Some say the Blood Angels have a genetic flaw, a curse of the blood that makes monsters of saints, others that they are haunted by the murder of their lord millennia ago.

Each Terminator in Space Hulk is a fully-fledged hero, a character carved from the legends of the Blood Angels history. In the Mission Book each model is introduced with their own history and heraldry, along with a fantastic character portrait. All this information really enhances the Space Hulk experience for both players – you’re not just moving ‘a Blood Angel’ or even ‘the Sergeant with the sword’. Instead, you’re controlling Sergeant Lorenzo, a veteran who has served his Chapter for more than six centuries.

One of our favourite tidbits in the background is the identity of the Blood Angels Librarian, Calistarius. Hardcore Blood Angels fans will recognise Brother Calistarius as the Space Marine who goes on to become Chief Librarian Mephiston, the Lord of Death. It’s great to learn a little about him as an ‘ordinary Librarian’ before the great change.

Exploring Space Hulk this week, we’ve realised just how much fun you can have by swapping the sides over after a mission – Adam and Dan played half a dozen games over the course of an afternoon, trying to best each other’s efforts by changing sides after each one.

“Space Hulk has amazing replay potential,” Adam says. “Every time you play a game, you realise what you’d do differently next time. Bungle a mission, and you want to try a different approach next time. Then there’s swapping sides, can your opponent do any better in your shoes? It all becomes quite addictive.”

Notes from the worlds of Warhammer. This week: space hulks.

THE BROKENBACK

Discovered by the Soul Drinkers in their flight from the Imperium, the Brokenback was a space hulk these renegades captured and turned to their own purposes. For a considerable time this massive assembly of space wreckage served as the Soul Drinkers’ improvised fortress monastery, enabling them to evade detection in the aftermath of the death of Chapter Master Gargoleon.

ALVEUS ALPHA ALPHA SEXTUS

Although bestowed with a less sinister sobriquet than most space hulks, and often completely omitted from accounts of the Armageddon war, Alveus Alpha Alpha Sextus was the space hulk upon which Ghazghkull Thraka and his Ork hordes arrived to attack Armageddon at the opening of the 2nd Armageddon War. For their part, the Orks named the space hulk the Wurld Killa, a far more evocative name and one that summed up Ghazghkull’s intentions admirably as he smashed his ramshackle transport into the surface of Armageddon.

SA-BA-325

Space hulk SA-BA-325 was a derelict boarded by Librarian Calistarius and a small strike force of Terminators some years after the incident aboard the Sin of Damnation. During their investigation of the vessel they discovered that it was, in fact, the vessel code-named Omen of Despair. This vessel had a history with the Blood Angels Chapter going back many years. It fell to Calistarius and his men to unravel the mysteries behind the Omen and save hundreds of battle brothers from death.

This Gerantius model was sent in to us by AJ Taflan, a prolific painter who is always working on a new army. AJ painted Gerantius in stages, completing the endoskeleton first to keep the plates safe from the messy drybrushes and washes. For the armour plates, AJ sprayed Incubi Darkness through his airbrush, adding highlights of Kabalite Green and Sybarite Green. The model’s base was built up using cork and painted to look swampy, matching a new Space Wolf army AJ is working on for Armies on Parade.

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.

The Studio’s Sergeant Lorenzo’s power sword looks incredible. We asked ’Eavy Metal’s Anja Wettergren how it was done. “I painted thin lightning patterns onto the plain black blade,” she says. “I gradually highlighted this with lighter colours – ending with stark White Scar highlights on the very edges.”

There is something crude, yet undeniably dangerous, about a huge, spiky lump of rock chained to a massive pole. The weapon Throgg uses in battle is taller and heavier than a man and more than capable of tenderising one with a single, hefty whack. Truly this is a weapon that only a monster could wield, and only a strong one at that.

If you fancy an idea of what this brutal weapon is like in battle, Adam recommends you look no further than the latest Gotrek and Felix novel, Kinslayer. “David Guymer really captures the deadly power of a weapon that big, wielded by a beast as powerful as Throgg,” he says. “Before the battle is done, the Troll King has delivered enough walloping blows with this hammer to leave you in no doubt – you can’t parry a blow from it. You have to dodge out of the way. Or die.”

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

DRILL, PAINT OR LEAVE?

Dear Grombrindal, which is the best method for finishing the muzzles of guns – drilling them out, painting them with a black dot or leaving them entirely?
- ‘High Calibre’ B. Leavesden

GROMBRINDAL SAYS

In my experience this sort of question is a trap, the painting equivalent of reaching into a Squig’s mouth to get your helmet back. You see, someone always disagrees, has a good cry about it, and before you know it I’m in someone else’s Dammaz Kron and have to keep an axe under my bed. Again.

A perfect example of this is Matt ‘Barrel Purist’ Hutson, and his allegations that anyone who doesn’t paint the interiors of vehicles is a ‘charlatan’ (his word, not mine). Oh, the outrage he caused.

But, if I was pushed, I’d say drilling is best, painting is acceptable and for anything less, I’ll let Matt pass sentence.
- Grombrindal

Truths half-heard in the bunker…

The Hero Challenge

Rebecca has been organising a Warhammer 40,000 ‘hero challenge’. So far more than 50 painters around GW HQ have thrown their hat into the ring.

Indecision

Jes has been pulled every which way by the fickle winds of inspiration. “I’ve got Tempestus Scions, Plaguebearers and some Hive Guard on my desk,” laments the indecisive editor.

Endless Debate

“He’s 19th out of 18!” was recently shouted across the office in the never-ending argument about which Primarch is the greatest. Apparently Adam doesn’t like Lorgar.

The Skull-o-meter

In a bizarrely sycophantic race to be ‘Nagash’s favourite’ Dan and Erik are painting Undead as fast as they can. Last time they got into a contest like this (the one-night Kroot-off) Erik easily beat all comers.

A favourite appendage of Space Marine Sergeants everywhere, the pointy hand is found in the Tactical squad kit. It’s the preferred accessory for Sergeants who want to point out objectives or targets to their battle brothers.

Recently Mel finished work on this mob of Pink Horrors, the latest in a long line of Chaos Daemons she has been painting over the course of a few months. “I kept these simple by using a basecoat of Screamer Pink, shaded with Druchii Violet,” Mel explains. “Once this was dry, I drybrushed their flesh with Changeling Pink, and finished them off with some details. Quick, simple but effective.”

Andy Keddie’s ghostly Dwarfs aren’t exactly new so much as surprising – when he brought them into the bunker, they caused quite a stir. “I’ve lost so many Dwarfs over the course of a campaign, that my friends have started to tease me that they must be Undead,” he says. “So, in a game of Triumph and Treachery, I took some Vampire allies, and painted these up specifically to act as ghostly minions.”

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