ISSUE 47
20 December 2014

Editor: Jes Bickham
jes@whitedwarf.co.uk

Publisher: Paul Lyons
paul@whitedwarf.co.uk

Happy Christmas everyone! What better way to celebrate the festive season than with some bloody urban warfare in the 41st millennium? The rules for Cities of Death can be found in Shield of Baal: Leviathan, but we’ve also printed them in this issue for your delectation.

But that’s not all – the rules team are so full of yuletide cheer that they’ve gifted us with four exclusive formations to tie in with Shield of Baal: Exterminatus, and we’ve also got two fantastically fun minigames for you to play. It’s a packed issue and no mistake – and don’t forget to come back next week for even more.

All of which leaves all of us at White Dwarf to wish you a very merry Christmas!

In the treasure-filled halls of Erebor, Bilbo Baggins searches for the Arkenstone. With mounds of gold all around, this task would be difficult enough, but the terrible Dragon Smaug is awake, and jealously guarding his treasure. We present a new minigame.

Hunt for the Arkenstone is a minigame for two players, in which they compete to see who can find the precious Dwarven gemstone fastest (or if a certain Dragon can in fact get his first taste of Hobbit-flesh). Throughout the game, both players use their models and a deck of ordinary playing cards to resolve the actions of their characters.

AIM
Bilbo Baggins must search through the vast pile of treasure and retrieve the Arkenstone. If he does so, Bilbo Baggins wins. He is wearing the The One Ring, and so is invisible, but as he moves around Smaug might hear and move towards the unfortunate Hobbit. Smaug must find the Burglar before he finds the Arkenstone. If he does so, Smaug wins.

Bilbo Baggins and Smaug are both trying to distract each other by clever riddles. If Smaug is distracted, Bilbo Baggins will be able to move around the treasure pile unnoticed and perhaps even lure the Dragon around the treasure chamber more easily. However, if Bilbo Baggins is distracted, his footfalls may be heard or he might stumble and Smaug may find him.

To play you will need:

• Bilbo Baggins

• Smaug

• A pack of playing cards

• A tape measure

• A gaming table (we suggest a 4’ x 4’)

RULES
First the player controlling Smaug places him on the gaming table. Then the player controlling Bilbo Baggins places him on the gaming table.

Separate a normal pack of playing cards into its four suits. The player controlling Bilbo Baggins should take the hearts. The player controlling Smaug should take the spades. The diamonds form the treasure suit – the players should shuffle these and alternate placing them face down on your gaming table. The clubs form your locations suit – the players should shuffle these and alternate placing them face up on your gaming table. Note that it is perfectly fine for the treasure and location cards to overlap each other, but we recommend spreading them out for your first game.

The game proceeds with players having a ‘go’. Bilbo Baggins always has the first go. Each player’s go consists of the following:

1. Both players shuffle their respective suit of cards.

2. The player whose go it is turns over the top card of their deck. If it is Bilbo Baggins’s go, he can immediately perform one action (see below).

3. The player whose go it is guesses whether the next card in their deck will be higher or lower in value (aces are low) than the card they just turned over.

4. Both players then turn over the next card of their deck.

A) If the player whose go it is guesses incorrectly, his go ends.

B) If the player whose go it is turns over an Ace, Jack, Queen or King, a special event will occur. Consult the special events below to see what happens. The current player’s go is then over.

C) If the player whose go it is guesses correctly, they can perform one action (see below), but…

D) …if the opposing player’s card has the same value as the card that his opponent just turned over (e.g. both players turned over a 5), the player whose go it is has been outwitted by his opponent (Bilbo Baggins has craftily thrown his voice, or Smaug has snuck up on poor little Bilbo Baggins). The player who is not currently taking his go can choose to move the opposing player’s model to the location card that matches the value of the cards they just turned over (so in this case, the 5 of clubs). After that, the player whose go it is may perform his action and his go continues as normal.

Above, you can see an example of the game set up and ready to be played. The players have started by positioning their models on the board (Smaug first, followed by Bilbo Baggins). They have then taken it in turns placing the treasure cards (the diamond suit) face down on the board, followed by the location cards (the clubs suit) face up.

While it is allowed that these cards overlap each other slightly, in our example we have made sure that they don’t, just to keep things straightforward.

With everything in place and ready for play, the player controlling Bilbo Baggins is now able to take the first turn of the game.

E) Once the player whose go it is has taken an action, both players turn over the next card of their deck and follow the steps above again. A player can go on performing actions until their go ends (through guessing incorrectly or turning over an Ace, Jack, Queen or King).

ACTIONS
Each time Bilbo Baggins performs an action, he can do one of the following things:

Move. Move Bilbo Baggins 4” in any direction.

Search through the Treasure. Turn over a face down treasure card that is within 1” of Bilbo Baggins. Unless this is the Ace of Diamonds, remove it from the table.

Retrieve the Arkenstone. If the Ace of Diamonds is face up and within 1” of Bilbo Baggins, you retrieve the Arkenstone and win the game.

Each time Smaug performs an action, he can do one of the following things:

Move. Move Smaug 6” in any direction.

Discover the Burglar. If Bilbo Baggins is within 1” of Smaug, both players reshuffle their respective decks and turn over the top card of their deck. If the player controlling Smaug has the card of the higher value, he has found the Burglar and wins the game; otherwise, Bilbo Baggins has had a lucky escape and is moved to the location card that corresponds to the value of the card his controlling player just turned over and Smaug’s go then ends.

SPECIAL EVENTS
If, when it is their go, a player turns over an Ace, a Jack, a Queen or a King, consult below to see what happens. After performing that event, that player’s go ends.

Bilbo Baggins’s Special Actions:
Ace – Master Burglar. Bilbo Baggins can perform one action and then have another go. (Both players shuffle their respective suits and start again from the top of their deck.)

Jack – Luck-wearer. Turn over any face down card.

Queen – Ring-winner. Turn over any two face down cards.

King – Barrel-rider! Turn over any three face down cards.

Smaug’s Special Actions:
Ace – There you are, thief in the shadows! Smaug can perform one action and then have another go. (Both players shuffle their respective suits and start again from the top of their deck.)

Jack – I smell you! Smaug moves to the location of the Jack and will perform a discover the Burglar action if Bilbo Baggins is within 3” of Smaug.

Queen – I hear your breath! Smaug moves to the location of the Queen and will perform a discover the Burglar action if Bilbo Baggins is within 6” of Smaug.

King – I feel your air! Turn over the next card in your deck. Smaug moves to the location card that corresponds to the value of the card just turned over and will perform a discover the Burglar action if Bilbo Baggins is within 9” of Smaug.

EXAMPLE OF PLAY

It is Bilbo Baggins’s turn, so he flips the top card of his deck, getting the 5 of hearts. Because Bilbo Baggins always gets one action per turn for free, he decides to walk 4” towards a treasure card. He then has to decide if the next card will be higher or lower. He chooses higher, and flips the next card, a 9 of hearts, which means he can perform another action. This time he chooses to search for the Arkenstone. He flips the card, which is the 3 of diamonds. It is discarded. He then tries to guess whether the next card in his deck is higher or lower. He guesses lower, before flipping the card, revealing the 10 of hearts. His turn is now over.

In Smaug’s turn, he starts by flipping the first card of his deck, but must successfully guess higher or lower before he can perform an action.

The Citadel Hall of Fame is a celebration of the finest miniatures in the world, a collection of iconic models recognised the world over for their ground-breaking designs. This month, Prince Althran and his Griffon Sharpclaw join the Hall of Fame’s lofty ranks.

Prince Althran and his Griffon Sharpclaw swooped into the embattled world of Warhammer in autumn of 2010, as the centrepiece of the Island of Blood boxed game. In a clash of High Elves versus Skaven, Sharpclaw was the biggest model in the set and undoubtedly drew the most attention. The design was absolutely groundbreaking for its time, the kind of model that permanently raises the bar for those that follow. Here was a miniature cast in plastic, a medium historically considered quite limiting, and it was also a push-fit model – but the ingenious way in which the parts were crafted meant it sacrificed nothing in terms of detail or dynamism. It’s little wonder that the reception for the model was so rapturous.

The originality and ingenuity of design as a complex push-fit model are perhaps the model’s most laudable attributes, but they are far from the only accolades. Sharpclaw is exquisitely detailed, from the feathers that make up its ruff and wings to the knobbly bird-like forelegs or piercing eyes of his face. The rider, Prince Althran, is equally impressive. His helmeted head is a separate piece that easily clips into the model, and his face is a work of art – even his teeth are visible as he screams a war cry. The model’s pose is exceptionally dynamic, with a sensational sense of momentum, diving hard to fall upon some unseen opponent, as Althran’s cloak and the pennant on his lance both trail out behind him. Even Althran’s hand, pulling tightly on the reins to his faithful steed, adds to the feeling that some unfortunate victim is about to get badly mauled.

In the years since this model came out, we have seen dozens more plastic heroes and monsters which, at least in part, owe their origins to the ideas and innovation first witnessed with the creation of Sharpclaw.

Left, Sharpclaw’s head is rendered to such an intricate level that you can clearly see the orbit surrounding the eye.

Right, Sharpclaw’s feathers are especially noteworthy. They have enough detail sculpted onto the model that a basic basecoat, wash and drybrush will yield sensational results. They are also a ready canvas for the most elite of painters, as the extraordinary detailing painted on by the ’Eavy Metal team shows here.

Above, Prince Althran, clad in form-fitting Elven armour. Amazingly his legs, arms, saddle, body and head are all separate components, but there is no hint of a join when the model is assembled – a testament to the pioneering skill of the Citadel design team.

Forge World make highly-detailed resin models, upgrade packs, large-scale kits and books for Warhammer, Warhammer 40,000 and the Horus Heresy. This week we are pleased to present two of their most recently completed kits, the Auxilia Medusa and Auxilia Basilisk.

Left, The Medusa is built around the eponymous Medusa siege gun, a brutal medium-ranged artillery piece designed to reduce fortifications – of any sort – to rubble.

Right, Solar Auxilia crews, such as this gunner operating the pintle-mounted multi-laser, wear their trademark armour for protection against explosive decompression.

Our colleagues toiling deep in the resin mines of Forge World were proud this week to show us two fantastic new tank kits for their Horus Heresy range that they have just put the finishing touches to (one is so new it’s not even painted). The Auxilia Medusa (left and below) and the Auxilia Basilisk (directly below) are mobile artillery, deployed by the Solar Auxilia into the most hostile environments. Both are upgraded from standard artillery of their type with void-hardened Explorator adaptations, meaning they can weather damage caused by area effect weapons with greater resilience, and also operate in areas with no atmosphere. The latter is an essential addition for any wargear used by the Solar Auxilia, who are expected to fight in the toughest of environments at a moment’s notice. Thus, on any battlefield, from the deathly cold of an airless world to blood-splattered trenches or jungle death worlds, the stalwart Solar Auxilia can rely on a steady rain of heavy ordnance fire.

Left, The rear compartment of the Basilisk is extended to make way for a larger, void-sealed crew cabin and munitions storage area.

Right, The Explorator modifications on the Basilisk include a complex filter and air outtake array, enabling the crew within to operate for extended periods in airless zones.

In the aftermath of a great victory over the hated Skaven, the Lizardmen hunt for sacrifices. Bands of Skink hunters, aided by Oldbloods on Carnosaurs, search the jungle for the greatest sacrifice of all, a Hell Pit Abomination, in this minigame for two players.

Hunt the Sacrifice is a two-player game recreating the hunt for a fleeing Hell Pit Abomination in the aftermath of one of the Lizardmen’s great victories over the Skaven – a great sacrificial offering for the coming victory celebrations. Players take it in turns to represent teams of Lizardmen hunters (comprised of three Skink cohorts and a Saurus Oldblood on a Carnosaur) who are attempting to capture a Hell Pit Abomination and return it to the temple city, and the escaping Hell Pit Abomination itself. The hunter team that achieves its mission the fastest will earn a place of honour in the sacrificial ritual.

WHAT YOU NEED

To play Hunt the Sacrifice, you will need:

• One Hell Pit Abomination
• One Carnosaur with an Oldblood rider
• Three Skink cohorts each of eight models
• A pack of playing cards
• Ten dice

THE AIM OF THE GAME

The aim of the game is to capture the Hell Pit Abomination by surrounding it with the Carnosaur and Skink cohorts. The game is played twice in a row, with players swapping sides after the first game. The player that takes the fewest turns to capture the Hell Pit Abomination is the winner. If both players take the same number of turns, the game is a tie.

SET-UP

Take the pack of playing cards, discard any Jokers, and split it into two decks, one red (diamonds and hearts) and one black (clubs and spades). Give each deck a shuffle. The red deck is used to determine random events (see below), and the black deck is used to make the playing area.

Take the black deck and lay the cards out face-up so that they form a square grid that is five cards wide and five cards deep. Place the cards an inch or so apart, as shown in the diagram below. This playing area represents the dense Lustrian jungle, its shadowy clearings, and the tangled pathways between them. One card will be left over; place this to one side – it is not used during the game.

Place the Hell Pit Abomination on the central card (see diagram). Randomly decide which player will be the Hunter player in the first play-through of the game, either by tossing a coin or rolling a dice. The other player is the Hell Pit Abomination player.

Above, you can see an example of the game set up and about to begin. Note how the black playing cards have formed the playing area in five rows of five. The Hell Pit Abomination is placed on the central card and the hunters are in the four corners.

The Hunter player takes the Carnosaur and three Skink cohorts, and places them on the four corner cards, one per card (so a card will either have the Carnosaur, or a Skink cohort of eight models).

Finally, place the red deck face-down next to the playing area. You are ready to start.

SEQUENCE OF PLAY

Each turn in Hunt the Sacrifice is split into three steps, which must be carried out in the following order:

1. Move Hell Pit Abomination.
2. Move Hunters.
3. Resolve Random Event.

Once all three steps have been carried out, start a new turn. Keep on taking turns until the Hell Pit Abomination is captured. These steps are resolved as follows.

Moving the Hell Pit Abomination

The Hell Pit Abomination player is allowed to move the Hell Pit Abomination at the start of each turn. The Hell Pit Abomination must make one of the moves listed below – if it cannot or does not for any reason, it is captured and this play-through of the game is over (see ‘Ending the Game’ below).

There are three types of move that the Hell Pit Abomination can make:

1. Walk Move: Move the Hell Pit Abomination to an adjacent card. You cannot move diagonally.

2. Run Move: Pick the Hell Pit Abomination up and place it on an adjacent card. You cannot move diagonally. When running, the card you move to must have a higher value than the card you moved from. However, when you run, you can keep on making moves if you wish, until it is impossible to move to a card that has a value that is higher than the last card the Hell Pit Abomination was on, or you decide that you wish to stop. Aces have a value of 1, Jacks 11, Queens 12, and Kings 13. For example, if you started on the 3 of clubs, you could move to the 5 of Spades, then to the 7 of Spades, then the 10 of Clubs, and so on.

3. Hidden Pathways Move: Pick the Hell Pit Abomination up, and place it on the card with the same value as the one it is currently on. For example, you could move from the 3 of Clubs to the 3 of Spades, or the king of Clubs to the king of Spades.

The Hell Pit Abomination can never move onto a card occupied by a Skink cohort, and can’t move onto a card that is occupied by the Carnosaur or orthogonally adjacent to it (‘orthogonally’ is a fancy way of saying ‘not diagonally’, and is a term much loved by game designers the world over as a result!). Note that the Hell Pit Abomination can start a move adjacent to the Carnosaur, but will then have to move away or be captured.

MOVING THE HUNTERS

The Hunter player then moves each of his Skink cohorts and the Carnosaur. They move in exactly the same way as the Hell Pit Abomination, each one either walking, running or taking a hidden pathway. They can be moved in any order but you must finish a move before moving onto the next one. They cannot move to a card occupied by another hunter or the Hell Pit Abomination, but Skinks can move adjacent to the Carnosaur. Skink cohorts cannot split up – they must remain as a group on the same card. Unlike the Hell Pit Abomination, hunters do not have to move if the Hunter player does not want them to.

RANDOM EVENTS

After all of the hunters have moved, the Hell Pit Abomination player flips the top card of the red deck, and resolves its effects as follows. The suit of the card does not affect the random event.

CARD

Ace to 10: Trample! If one or more Skink cohorts is orthogonally adjacent to the Hell Pit Abomination, it can trample one of them. Roll a number of dice equal to the value of the card (Aces have a value of 1). For each roll of 5 or 6, one Skink is trampled and removed from the playing area. If all of the Skinks in a cohort are trampled, any excess hits are lost. If a cohort is wiped out, it is replaced at full strength in empty corner square when the hunters next move. Placing the replacement unit on the board counts as a hidden pathways move, and the unit cannot move any further that turn.

Jack: Dim-witted Beast! If he wants to, the hunter player can move the Hell Pit Abomination to an orthogonally adjacent card that is not occupied by a Skink cohort or the Carnosaur. It can be adjacent to the Carnosaur.

Queen: Can’t Catch Me! If the Hell Pit Abomination is orthogonally adjacent to a Skink, the Hunter player must first make a run move with the Skink cohort (it must make at least one move). After the Skinks’ move is complete, the Hell Pit Abomination moves onto the card they first occupied, and then halts. The card can be adjacent to the Carnosaur.

King: Roooar! If the Hell Pit Abomination is orthogonally adjacent to a Carnosaur, the Hunter player can, if he wishes, make a run move with the Hell Pit Abomination, following the normal rules for a run move.

ENDING THE GAME

The game ends when it is impossible for the Hell Pit Abomination to make a move in the first step of the sequence of play (the game cannot end in the Random Events step). Record the number of turns that have elapsed (which you’ll find is handily the same as the number of Random Events cards turned over), and then play another game, with the two players swapping roles. Use the same grid of black cards as you did for the first game, but reshuffle the red deck. Whoever captures the Hell Pit Abomination in the lowest number of turns is the winner. If both players take the same number of turns, the game is a tie.

RANDOM EVENT EXAMPLE

At the end of the turn, the Abomination player flips the top card of the Event deck and gets a 7, a Trample. With two units of Skinks adjacent to him, he chooses one and then rolls seven dice, needing to roll 5 or more to kill Skinks. He gets three successes, and three unfortunate Skinks are trampled into the mud and removed from play.

The next turn the Hell Pit Abomination player turns a King, the Roar! result. This lets the Hell Pit Abomination make a free run move if he is next to the Carnosaur. Sadly, he isn’t, so instead the turn ends uneventfully.

Above, you can see a picture of the game coming to an end – the Skinks have penned the Hell Pit Abomination in at the edge of a board and it’s not possible for the Hell Pit Abomination to escape via hidden paths, since the Old Blood on Carnosaur is ready and waiting on the matching card. With the game won, it’s time to count up the Random Event cards that were played and work out how many turns the Hell Pit Abomination remained free. Then, try the game the other way around and see if you can survive for longer than your opponent.

When they shaped the world to their wishes, the Old Ones did not foresee the collapse of their polar gates, nor the Great Cataclysm that followed. They did not, however, leave their creation unprepared…

With a single flitting of his heavy eyelids, Lord Adohi Tehga set the entire chamber into motion. Everywhere skink attendants rushed to perform their sacred ceremonies. It was not yet known if this would be an actual Awakening, or if this was merely some mid-trance reaction, a shifting of the corpulent bulk that lay reclining, half submerged in a pool of tepid water. Anticipation, not speculation, was the Skinks’ solemn duty, and each prepared as if their Lord was about to rouse from his dreaming slumber. All Slann required such care and veneration, for they were the ruling caste, the first creatures created by the Old Ones. This slumping form was not just any Mage-priest, however, but Adohi Tehga, an impossibly old Slann of the Second Generation, a being of immense power, importance and bodily girth.

Unbeknownst to his Skink attendants, the mind of Adohi Tehga was far, far away from his slumping form. His mind had wandered far since the Great Mazdamundi – the only Slann older and more powerful than Adohi himself – had declared Exodus. Those words triggered something in Adohi Tehga. Plans older than the Slann himself arose; implanted memories flooded his mind, visions that were ancient before the founding of his world.

Adohi Tehga’s spirit-self walked amongst distant stars before returning to his own troubled world. From a distance, Adohi’s planet looked blue and peaceful, yet he knew that serenity was the deception of great distance. As the Mage-priest’s eyes closed, his mystic sight circumnavigated the globe, penetrating cloud, mountain and illusion alike. The Slann saw just what Lord Mazdamundi had foretold: the only kingdoms not beset by war had already been ravaged by it. Armies beyond count were on the march and everywhere the power of Chaos grew, like the tentacles of some great beast slowly enwrapping the entire planet.

A great lunamancer and reader of the stellar signs, Adohi Tehga looked upon the heavens. Above the island of the Elves the stars proclaimed stark oblivion and torment. Already the isle burned with war. Further afield, no starlight pierced the Black Pall that surrounded the lands of the Great Necromancer, but that barrier could not halt the Mage-priest’s gaze. He saw within the Black Pyramid noting but the swelling power and desperation that lurked behind the hollow sockets of the King of the Dead. Smoke hung over the lands of Mankind, and, above that, more portents of ill omen; the Red Star, the war star, the doom of all.

In the mountains, the Dwarfs resisted, but their star-pattern was all of woe and tragedy. Underground, deep beyond reckoning, the rat-creatures flowed through tunnels in living rivers. They would strike soon. The green-tinged and leering Chaos Moon was their sign, and it waxed impossibly large, blocking out all stars from Adohi Tehga’s vision. The Mage-priest turned his eyes away, turning them at last to the north…

The frozen wastelands. The doom of the world. Fur-clad barbarians followed by black-armoured brutes; relentlessly they marched south carrying the fell totems of the Dark Gods. So much Chaos energy swirled about them that they warped the very ground they strode upon. Yet Adohi Tehga’s vision was drawn further north, drawn as if by some unseen power. There, amid the swirling corruption, was a rent in reality itself. Beyond the veil shadows writhed and contorted. Whispers urged Adohi Tehga to drift closer, to see more. Words not spoken filled his spirit-mind.

Join us… join us… come to us… we are coming…

Even with a willpower that could shift mountains, Adohi Tehga wavered. Rationally, he knew the siren call for what it was – yet logic failed before that entropic insanity. What good was his grain of reason before those mountains of madness? Straining, Adohi Tehga wrenched back, away from the beckoning voices. As he did, the Mage-priest thought – or imagined – hoarse, grating laughter following his departing astral form…

Over war-filled lands and vast expanses of ocean his projection flew, at last returning to his own misty green home. No stars gleamed overhead, for although its placement in the night sky was impossible, the Chaos Moon loomed directly above Lustria also, as if the luminous mass was watching over the lands.

Truly Lord Mazdamundi was correct. The Great Plan had failed.

Adohi Tehga sped over the sprawling city of Tlaxtlan, passing through the stones of the Great Temple of Tlazcotl, with a final jolt coming to rest within his corporal form reclining in the Chamber of Balanced Serenity. The Mage-priest was surrounded by Skinks, peering at him with unblinking eyes. The moment his eyes jolted open Adohi Tehga was barraged by his Skink advocate, his befeathered headdress bobbing. Adohi Tehga raised a hand upwards to command silence.

“Lord Mazdamundi has called Exodus,” said Adohi Tehga, his voice croaky and rasping. “Awaken the Opener of the Ways, send for the Golden-crested spawning.”

The Skink Advocate and all the surrounding attendants were awed by the least sound made by Adohi Tehga, for even his grunts were to them divine enlightenment. Yet this was an almighty command. They knew how to respond to this command, yet since the first spawning of their kind, none had ever yet heard it given. With much bowing and feather-bobbing, the Skinks scampered away.

Deep below the vast temple-pyramid, ancient patterns were traced, sequence codes tapped into stone-carved glyphs. Sealed doors of stone, closed for ages of the world, were unlocked and deeper chambers revealed. A Golden-crested Skink alone entered the last vault, the ponderous door swinging closed behind him. At his presence, lights running through the stone flickered and hummed, bathing all in a blue-tinted light. Spawned for this purpose, the Skink knew what to do, despite having never entered a chamber such as this. Tracing swirled patterns upon a panelled wall, the Skink was surrounded by holographic controls. By his motions, the temple-pyramid was brought to life; it thrummed with unknown energies that shook its foundations.

Far up in the pinnacle, Lord Adohi Tehga rose up on his floating stone palanquin and travelled out to the temple-pyramid’s star-gazing roof, many thousands of feet above the ground. A lone star twinkled through the greenish haze of the Chaos Moon. A portent, thought the Mage-priest. A fleeting sign, some last vestige of hope?

Adohi Tehga felt the tremors as the whole temple-pyramid trembled. The Exodus Engines had been engaged. If doom was indeed upon the world, thought Adohi Tehga, then the last gift of the Old Ones would not fail them…

Codex: Apocrypha is a regular feature exploring the infinite background of the Warhammer universe.

Many of the myriad worlds of the 41st Millennium feature vast districts crammed with countless hab-blocks, cathedra, PDF barracks and manufactorums. Here we present the first instalment of the rules for playing Cities of Death games in Warhammer 40,000.

WHAT’S ALL THIS?

On these pages you will find the rules you need for playing a Cities of Death game in Warhammer 40,000. The rules on these pages explain Cities of Death Objectives, how to use them and how to set up your battlefield ready for a Cities of Death mission.

The objectives a commander will be ordered to achieve in the dense terrain of one of the galaxy’s countless cities will be different to those they prioritise on a more open battlefield. Every building is a potential strongpoint or bastion, and because of this they will become the focus for much of the fighting. The following rules allow you to use a new set of 36 Cities of Death Objectives that replace the Tactical Objectives found in Warhammer 40,000: The Rules, and which reflect the different nature of fighting in an urban environment.

HOW TO USE CITIES OF DEATH MISSIONS

If a mission has the Cities of Death Objectives mission special rule, it is a Cities of Death mission. To play a Cities of Death mission only requires a handful of modifications to the Preparing for Battle section of Warhammer 40,000: The Rules, which are described below.

The Mission

If you and your opponent wish to play a Cities of Death mission, then you must make a roll at the start of The Mission step of Preparing for Battle (as described in Warhammer 40,000: The Rules) to determine which mission is used for the battle.

SELECTED BATTLE MISSIONS

As an alternative to rolling on a mission table, the players can agree to choose the mission they wish to fight. Picking missions is a great way to try out a particular mission you haven’t fought before or to hone your skills at missions you have previously fought.

CITIES OF DEATH BATTLEFIELDS AND DEPLOYMENT

Instructions for creating Cities of Death battlefields and deploying your forces are included in the Cities of Death missions themselves; you must use these rules instead of those found in Warhammer 40,000: The Rules.

CITIES OF DEATH OBJECTIVE MARKERS

You will need 6 Objective Markers that are individually numbered 1 through 6. Unless instructed otherwise, the players should place all 6 Objective Markers on the battlefield, using the rules for Placing Objective Markers as described in Warhammer 40,000: The Rules. These Objective Markers are controlled using the rules for Controlling Objective Markers. Each Objective Marker may also be a Mysterious Objective as described in Warhammer 40,000: The Rules if this mission special rule is also in use.

In addition to the restrictions on placing Objective Markers found in Warhammer 40,00: The Rules, each Objective Marker must be placed on a building or in ruins terrain. If it is impossible to place all of the Objective Markers because of this restriction, place as many as possible, and discard any that are remaining. Because of this, we recommend that you set up at least six buildings and/or ruins for any mission that has the Cities of Death Objectives special rule.

CITIES OF DEATH OBJECTIVES & TACTICAL OBJECTIVES

If you are playing a Warhammer 40,000 mission that has the Tactical Objectives special rule, and you have set up ruins and/or buildings as part of the terrain for the battle, then you and your opponent can agree to use the Cities of Death Objectives special rules if you wish. If you do this, then use the Cities of Death Objectives instead of the Tactical Objectives. Note that if you do this, any Tactical Objectives specific to your Faction cannot be used; you must use the Cities of Death Objectives alone. Missions with the Cities of Death Objectives mission special rules always use Cities of Death Objectives instead of Tactical Objectives.

Note that any rules which affect how Tactical Objectives are generated, achieved and discarded apply to Cities of Death Objectives exactly as if they were Tactical Objectives.

Designer’s Note

If you choose to use the Cities of Death Objectives special rules in this way, you should make sure you understand how they will affect the mission you are going to play. Discuss this with your opponent before the battle, and apply your common sense!

Generating Cities of Death Objectives

At the beginning of each of your turns, you will need to generate a number of Cities of Death Objectives. If you are playing a mission with the Cities of Death Objectives special rule, it will state how many you should generate, otherwise you will need to agree how many to generate at the start of each turn.

To generate a Cities of Death Objective, roll a D66, consult the table to the right and write the result down. Note that unless the mission itself states otherwise, these rolls are not secret; both players should be able to see what Cities of Death Objectives each other has.

When generating Cities of Death Objectives, keep a note of the numbers you rolled during the game – if you roll the same numbered Cities of Death Objective during the same game, roll again until one you can use is generated. Only roll again if you have already generated that Cities of Death Objective yourself during the game – if your opponent has generated a particular Cities of Death Objective that you have not yet generated, you can still generate that Cities of Death Objective.

Cities of Death Objectives that have been generated are said to be Active until they are either achieved or discarded (see below).

Achieving Cities of Death Objectives

You score Victory Points (see Warhammer 40,000: The Rules) for achieving Cities of Death Objectives at the end of your turn. Any Victory Points awarded from Cities of Death Objectives are added to any Victory Points awarded from any other source (from Secondary Objectives, for example).

At the end of your turn, you must check to see if you have achieved any of your Active Cities of Death Objectives – the descriptions will tell you how they are achieved and how many Victory Points are scored for completing them. If you can achieve a Cities of Death Objective at the end of your turn you must immediately score Victory Points for it – you cannot choose not to achieve a Cities of Death Objective at the end of your turn. Note that a player can achieve any number of his Active Cities of Death Objectives in the same turn (including multiples of the same named Cities of Death Objective that do not have the same number).

For example, Simon has the Streets of Death and Cripple the Vanguard Cities of Death Objectives. In his first turn, Simon destroys an enemy Fast Attack unit that is on open ground, scoring in this instance 2 Victory Points. If the mission also used the First Blood secondary objective, Simon would score 1 additional Victory Point if this was the first unit destroyed in the game (making the unit’s destruction worth a grand total of 3 Victory Points).

Discarding Cities of Death Objectives

Once a Cities of Death Objective has been achieved, it is discarded. After all Cities of Death Objectives that have been achieved are discarded, the player whose turn it is can select one of his remaining Active Cities of Death Objectives (if any) and choose to discard it – this scores no Victory Points. You may additionally discard any Active Cities of Death Objectives for Objective Markers that are not being used because there are fewer than 6 buildings on the battlefield – these also score no Victory Points. Discarded Cities of Death Objectives cease being Active and you cannot generate or achieve these objectives for the remainder of the game.

This section describes the Cities of Death Objectives that you can use in your games of Warhammer 40,000. Each Cities of Death Objective details a specific task that your forces must accomplish, the conditions that must be met in order to achieve it, and how many Victory Points you will score for doing so. The number next to the Cities of Death Objective’s title corresponds to the D66 result rolled to generate it. For more details on generating and using Cities of Death Objectives.

11 - SECURE BUILDING 1
Type: Capture & Control
A vital objective has been identified in your vicinity. You are ordered to hold it at any cost.
Score 1 Victory Point if you control Objective Marker 1 at the end of your turn.

12 - SECURE BUILDING 2
Type: Capture & Control
A vital objective has been identified in your vicinity. You are ordered to hold it at any cost.
Score 1 Victory Point if you control Objective Marker 2 at the end of your turn.

13 - SECURE BUILDING 3
Type: Capture & Control
A vital objective has been identified in your vicinity. You are ordered to hold it at any cost.
Score 1 Victory Point if you control Objective Marker 3 at the end of your turn.

14 - SECURE BUILDING 4
Type: Capture & Control
A vital objective has been identified in your vicinity. You are ordered to hold it at any cost.
Score 1 Victory Point if you control Objective Marker 4 at the end of your turn.

15 - SECURE BUILDING 5
Type: Capture & Control
A vital objective has been identified in your vicinity. You are ordered to hold it at any cost.
Score 1 Victory Point if you control Objective Marker 5 at the end of your turn.

16 - SECURE BUILDING 6
Type: Capture & Control
A vital objective has been identified in your vicinity. You are ordered to hold it at any cost.
Score 1 Victory Point if you control Objective Marker 6 at the end of your turn.

21 - GARRISON BUILDING 1
Type: Take & Hold
A vital building has been identified in your vicinity. You are ordered to hold it at any cost.
Score 2 Victory Points if you control Objective Marker 1 at the end of two of your turns consecutively.

22 - GARRISON BUILDING 2
Type: Take & Hold
A vital building has been identified in your vicinity. You are ordered to hold it at any cost.
Score 2 Victory Points if you control Objective Marker 2 at the end of two of your turns consecutively.

23 - GARRISON BUILDING 3
Type: Take & Hold
A vital building has been identified in your vicinity. You are ordered to hold it at any cost.
Score 2 Victory Points if you control Objective Marker 3 at the end of two of your turns consecutively.

24 - GARRISON BUILDING 4
Type: Take & Hold
A vital building has been identified in your vicinity. You are ordered to hold it at any cost.
Score 2 Victory Points if you control Objective Marker 4 at the end of two of your turns consecutively.

25 - GARRISON BUILDING 5
Type: Take & Hold
A vital building has been identified in your vicinity. You are ordered to hold it at any cost.
Score 2 Victory Points if you control Objective Marker 5 at the end of two of your turns consecutively.

26 - GARRISON BUILDING 6
Type: Take & Hold
A vital building has been identified in your vicinity. You are ordered to hold it at any cost.
Score 2 Victory Points if you control Objective Marker 6 at the end of two of your turns consecutively.

31 - SEIZE BUILDING 1
Type: Storm & Defend
A vital building is held by the enemy. You are ordered to take it at any cost.
Score 1 Victory Point if you control Objective Marker 1 at the end of your turn. If the enemy controlled the Objective Marker at the start of your turn and you control it at the end of your turn, score D3 Victory Points instead.

32 -SEIZE BUILDING 2
Type: Storm & Defend
A vital building is held by the enemy. You are ordered to take it at any cost.
Score 1 Victory Point if you control Objective Marker 2 at the end of your turn. If the enemy controlled the Objective Marker at the start of your turn and you control it at the end of your turn, score D3 Victory Points instead.

33 - SEIZE BUILDING 3
Type: Storm & Defend
A vital building is held by the enemy. You are ordered to take it at any cost.
Score 1 Victory Point if you control Objective Marker 3 at the end of your turn. If the enemy controlled the Objective Marker at the start of your turn and you control it at the end of your turn, score D3 Victory Points instead.

34 - SEIZE BUILDING 4
Type: Storm & Defend
A vital building is held by the enemy. You are ordered to take it at any cost.
Score 1 Victory Point if you control Objective Marker 4 at the end of your turn. If the enemy controlled the Objective Marker at the start of your turn and you control it at the end of your turn, score D3 Victory Points instead.

35 - SEIZE BUILDING 5
Type: Storm & Defend
A vital building is held by the enemy. You are ordered to take it at any cost.
Score 1 Victory Point if you control Objective Marker 5 at the end of your turn. If the enemy controlled the Objective Marker at the start of your turn and you control it at the end of your turn, score D3 Victory Points instead.

36 - SEIZE BUILDING 6
Type: Storm & Defend
A vital building is held by the enemy. You are ordered to take it at any cost.
Score 1 Victory Point if you control Objective Marker 6 at the end of your turn. If the enemy controlled the Objective Marker at the start of your turn and you control it at the end of your turn, score D3 Victory Points instead.

41 - COMMAND CENTRE
Type: Seize Ground
An enemy command centre has been detected in a building within this war zone. Capturing it will hamper the enemy’s efforts to defend this sector.
When this Cities of Death Objective is generated, your opponent must select an Objective Marker. Score 1 Victory Point at the end of your turn if you control the Objective Marker. If you control the Objective Marker at the end of the turn in which this Cities of Death Objective was generated, score D3 Victory Points instead.

42 - MAUNTAIN PERIMETER
Type: Seize Ground
Establish a perimeter and ensure no enemy gets past your defensive cordon.
Score 1 Victory Point if no more than one enemy scoring unit is within 12” of the centre of the battlefield at the end of your turn. If there are no enemy units within 18” of the centre of the battlefield at the end of your turn, score D3 Victory Points instead.

43 - SALLY FORTH
Type: Seize Ground
The enemy thinks we will simply wait for them to attack. Launch an immediate counter-offensive and engage the foe.
Score 1 Victory Point if at least one of your units disembarked from a building, or started the turn in ruins terrain, and successfully charged into close combat during your turn.

44 - CAPTURE THE CASTLE
Type: Seize Ground
Strike deep into enemy territory and seize the building around which they anchor their defences.
Score D3 Victory Points if you control the Objective Marker closest to the enemy table edge at the end of your turn. If two or more Objective Markers are equally close, score D3 Victory Points if you control any one of them.

45 - THE HIGH GROUND
Type: Seize Ground
By capturing the tallest buildings in this sector, you will be able to dominate huge areas of the city.
Score D3 Victory Points if you control the two Objective Markers that are on the two tallest buildings and/or ruins on the battlefield at the end of your turn. If more than two Objective Markers are on equally tall buildings or ruins, score D3 Victory Points if you control any two of them.

46 - REPEL THE ENEMY
Type: Seize Ground
Repulse all of the foe’s attacks, and drive them out into the streets so they can be slaughtered.
Score D3+3 Victory Points if not a single enemy scoring unit is embarked within, on the battlements of, or in base contact with any building or ruin on the battlefield at the end of your turn.

51 - CRUSHING FIREPOWER
Type: Purge
A show of strength is required. Scour the enemy from the face of the battlefield with the use of extreme firepower.
Score 1 Victory Point if an enemy unit was completely destroyed during the Shooting phase of your turn. If you completely destroyed an enemy unit that had all of its models in buildings or ruins terrain during your Shooting phase, score D3 Victory Points instead.

52 - NO SHELTER
Type: Purge
Close with the foe and engage them in hand-to-hand combat. Show them no quarter, no mercy.
Score 1 Victory Point if an enemy unit was completely destroyed during the Assault phase of your turn. If you completely destroyed an enemy unit that had all of its models in buildings or ruins terrain during your Assault phase, score D3 Victory Points instead.

53 - STREETS OF DEATH
Type: Purge
Force the enemy to cower in their buildings, exterminating any that dare to venture forth onto the streets.
Score 1 Victory Point if an enemy unit that started your turn with one or more models on open ground was completely destroyed during your turn. If between 3 and 5 enemy units that started your turn with one or more models on open ground were completely destroyed during your turn, score D3 Victory Points instead. If 6 or more enemy units that started your turn with one or more models on open ground were completely destroyed during your turn, score D3+3 Victory Points instead.

54 - SURPRISE ATTACK
Type: Purge
Appear suddenly in the heart of the battle and annihilate your foe before he can react.
Score 1 Victory Point if at least one enemy unit was completely destroyed by a friendly unit that arrived from Reserves during the same turn.

55 - CRIPPLE THE VANGUARD
Type: Purge
Destroy the swiftest units in the enemy army and cripple his manoeuvrability.
Score 1 Victory Point if at least one enemy Fast Attack unit was completely destroyed during this turn during this turn. If you completely destroyed 3 or more enemy Fast Attack units during your turn, score D3+3 Victory Points instead.

56 - NO WITNESSES
Type: Purge
The enemy’s leaders cannot be permitted to leave the battlefield alive to report what they have seen.
Score 1 Victory Point if every one of your opponent’s models with the Independent Character special rule has been removed as casualties during this or any previous turn.

61 - KINGSLAYER
Type: Annihilation
The enemy commander is a powerful and effective leader and should be slain as quickly as possible.
Score D3 Victory Points at the end of your turn if your opponent’s Warlord has been removed as a casualty during this, or any previous turn.

62 - WITCH HUNTER
Type: Annihilation
The presence of enemy psykers can no longer be tolerated. Eliminate them with extreme prejudice.
Score 1 Victory Point at the end of your turn if at least one enemy unit with the Psyker, Psychic Pilot or Brotherhood of Psykers/Sorcerers special rule was completely destroyed during your turn.

63 - SCOUR THE SKIES
Type: Annihilation
It is vital to maintain air superiority. Enemy aircraft are to be considered targets of high priority.
Score 1 Victory Point at the end of your turn if at least one enemy Flyer or Flying Monstrous Creature was removed as a casualty during your turn.

64 - COUNTER-STRIKE
Type: Annihilation
The foe seeks to circumvent our defences by landing troops amidst our ranks. Show them the folly of their ways.
Score 1 Victory Point at the end of your turn if at least one enemy unit that arrived from Deep Strike Reserve was completely destroyed during your turn. If 3 or more enemy units that arrived from Deep Strike Reserve were completely destroyed during your turn, score D3 Victory Points instead.

65 - STRONGHOLD DENILE
Type: Annihilation
If the enemy should seek to capture a stronghold, reduce it to rubble and rob the foe of his prize.
Score 1 Victory Point at the end of your turn if at least one building was destroyed during your turn. If 3 or more buildings were destroyed during your turn, score D3 Victory Points instead.

66 - BIG GAME HUNTER
Type: Annihilation
The larger the foe, the greater the glory...
Score 1 Victory Point at the end of your turn if at least one enemy Vehicle or Monstrous Creature was destroyed during your turn. If at least one enemy Super-heavy vehicle or Gargantuan Creature was destroyed during your turn, score D3 Victory
Points instead.

SELECTED BATTLE MISSIONS

As an alternative to rolling on a mission table, the players can agree to choose the mission they wish to fight. Picking missions is a great way to try out a particular mission you haven’t fought before or to hone your skills at missions you have previously fought. It’s also particularly appropriate when you want to play a Cities of Death game, allowing you either to pick a particular Cities of Death mission, another mission suited to Cities of Death, and set the battlefield up accordingly.

Get two exclusive Cities of Death missions in next week’s issue of White Dwarf!

This week we present a quartet of new formations for the Shield of Baal campaign, exclusive to White Dwarf, with a pair of airborne formations for Blood Angels and Flesh Tearers players, and a self-repairing formation for the Necrons of the Mephrit Dynasty.

USING THE FORMATIONS

The formations on the following pages are inspired by the events of the Shield of Baal campaign, which you can catch up on in Shield of Baal: Leviathan and Shield of Baal: Exterminatus.

There’s nothing to stop you using these formations in games against opponents other than Hive Fleet Leviathan in the Cryptus System, however. Blood Angels leaping out of low-flying Stormravens or Necrons drawing power from a nearby Monolith are likely to be effective no matter who they are battling against.

The Shield of Baal campaign introduced us to the forces battling for control of the Cryptus system as the apparently unstoppable juggernaut known as Hive Fleet Leviathan continues its rampage into the heart of the Imperium.

As the campaign unfolded, through Shield of Baal: Leviathan, Deathstorm and finally Exterminatus, we’ve been treated to plenty of exciting gaming content, and just when we thought there couldn’t be any more, the cunning minds in the Design Studio’s rules team have wowed us again with four new Formations exclusive to White Dwarf, two for the Blood Angels, one for the Flesh Tearers and one for the implacable Necrons of the Mephrit dynasty. Each of these gives you a new way to use your models, and they can provide some serious power to your favourite army.

ANGEL’S FURY AND ANGEL’S WRATH

Although you are free to use them separately if you wish (and they are very good individually), the two Blood Angels Formations are best addressed together, because they work so tremendously well alongside one another. The Angel’s Fury Spearhead Force is a brilliant formation for securing a vital position on the battlefield, and then anchoring it so reinforcements can rush in to bolster it right on target.

Despite being mounted in Stormraven Gunships, the Angel’s Fury Spearhead is very likely to come howling into play on the first turn, and if it does, any reinforcements you have coming in from Deep Strike are going to be bang on target. You see, the Tactical squads in the Angel’s Fury Spearhead are able to triangulate their teleport homers, and any friendly Deep Striking units that land within that area don’t need to roll for scatter – their landing site is already secure! So, with that in mind, cue the Angel’s Wrath Intervention Force, which consists of a Vanguard Veterans squad and two Assault squads – bring the Vanguard Veterans down anywhere within 12” of the Angel’s Fury’s teleport homers, and the Assault Marines will be able to land on target too – best of all, you can be really bold about how close to the enemy you land. And when you do land, enemy units within 6” will be knocked reeling by the force of their impact. Against Tyranid broods, Orks, Imperial Guard, Eldar, Tau or Necrons that is going to cause a lot of casualties if you can place your Space Marines right. Good luck.

THE BLOOD RAIN STRIKE FORCE

The Flesh Tearers Blood Rain is a tool as belligerent as the sons of Cretacia themselves. It’s simple to use, too, since it’s greatest strength plugs in nicely to the main advantage of the Flesh Tearers. Essentially, the Blood Rain Strike Force is designed to hit like a sledgehammer and provide its own counter-attack support. The crew of the Stormraven (one squad, plus the Dreadnought) get the almighty Rage ability in the turn they charge, while the units that arrive by Deep Strike get to counter-attack. You can just imagine them landing right in front of the enemy with their jump packs roaring, and daring the foe to bring the fight to them.

MEPHRIT DYNASTY RESURGENCE DECURION

The Necron Formation is quite the opposite to the others presented here. Rather than a frenzied assault force, it’s a rock-steady and reliable bulwark. Keep the units in this formation nice and close together to benefit from this ability, and then reap the benefits as the Monolith ‘heals’ up to D6 Necron Warriors or D3 Immortals for one unit in your Movement phases. Yep – that’s right, pick a unit in the formation close to the Monolith, roll the relevant dice and replace the appropriate number of casualties into their unit. So, your already obnoxiously hard-to-kill metallic killing machines are more durable than ever. Marvellous.

When decisive action is called for to turn the tide of battle, it is to the 1st Company that a Space Marine commander will turn. Yet with Captain Karlaen leading much of the Archangels Company against the Tyranid menace, even Commander Dante’s astute tactical mind was put to the test during the Cryptus campaign. The Angel’s Wrath Intervention Force was the result of Dante’s improvisation. Using jump packs to deploy directly into the fray from high altitude, the Strike Force’s Assault Marines are guided to their drop site with unerring accuracy by the Vanguard Squad at their head. The ferocity of their massed descent shakes the ground with seismic fury as they crush the slavering weapon-beasts of the Tyranid swarms beneath their ceramite boots, leaving the dazed survivors at the mercy of their howling chainswords.

FORMATION:

1 Vanguard Veteran Squad

2 Assault Squads

RESTRICTIONS:

All models in this Formation must be equipped with jump packs.

SPECIAL RULES:

Guided Drop: This Formation must be placed in Deep Strike Reserve. Make a single Reserve roll for the entire Formation. If successful, all units arrive from the Formation. The Formation’s unit of Vanguard Veterans must be placed first, and units of Assault Marines do not scatter so long as the first model is placed within 6” of the Vanguard Veteran unit.

Meteoric Impact: Immediately after deploying, any enemy units within 6” of any units from this Formation suffer a Strength 4 AP- hit for each of their models which is within 6” of a model from this Formation. In addition, these enemy units must move as if they are in difficult terrain until the end of their next turn.

When lightning strikes against heavily-defended xenos positions were called for, Dante looked to the most experienced warriors of the Blooded to lead the attack. Fully half of the 2nd Company’s Tactical squads were transported within the armoured hulls of Stormraven Gunships, where they would be delivered with practised efficiency into the heart of the Tyranid host to secure a beachhead. Once on the ground, the squad sergeants triangulated their teleport homers to call in additional support. With such logistical data at their disposal, inbound reinforcements could drop or teleport to their location with pinpoint precision, enabling them to respond to priority threats with immediate effect. On many occasions, a Spearhead Force would herald the arrival of an Angel’s Wrath Intervention Force dropping from on high to smash the xenos.

FORMATION:

3 Tactical Squads

3 Stormraven Gunships

RESTRICTIONS:

Each Tactical squad must include 10 models. The Sergeant of each Tactical squad in this Formation must take a teleport homer as a free upgrade. This Formation’s Tactical squads cannot take Dedicated Transports, and must begin the game embarked in the Stormraven Gunships from this Formation.

SPECIAL RULES:

Augur Triangulation: If a friendly unit with the Blood Angels Faction arrives from Deep Strike Reserve within 12” of at least two models from this Formation equipped with teleport homers, then it does not scatter, and can charge on the same turn it arrives.

Objective Secured: All Troops units from this Formation have the Objective Secured special rule (see page 122 of Warhammer 40,000: The Rules).

Spearhead Strike Force: When making Reserve Rolls, make a single roll for the entire Formation, which you can choose to re-roll. If successful, all units arrive from the Formation. You can make a Reserve Roll for this Formation from the start of Turn 1.

During the Cryptus campaign, when nothing less than all-out assault would break the Tyranid lines, Gabriel Seth of the Flesh Tearers would call upon the apocalyptic fury of a Blood Rain Strike Force to lead the charge. Comprising a volatile mix of veteran warriors and battle-brothers that have succumbed to the Black Rage, a Blood Rain Strike Force combines a brutal drop assault with the murderous firepower of a Stormraven Gunship. A deadly cocktail of experience and berserk fury is set loose upon the foe the moment the first elements of the Strike Force hit the ground, and they hold their position with uncompromising determination until airborne reinforcements arrive to deliver the finishing blow. Released into the thick of the fighting by its winged steed, one of the Chapter’s ancients is given the honour of leading this second wave.

FORMATION:

1 Death Company Squad

1 Vanguard Veteran Squad

1 Assault Squad

1 Furioso Dreadnought

1 Stormraven Gunship

RESTRICTIONS:

All models in this Formation must either be equipped with jump packs or begin the game embarked upon this Formation’s Stormraven Gunship.

SPECIAL RULES:

Crusader.

Crimson Thunderbolt: On a turn in which a unit from this Formation disembarks from this Formation’s Stormraven Gunship, it can re-roll failed charge rolls and has the Rage special rule.

Poised to Strike: All units in this Formation equipped with jump packs must be placed in Deep Strike Reserve. When making Reserve Rolls, make a single roll for the entire Formation, which you can choose to re-roll. If successful, all units in this Formation arrive from Reserve.

Rain of Blood: When a unit from this Formation arrives by Deep Strike, it gains the Counter-attack and Fearless special rules until the start of your next turn.

As the tendrils of Hive Fleet Leviathan began to envelop the Cryptus System, a dormant host began to stir once more on the long-dead world of Perdita. A Tomb World of the ancient Mephrit Dynasty, Perdita had sheltered the slumbering Necrons for countless millennia. Yet the newly-awakened legions of the Mephrit Tomb World had yet to awaken in numbers enough to face the full might of the Tyranids, and so Resurgence Decurions were formed with which to cull the alien hordes. Dread Monoliths drifted into the centre of the Tyranid hordes – floating mountains ringed by a wall of implacable warriors steadily blasting their way through the numberless foe, machine bodies rent asunder before baleful energy lashed forth from the Monolith in response and the broken Warrior bodies slowly rose to rejoin the bloody harvest…

FORMATION:

2 units of Necron Warriors

2 units of Immortals

1 Monolith

RESTRICTIONS:

None.

SPECIAL RULES:

Locus of Resurrection: At the start of each friendly Movement phase, this Formation’s Monolith can repair fallen models from the Formation. To do so, nominate a friendly unit of Necron Warriors or Immortals from this Formation that is within 6” of this Formation’s Monolith. If the nominated unit is a unit of Necron Warriors, roll a D6; if the nominated unit is a unit of Immortals, roll a D3. Add a number of models to the unit equal to the result – this cannot take the unit beyond its starting size. These models must be placed within 6” of the Monolith. If a model cannot be placed for any reason, it is destroyed. Necron models repaired in this manner can move and act normally this turn.

Here in the White Dwarf bunker one of the most common topics of conversation revolves around fantastical match-ups for Warhammer or Warhammer 40,000. With the Nagash and Glottkin models to hand, we decided to answer one such question once and for all.

END TIMES MAGIC

For our game we decided to use all of the End Times rules at our disposal, and that included End Times Magic found in Warhammer: Khaine. This injects a lot of riotous fun into the proceedings by giving you far more Power dice (4D6 worth each turn) and access to a host of spells – each Wizard knows all of the spells he has access to.

One of the funniest things about our game was trying to work out all the deadly magical combinations. Neferata, for instance, had no less than 33 spells at her disposal, including four Lores of magic, four End Times spells and the new spell, Conjure Arcane Fulcrum.

Imagine the scene, if you will – a quiet afternoon in the normally bustling White Dwarf bunker. Grombrindal is off in Bugman’s Bar contributing to a global shortage of Durgrund’s Hellfire Brew and wearing out the ears of beardlings with tales of the ‘good old days’. It’s the kind of environment where an innocent question can become a full blown battle. That question being:

“Who would win a fight between the Glottkin and Nagash?”

Almost immediately the battle lines were drawn as, with a derisive snort, the answer was shouted over the top of a computer monitor. “Nagash. Duh.”

So, we decided to put it to the test. On the one side of the battlefield loomed the forces of Chaos, an unholy sextet of the Brothers Glott, Orghotts Daemonspew, Bloab Rotspawned and Morbidex Twiceborn (and a gibbering pack of Nurglings, because we like them, and they help make up the slight imbalance between the armies).

On the other side towered the ominous silhouette of Nagash, Supreme Lord of the Undead, and two of his Mortarchs, Mannfred von Carstein and Neferata, the Mortarch of Blood. The rules for the fight were simple: the winner was the side with the last model standing. Other than that, anything goes.

Our battle royale started with the two forces squaring off against each other, Nagash flanked on either side by two of his Mortarchs as the Glottkin and their allies advanced directly forwards, eager to come to blows with the lifeless husks before them. Doubtless angered by Nagash’s nature as anathema to the fecund and virile blessings of Father Nurgle, Ethrac Glott wasted no time in unleashing a storm of magical powers directly at the towering necromancer, which he easily swatted aside. Bloab Rotspawned decided to try his hand instead and, calling upon his pestilent patron, unleashed Curse of the Leper on Nagash with irresistible force, temporarily weakening Nagash, but also injuring Bloab. Thankfully, Father Nurgle smiled upon his son’s efforts and healed the wound moments later.

The reaction of the Undead to the scions of Chaos lolloping towards them on an assortment of giant, maggot-shaped beasts, and the hulking form of Ghurk, was to draw heavily on the Winds of Magic themselves (using the End Times magic rules found in Warhammer: Khaine meant that there was a magical gale roaring through our hobby room). Nagash drifted close enough to Morbidex Twiceborn to unleash the power of Khizaar, the Soul Stealer, not once but three times in quick succession, robbing Morbidex of life force and fuelling Nagash’s own necromantic powers. Then, drawing on the Winds of Magic to their fullest extent, he called upon the power of Kandorak, the Harbinger, and summoned forth a puny Necromancer, who stood quavering before the Glottkin. That effort, however, had just been a ruse, and with a further wave of his hand he brought Arkhan the Black, the third of his Mortarchs, back into the world of the living.

The wit and cunning of Nagash’s Magical chicanery was wasted on the Maggoth Lords, who simply spurred their bulbous mounts into battle as Morbidex charged Arkhan and Orghotts careened straight at Nagash. Ethrac and Nagash fought another magical duel, and once again the Master Necromancer was stricken by the Curse of the Leper. Nagash’s disdain for their efforts, however, was evident as he weathered the minor wounds they inflicted upon his mighty body by Orghotts Daemonspew before laying about him with the Mortis Blade. Overwhelmed, Orghotts and his pox maggoth turned to flee, but Nagash cut them down easily.

RITES OF UNDEATH

From the start, Nagash’s battle plans were to summon creatures to do his bidding, and he started out with a truly impressive display. Barraging poor Morbidex with Khizaar, the Soul Stealer, Nagash was able to accumulate five Raise Dead counters in short order. These were then traded in as he cast Kandorak, the Harbinger, at full power and brought his most trusted lieutenant, Arkhan the Black, onto the battlefield.

Sadly, the Glottkin got wise to Nagash’s manipulative ways, and their careful dice-management thereafter, paired with the cruel Magic phase refusing to let him try that spell again with more than a paltry two dice for the whole battle, scuppered any further plans he had to summon monsters.

Arkhan, for his part, struggled bitterly against Morbidex, the twice-born son of Nurgle, giggling with glee as he hacked chunks from Arkhan’s ancient, dry body.

Drifting over the corpse of Orghotts, Nagash circled the Glottkin, attempting to smite them with a salvo of spells from the Lore of Death and the Lore of Vampires (it’s always funny when Nagash casts the Gaze of Nagash), but had very little luck. By contrast, Neferata, who had charged into Bloab, invigorated herself with Vanhel’s Danse Macabre, ensuring she would strike with unerring accuracy. While she fought Bloab tooth and claw, and both suffered grievous wounds, Arkhan continued to lose his fight against Morbidex, the Nurgle Champion’s scythe nearly killing the Mortarch of Sacrament. Mannfred had things easier, and hacked apart handfuls of Nurglings with the Sword of Unholy power, which drank deeply of their life essence.

While things looked bleak for the brothers Glott and their allies, the battle was by no means already won – so while Otto hauled Ghurk around to face Nagash, Ethrac barraged him with spells, weakening him again with the Curse of the Leper and then assailing him with multiple Rancid Visitations. Even Nagash’s immortal frame was wracked by Nurgle’s power and he drifted closer to oblivion.

Morbidex Twiceborn at last killed Arkhan, even as Mannfred scythed down more of the Nurglings. Bloab Rotspawned fared worse than his allies however and, after taking a mauling at the hands of Neferata, he turned tail and ran. Exhausted and injured to the point of death, the Mortarch of Blood let him go – and instead turned to face the Brothers Glott.

CHAMPION OF CHAOS

Nagash quickly realised his error in summoning a lowly Necromancer to the field, as Otto Glott hacked its head off in a challenge and found his power swollen as he made a roll on the Eye of the Gods table – the Glotts always get the Aura of Chaos ability. With a sinking feeling, Nagash realised he couldn’t afford to feed the Glottkin any more wayward characters.

The Eye of the Gods special rule, which forces Champions of Chaos to issue challenges at every opportunity, really added a brilliant sense of excitement to our game, as the players controlling the Glottkin and the Maggoth Lords issued overblown and boastful challenges, with lots of insults about the dusty, boring and decrepit nature of Undeath.

Facing the Glottkin, Nagash backed anxiously away, hoping to smite the gargantuan Nurgle abomination with his magic, but the Winds of Magic blew softly, and, though he caused a couple of superficial wounds to Ghurk’s massive frame, he failed to unleash his master work and summon a new monster (he had been hoping for a Necrosphinx to block off the Glotts). For the first time in an age, Nagash was a little n ervous. Elsewhere, Mannfred grinned to himself, and quietly killed off the last of the Nurglings – maybe there was a way that he would be the last ‘man’ standing after all…

The charge of the Glottkin against the Supreme Lord of the Undead was cataclysmic, as Ghurk barrelled into Nagash, only to be greeted with a flurry of blows from the Mortis Blade. Bitterly injured, Otto and Ghurk fought back, smashing bones and armour in every direction as they battered their foe with Ghurk’s tentacle and Otto’s scythe. Nagash survived but, with only one wound remaining, he teetered on the brink.

Mannfred realised he had to seize the moment and hurled himself at Morbidex, while Neferata raced to rescue Nagash from his one-sided duel with the Glottkin.

Drawing on the Winds of Magic, Neferata prepared to bolster Nagash with Ptra’s Incantation of Righteous Smiting, but in a terrible miscalculation she miscast. In an instant, she was dragged into the Realm of Chaos. Once again, the Supreme Lord of the Undead was alone against the very angry Glottkin. With a swipe of Ghurk’s massive, distended tentacle Nagash was crushed and thrown aside, his bones turning to dust upon the breeze.

Panicking, Mannfred killed Morbidex with a stroke, and stood rooted on the spot before the Glottkin, his own spells finding no purchase as the mighty brothers charged at him. With regret, Mannfred realised he probably should have saved Nagash earlier in the fight… but there is no room for regret in the afterlife. With the force of an avalanche, Ghurk trampled Mannfred brutally underfoot.

EVIL COMBINATIONS

While the fights between the scions of Nurgle and the Champions of Undeath were typically won with blades and claws, the route to victory was prepared in the Magic phase, with all manner of crippling combinations used to weaken (or strengthen) models before the fights.

While the Glottkin used the mutating powers of Nurgle to weaken Nagash and his minions, they in turn leaned on the Lores of Nehekhara and Vampires to invigorate themselves (and a little bit of Death Magic to pull down the Leadership of their enemies too).

All this meant that every Magic phase was a tense and exciting game of bluff and counter-bluff as the players jockeyed for advantage in the fights that were to follow.

VILE VANQUISHERS

Though Karl Franz might have given them a thorough seeing-to in Warhammer: Glottkin, in our game the brothers of corruption were more than up to the task of beating up the Supreme Lord of the Undead, and had enough vigour and vim left over to deal with Mannfred too.

Not that the Glottkin had it all their own way – over the course of the game they were battered by spell after spell, from Khizaar, the Soul Stealer (three times in a single turn), to Gaze of Nagash and more besides. Easily the most hair-raising moment of the game, however, was when Neferata decided enough was enough, and that she would try to end the Glottkin’s pestilent existence with Pit of Shades. The bane of slow-witted and lumbering models everywhere, when Pit of Shades hit, the Glotts needed to pass an Initiative test (with a roll of one) to survive. When they passed the test, the room went wild!

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 we are greeted by a Riptide, a shrieking book and the Wailing Doom.

THAT MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR…

Here in the White Dwarf bunker we’re getting ready for that time of the year where we power down the word-servitors and abandon Grombrindal to his own devices for a week or so and celebrate the holiday season. As you can imagine the conversation has quickly turned to our painting, modelling and gaming plans for those dark wintery nights (or beautiful, sunny evenings if you’re reading this in Australia). Aside from our plans to sleep off massive roast dinners, chomp our way through tins of chocolates and Brazil nuts (why are there always Brazil nuts at Christmas?), we have concocted a hit-list of our recommendations for great things to do over the Christmas break:

1. Finish a painting project. Let’s be honest, we’ve all got it – that one painting project that we started ages ago and still haven’t finished. While nan is snoring off the after-dinner sherry, get out your Citadel Project Box and get to work.

2. Get your game on. One of the best things about this time of year is that lots of people get time off. Call your mates and arrange a game. Nothing beats an Apocalypse-sized battle on Boxing Day.

3. Start something new. What with jolly old Saint Nick deep striking down your chimney with a sack full of swag and dear old Auntie Ann giving you much-wanted miniatures, it’s time to address the hankering for a new project. Here in the bunker we’ve got plans to build Imperial Knights, Glottkin, Wood Elves and more.

4. Devour some words. Consume a feast of a different sort and wile away a few hours with a Black Library novel or two – the White Dwarf team recommend the Horus Heresy series (if, somehow, you haven’t already), the End Times novels (start with The Return of Nagash) and our all-time favourite, the Eisenhorn Trilogy.

5. Practice makes perfect. Want to perfect a painting technique? Fancy sharpening your edge highlighting? Check out the amazing painting tutorials on our YouTube channel. It certainly beats the endless Christmas repeats:
youtube.com/user/GamesWorkshopWNT

6. The Realm of Battle: If you’re like us, the thing that stands in the way of building a wonderful battlefield is the time it would take to get done. Our advice is, instead of going it alone, recruit some brothers in arms – the offer of remaining mince pies or a tin of Danish all-butter biscuits should be sufficient to bring your mates around, then divide the labours and get to work. Best of all, everyone wins, because you can all play on the board afterwards.

7. Minigame League. Over the past year we have published quite a few minigames in White Dwarf. Why not dig them all out and have a league? Who knows, maybe Uncle Norman would do well in an Imperial Knights Duel?

8. Let us have it! We’re always on the look out for fantastically painted models to show in White Dwarf. Use that new digital camera to take some quality pictures of your best models and email them us at:

team@whitedwarf.co.uk

MINIGAME

When the talented folks in the Citadel rules team provided us with the minigames for this week’s magazine, we had no idea the epic gaming session it was going to recreate.

Smaug has eaten poor old Bilbo Baggins more times than we care to remember (although the diminutive Shireling has had his share of successes too), and the competition surrounding catching the Hell Pit Abomination was been quite intense. So far the record for the longest escape in the bunker is 22 turns.

If you enjoyed these games, keep your eyes peeled – next week we’ve got another cracker for you.

SECTOR IMPERIALIS

The Cities of Death rules have reminded us just what an awesome site a ruined cityscape is on the tabletop. Once upon a time, this was no mean feat in itself; now, however, it’s easier than ever. The quintessential basis for a cityfight has to be the Realm of Battle: Sector Imperialis – a fantastic 6’ by 4’ battlescape with fully modelled streets, gutters and metallic pavements. We’re still wowed by its levels of detail – our favourite bit? All the exposed pipes and detritus – and the seamless way in which it accommodates the full range of Citadel terrain for an endless variety of urban destruction. Christmas money burning a hole in your pocket? Look no further…

A massive sword easily taller than a Space Marine, the Wailing Doom is deeply symbolic to the Eldar race, intrinsically linked to their bloody-handed god, Khaine. The Wailing Doom derives its name from the horrendous shriek it unleashes as it slakes its thirst upon the foe. Primarily a sword for hacking into the foe, the Wailing Doom is also capable of unleashing a fiery blast, a lance of eldritch power that can melt a tank to slag.

It’s a book. With a mouth. A talking book, you might say. In fact, did you know that all Black Library audiobooks begin life in precisely this way – as possessed copies of the handwritten original – before their frenzied screams are captured and transferred to CD and MP3? True fact.

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

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE?

Hello Grombrindal, I was wondering if you play Warhammer or Warhammer 40,000 and what army do you use?
- ‘Inquisitive’ Toby L.

GROMBRINDAL SAYS

That’s a trick question, right? I am a Dwarf, and I use Dwarfs. Specifically, I use myself. A few years back, White Dwarf enjoyed a notable anniversary and a model was made of me being borne aloft by my friends Josef and Gotrek. Now, I only let the Dwarfs with the longest, most impressive beards in my army, which means there’s a lot of experience going around. You need that kind of veteran instinct when the likes of Nagash are swanning around causing trouble.

When I play Warhammer 40,000 things get a little more complicated. Thankfully, a few years ago a talented young miniatures designer made me a space suit with a beer-powered servo arm. There’s no stopping me now.
- Grombrindal

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

TROGLODON

The giant predators known as Troglodons are only found in the darkest recesses of Lustria, cave-dwellers who only venture beyond their pitch-dark hunting grounds when beckoned to do so by a Skink Oracle. Though effectively blind, the Troglodon is a hunter of unparalleled skill, for its quill-like whiskers and forked tongue can detect even the faintest movements in the air, and the taste of its prey upon the stillest air. When a Troglodon attacks, it is with a gobbet of toxic bile, which sears and burns at the flesh of the victim, at least until the Troglodon’s massive jaws clamp down upon it.

MAGMA DRAGON

Squat, incredibly tough and covered in jagged scales, Magma Dragons are a rare breed of Dragon known for their distinct appearance and the unnatural heat that seems to surround them. Aside from the crushing power of their claws and their lethal bite, Magma Dragons can also rely on an especially potent ability to breathe fire when in battle. This gout of sulphurous flame can strip flesh from bones, and leave even tough opponents as a blackened and burned husk.

CYGOR

Cygors are massive, mutated creatures found among the Beastmen tribes. Akin, in many ways, to Ghorgons and Minotaurs they are utterly massive, at least two storeys high and so strong that they can not only carry huge menhirs into battle, but also hurl them at their enemies. Their one massive, practically blind eye sees the skeins of magic more clearly than the real world, making Wizards the preferred targets for their rock hurling exploits.

Here in the bunker we have plans for a series of End Times battles in the Hobby room. As a result a couple of new armies have begun to take shape, with a new Nurgle contingent led by Bloab Rotspawned and some Putrid Blightkings (the first one of which you can see here) and a Skaven army, based around the contents of the Island of Blood starter set, racing towards completion. Our initial goal is to get five armies ready for a massive game of Triumph and Treachery.

This extraordinary Tau Riptide was painted by Matteo Fago Golfarelli, an exceptional Italian painter who has used advanced airbrush techniques to create the striking highlights and shades you can see here. We in the White Dwarf bunker were absolutely wowed by the beautiful, bright lighting effects on the gun and shield.

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

team@whitedwarf.co.uk

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

This ragged blue flight of Ork flyers is an active part of Waaagh! Krunch’s war efforts in the Khadenghast campaign. The Blitza-bommer is known by the Deff Skulls as Nosediver (although before it garnered a reputation for repeatedly crashing, it was once heralded as Blue Funda). The pilot, ‘Lucky’ Drogg Krashdakka, is considered both the luckiest and unluckiest Ork alive, having survived all of his (many) crashes unscathed, and able to take his battered plane back into the sky once more.

Krashdakka’s wingman, known only as the Black Barun, has earned a high tally of kills in his snub-nosed Dakkajet. From within the blacked-out confines of his sealed cockpit, the Black Barun has cemented a reputation for accuracy and agility, which also fuels rumours he might be a Grot.

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