Warhammer

WARHAMMER
40,000 ISSUE 484

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5 011921 89380 > 'Eavy Metal, Paint Splatter, Space Marine, 40K, Warhammer,
Warhammer 40,000, the Aquila’ Double-headed Eagle logo,
Managing Editor: Lyle Lowery January 2023
 WHITE DUMRF
I
GOOD OMENS
AR h, the 41st Millennium. What a (bad)
B ■ time to be alive! As Abaddon’s latest
master plan begins to take shape and
■ ■ the Arks of Omen (his incredible
fleet of space hulks) emerge, things are
starting to look bleak. Even bleaker than
normal for the super-bleak far future!
But here in the 3rd Millennium, the folks in
White Dwarf and the 40K team are buzzing
with excitement, because in this issue we
embark on the Herald ofMisery. With a
name like that, that doesn't sound fun at all,
you might think. And that would certainly
be true for the denizens of the 41st
Millennium (with the exception of some
Death Skull Orks). But for us in the
present, it’s literally all fun and games.
ISSUE 484
^^1
The Herald of Misery is the setting for
White Dwarfs lens on the Arks of Omen
saga. In these pages and over the next
several issues, you’ll have a boarding pass
to this singular Ark of Omen and bear
witness to the unfolding horror taking
place aboard. This will expand and inspire
your ship-based adventures in a way White
Dwarf is uniquely suited to deliver.
This ain’t like Vegas, though, and what LYLE LOWERY
Managing Editor
happens on the Herald of Misery doesn’t
stay on the Herald ofMisery. The events
that take place here will have ripple effects
felt throughout both the Arks of Omen saga
and the wider Warhammer 40,000 universe,
so you don’t want to miss a bit of the action
)
in White Dwarf.
WHITE DWARF 1
WHITE DUMRF CONTENTS 1

Kill. TEAM
.j|

2 WHITE DWARF
 CONTACT! 4
Letters, questions and pictures of miniatures
sent in by you, our readers.
1X1
WORLDS OF WARHAMMER 10
What does it mean to be Human in the 41st
Millennium?

WARHAMMER
40.000

ARKS OF OMEN 16
An interview with the creators of the latest
cataclysmic story arc in Warhammer 40,000.
FLASHPOINT HERALD OF 22
MISERY: BITTER AMBITION LU
Warsmith Czagra of the Iron Warriors begins
his conquest of the Herald of Misery. CO
FLASHPOINT HERALD OF 30
MISERY: THE UNTAMED ARK
New rules and missions for fighting Boarding
Action battles on the Herald of Misery.
ECHOES FROM THE WARP 46
Duncan Waugh joins us to explain Boarding
Actions. Bring your space suit!
TACTICA: CLOSE QUARTERS 50
Duncan returns! This time he's written a tactics
article about fighting on spaceships.

X 1 GROUND TRUTH 56

3U®
A tactical look at a Boarding Action mission.
How will you tackle this challenge?
BATTLE REPORT: 58
DEADLY HANGAR
Matt's Warpcoven and Lyle's Kommaridos
battle to the death in a Kill Team Battle Report.
KILL TEAM ENGAGE! 76
The final part in the White Dwarf team's epic •
Kill Team campaign. But who's the winner?
OPERATION BRIEFING 90
What's the best way to score your Critical Ops
objectives? Elliot Hamer investigates.

FLASHPOINT CLASH: 96
OF FANG AND FUNGUS
New background and rules for a campaign
between Gloomspite Gitz and Skaven.
FLASHPOINT RONDHOL: 106
INCLUDED WITH STEMMING THE TIDE
THIS ISSUE... WHITE DWARF HOBBY BINGO! 2023 = The Kraken Blades continue to harry Ka-rokk's
A hobby bingo forces as they move into Lendu.
sheet for 2023!
The reverse side
'
.Si FANTASTIC WAR HOSTS:
LORDS OF WAR
110
Beautifully painted and converted heroes and
features a villains of the Age of Sigmar.
photographic
WARRIORS OF THE DEPTHS 122
backdrop against A tidal wave of new rules and background for
which you can using the Idoneth Deepkin in Warcry.
take pictures of
GLORY POINTS 130
your models. More nemeses! This time, John Bracken builds
3
There’s also a

I J_
a Nemesis deck for Grinkrak's Looncourt.
- -1-------
selection of
Warp-infected k MIDDLE-EARTH BATTLE 134
Entity tiles that REPORT: SAVAGE ASSAULT
Can Faramir's Men of Gondor hold back
can be used in Gothmog's Orcs amidst the ruins of Osgiliath?
Boarding Actions
(see page 30). INSIDE THE STUDIO 142
Check out the games we've played and the
models we've painted this month.

UIHIIEDUMRF 3
 CONTACTS
Letters, questions and miniatures sent in by you, our readers

Black Legion Chaos Space Marines

by Alex Awn

4 WHITE DWARF
 w

PAINTING QUESTION: CHAOS LORD ON KARKADRAK <

Greetings! The reason I’m writing to you is that I recently
received (from Santa, of course) the Start Collecting!
Slaves to Darkness set. I wondered, do you know how
’Eavy Metal painted the Chaos Lord’s Karkadrak? Also,
perhaps you could let me know how some of the other
parts of the Chaos models are painted too, such as the
glowing runes, fur, horse hair, and so on?
time as the skin and then darken them with the glazes
shown in the swatches. For the burning runes, the
basecoat and first highlight are also applied to the
armour around the edges of the rune to represent light
being cast by it. As for how to paint other areas of your
models, tutorials for them can all be found easily
enough on the Warhammer YouTube channel.

Borys Rybak
Warsaw, Poland

Ah, Santa - the most generous of all the Chaos deities!

We assume you rolled high on the D66 chart of Chaos
Gifts. As for your painting question, the lovely painters
in ’Eavy Metal supplied us with these colours. They
advise using a wet palette to help blend the colours on
the Karkadrak’s skin. Also, paint the horns at the same
KARKADRAK SKIN
Basecoat: Deepkin Flesh
| Recess Wash: Stormvermin Fur

Layer: Deepkin Flesh

Highlight: Deepkin Flesh &
White Scar 1:1
| Glaze: Skavenblight Dinge (horns) ^'^4
fl Glaze: Abaddon Black (horns)

BURNING RUNES
Basecoat: Khorne Red
| Highlight: Evil Sunz Scarlet

| Highlight: Troll Slayer Orange

U Highlight: Fire Dragon Bright

Highlight: Lugganath Orange

Highlight: White Scar

WHITE DWARF NEEDS YOU! Arwen

by Kev Lawrence
We’re looking to expand our readers’ content, and to do this, we
need your help! If you would like to contribute to the pages of
White Dwarf, these are the sorts of things we’re after:

• Pictures of your beautifully painted miniatures and armies.

• Letters about the hobby; what do you love about it?
• Questions about how studio models are painted (see above).
• Lore questions for Grombrindal (like the one over the page).
7
• Your hobby hacks. A useful modelling tip, perhaps. Or some
painting techniques you’ve used for years.
• Cunning tactics. How do you get the most out of your army?
• Are you part of a gaming club? We would love to read (and
see) what you’ve been up to.
To get involved, simply send an email with your letter and/or
photos to: team@whitedwarf.co.uk

WHITE DWARF 5
Warhammer

rSTARl WALLY THE WORLD EATER

1ETTER
Dear Grombrindal,
I know you prefer to have no truck with the minions of
Chaos, but I wish to request a favour of you as a veteran
of the Long War. There is a World Eaters Khorne
Berzerker miniature who I have named ‘Wally’; he has
been a constant fixture on the battlefields of the far future
for nearly a quarter of a century. I have looked for this
distinctive heretic in every publication for two decades,
beginning with Codex: Chaos Space Marines from 2002.1
find myself delighted every time that I see him still in
action - most recently on the back cover of White Dwarf
476 in 2022.
I have had the pleasure of sharing my admiration of this
warrior far and wide, and I have been encouraged to
write to you by many others who have discovered that
Wally has been there for - in many cases - the greater
part of their mortal lives.
I fear that Wally’s time on the battlefield is near its end,
what with the long-awaited Berzerkers that were teased
recently. Please can you assure me that Wally will (if he is
not to continue fighting for the Blood God) be afforded a
proud place in the Hall of Miniatures so that future
generations of Khorne worshippers can see and admire
him for all time?
You may be pleased to know that your love for ‘Wally’
has not gone unnoticed here in White Dwarf Matt.
Having seen your posts about him, we made sure he
was front and centre on that back cover shot just for
you! Well, Wally insisted, and who are we to disagree?
He was also on the datasheet for the Khorne Berzerkers
in issue 477.
Curiously, the plastic Khorne Berzerkers kit was
released in March 1999, but Wally wasn’t in the
original line-up on the box cover. He first appeared, as
you pointed out, on the inside front cover of Codex:
Chaos Space Marines (2002), and he has made well over
a score of appearances since in codexes, rulebooks and
the pages of White Dwarf. He has been re-based,
re-backpacked, covered in snow and, on occasion,
digitally edited (though his agent would have you
believe otherwise), but he is still very much the same
model. We’re sure he will continue to serve the Blood
God in some capacity, no matter what the future may
hold for him and his gore-crazed brothers. Perhaps
he’ll become a goodwill ambassador...

For myself, may I be so bold as to request a signed

photograph of Wally? If a brave soul can get close
enough, that is!

Yours in blood,

Matthew Taylor
Milton Keynes, UK

6 WHITE DWARF

DUDE, WHERE'S MY MAP?
Hi! I loved the Battle Report in issue 473. I’m very glad
you tried the new style. The maps showing movements
and casualties are especially interesting, and it helped me
understand what was going on.
The narrative style you guys have been using lately tells a
good story, but personally, I don’t love Battle Reports for
the stories; I love the tactics and learning from peoples
gameplay. The rest of the magazine is loaded with great
stories, so it’s not as important to me to include such
narrative in the Battle Reports, especially at the expense
of tactical descriptions and maps. Thanks for trying out
some new (well, old) styles! I hope you use this style of
Battle Report more often. Oh and, if possible, can the
victory points be better hidden? Maybe on the next page
for every battle round? It’s hard to avoid seeing the score
when you flip the page, which is a bit of a spoiler. Thank
you, and keep up the great work!
Jason Knickmeyer
Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
w
§
Kastelan Robots
by Amy Snuggs
■ I *1
‘ o
^4 V ,
Bladeguard Veterans
by Arno Cant
I T\i
1
Who doesn’t love a good map, eh? Is it a cutting, or is it
an embankment? Does the church have a spire or a
tower? Did the Impulsor blow up in battle round three
or four? Classic map banter.
Maps in Battle Reports are a subject of much debate. In
the olden days, they were really the only way to show
what was where on a battlefield. Nowadays, we can
4
feature huge full-battlefield photography, which fulfils
a similar role and, we think, looks nicer. Then again, a
map can be clearer. So we’ve settled on doing a bit of
both! Matched play games will get the map treatment
to help with clarity, along with tactical insights from
the players. You can see an example of this in this
issue’s Kill Team Battle Report. Those Battle Reports
that are more story driven (like last month’s open play
game) will feature more evocative photography and a
narrative style of writing. A little bit of something for
everyone! As an aside, though, we are looking to
include more tactics articles in the magazine, which
should scratch that tactical itch for you when the Battle
Report is more narrative based.
WHITE DWARF 7
Warhammer
MODEL OF THE MONTH: SIGVALD, PRINCE OF SLAANESH BY ROBERTO SIRCHIA
Roberto: One of Sigvald s key features is
his mirror shield, which I spent a lot of
time on. I started with Fenrisian Grey to
simulate the blueish reflections of a
mirror-like surface, then added highlights
of Fenrisian Grey mixed with White Scar,
saving pure white for the final sparkles!

For the mid-tones, I used Shades and

Contrast paints: Druchii Violet, Casandora
Yellow, Coelia Greenshade, Drakenhof
Nightshade, Magos Purple and Volupus
Pink. All the warmer colours are on the
top half of the shield, while the colder ones
are on the bottom.

The main tip that I can share with other

readers is to try mixing Shade and
Contrast paints. Sometimes a casual mix
creates something really interesting! Also
remember that Sigvald s shield is magical,
so it doesn’t have to be 100% realistic.

THE HIGHEST HEIGHTS

Hi team. I recently had the chance to visit Warhammer You too can see the Battle for Angelus Prime display in
World for my 40th birthday. I’ve been wanting to make the Warhammer World Exhibition. Check out
the trip for years but never had the chance, so I decided it warhammerworld.warhammer-community.com to
was going to be my birthday present to myself. I had a plan your visit.
marvellous day, a nice burger in Bugman’s and not one
but two walks around the exhibition halls. It was like
i
walking through my own hobby journey. Seeing Mike I ’
i
McVey’s dioramas in the flesh was a particular highlight;
his Space Hulk diorama one was one of the first things
that made me want to paint my own minis well. I do have
a question, though. I spent a couple of hours enjoying the
Angelus Prime display (although I couldn’t find the darn
Vindicare Assassin...) and drinking in all the epic details,
such as the Heldrakes held aloft by their flames. What I’m
wondering is: how tall is the display in scale? I’m guessing
over 1,000 feet, but I would really like to know for sure.

Jason Warner
Bridgwater, UK h'i?!

That definitely sounds like a ‘guess how many sweets

are in the jar’ kind of question! Interestingly, you’re
not that far off, Jason. The display - from the floor to
the top of the spire - is roughly 61 wall sections high
(yep, we counted!). They are approximately 16’ in
r M III
actual scale, making the display 976 scale feet high. I$ I It
I|
kI
That means the bit you can see in the display is almost
as tall as The Shard in London.
J
T
Incidentally, the Assassin is hiding just behind the
+++ DELETED BY THE INQUISITION +++

8 WHITE DWARF
 ! *4 A
ASK GROMBRINDAL
I Hi, White Dwarf. A lowly Neophyte here with a
question about the Genestealer Cults. Given
their fanaticism and devotion to their Patriarch,
would two cults fight if they ever encountered
one another? Say the Cult of the Rusted Claw
and the Pauper Princes crossed paths, would
they see each other as heretics or traitors?
Sam Clinton
Australia
Well, this is an entirely unwholesome question!
The way I hear it, a cult must succeed by whatever
JI
a a a a §
means, so if the Patriarch deems it necessary to $
form an alliance with another cult, they will send
out a psychic imperative to their hairless little
minions to do just that. However, if the Patriarch
sees no value in the alliance, they will attempt to
eradicate their competitor and take over their
cult in the most efficient way possible.
This could result in full-blown war,
subtle subterfuge, or anything in
between. Let s face it, though,
they’re all going to get eaten in
the long run, right?
Grombrindal

Vampire Lord King of the Dead & Heralds

by Colin Maddison by Jaku b Bartkowiak

A-'-

Knight-Judicator Aurora Chapter Romans Lieutenant

by David McGowan by Dorn Booth

D SEND US YOUR LETTERS, QUESTIONS AND PICTURES TO: TEAM@WHITEDWARF.CO.UK

white Dwarf

COLIN CUBBON
Colin belongs to that
strange subset of
Humanity known as
Warhammer 40,000
background writers. He
has been shaping the grim
darkness of the far future
for the last four years. It's
rumoured that his visions
of a dystopian galaxy keep
him awake at night. We
think it's all the recaf.
I n the dark setting of the 41st Millennium,
I the Imperium is the empire of Humanity.
I Those who populate its million worlds,
I ply its trade routes and fight its wars are
Human. Yet to think of them as ‘only’ Human
is to overlook a vast breadth of differences
that exist throughout the Imperium.
In this column, I’m going to discuss just a few
of the wide array of forms that Humans can
take within the Imperium. In the background
we write, there are individuals and groups
within the Imperium who have a very definite
view of what Humanity is or what it should
be. It’s easy to imagine an ultra-puritan
Inquisitor purging anyone with an odd
number of digits or the wrong colour hair.
This is the Imperium, after all; it’s a horrible
place. Their view may be coloured by
prejudice and unrealistic ideals or beliefs. The
truth is that Humans in the Imperium are far
more varied than some would happily admit.
What follows is split into three sections. The
first looks at Humans from a purely visual
perspective. The second takes a shallow dive
amongst those whose genetics have been
intentionally meddled with. Finally, I’ll
discuss mutants, a frankly touchy subject in
the Imperium!
VISIBLE EXTREMES
As within any group of organisms, there are
many populations within the Imperium who
are so divergent from each other as to
represent extremes of some mythical average.
We’ll look at two of these here: ordinary
Humans like you and me, and the bionically
augmented Tech-Priests. It is important to
point out that these are only two such ‘poles’,
if you will, of Imperial Humanity. There isn’t
always a linear progression from one to the
next, and there are many who are as divergent
from these as from each other.

The great unwashed masses - those who most
closely resemble our good selves of the 3rd
Millennium - who teem in their billions
upon even one of the Imperiums worlds are
no less varied than all of Humanity is today.
We writers sometimes highlight particular
physical features of Humans from a given
world, but this is done for the sake of brevity
and should generally not be taken to
represent all its people. Humanity has ever
been a melting pot of lineage and creed, and
such is true of the peoples who established
Human colonies across the galaxy of the far
future. Colonists who survived their first
decades might then have been isolated for
millennia by conflict, warp storms or other
galactic phenomena. This isolation, plus
extremes of gravity, climate or radiation, not
to mention war, have caused all manner of
small differences to flourish, alter and merge
over the long years. Physiognomies, gait,
stature and other features are seen
throughout the Imperium in breathtaking
variety. Purple eyes, for example, are
common to many Cadians, while several
tribes of the arboreal world of Thoresta boast
slightly elongated bodies and long strides.
The vast majority of the Imperium’s citizens
live and die with nothing more than the body
assigned to them by biological fate. Others
see this merely as a starting point. While
bionic augmentation is known on many
worlds, it is among the ranks of cybernetic
clerics known as Tech-Priests that some of
the most visually aberrant of the Imperiums
loyal servants can be found, individuals who
we would not recognise as Human at all.
Tech-Priests replace even healthy body parts
with bionic versions as a form of worship to
their Machine God. They do not stop at
limbs. Some mantle themselves in synthetic
skin or add mechanical internal organs, some
SEW
w
replace their eyes and ears with clicking, §
whirring implants. Some do not limit
themselves to the humanoid body plan they
were born with; they walk on dozens of
robotic stumps, rumble upon wheeled bogeys
or float on anti-grav biers fused to what
passes for their torso. Others are festooned
with multiple arms or mechanical tendrils, or
have divided their biological brain between
jars - dispensing with the notion of a head LU
entirely! Whether merely disturbing
amalgams of machinery and their remaining
flesh or truly nightmarish mountains of
machine housing a surviving brain, they
remain Human - more or less.
THE GENE-CRAFTED
Mechanical augmentation is only one of
many ways in which subsets of the Imperium
are altered. A far more fundamental change is
the alteration someone at the core of their
being by manipulating their genes, either on
an individual basis or across entire
generations through selective breeding.
Space Marines are the genetically modified
warriors perhaps most well known to fans of
Warhammer 40,000. Each was born as an
ordinary Human (or as ordinary as any of the
countless varieties of Human that crop up on
Imperial worlds). Before they have fully
grown, however, they are subjected to
intensive alteration, grafted with additional
organs and imbued with genetic material
drawn from the legendary Primarchs. To
serve in Mankinds wars, Space Marines are
grown to boast towering, massively muscled
frames, and their minds are altered too.
Though they are clearly individuals with
characterful personality - as will be attested
by anyone who has enjoyed Space Marine
fiction - they are not the same as they once
were. Most of their mortal life from before is
y
Warhammer
forgotten. Their new identity is coloured by
their Primarch’s genes, as well as by the
culture of the Chapter to which they belong
and their extended lives of never-ending war.
Understandably, they are seen by some
Humans as demigods and by others as
monsters or tools of oppression. In truth,
they are both more and less than the mortals
they once were, still of Humanity if not
exactly Human.
Some traits, physical and mental, are
deliberately preserved through familial lines.
Dedicated populations of scribes, artists,
labourers and adepts have given rise to
descendants with especially analytical minds
or perhaps preternatural penmanship. Adepta
Sororitas Sisters of the many Orders
Famulous guide the preservation of traits
among noble families. They compile
genealogical data and foster marriages
calculated to ensure that the most faithful
and loyal families are preserved at the
expense of those they consider weak.
More outlandish genetic traits, however they
originally came about, are also intentionally
perpetuated and refined from one generation
to the next through the everyday medium of
reproduction (ask your responsible guardian,
kids) as opposed to alchemical meddling. The
Navigator Houses constitute the extended
families of those who bear the Navigator
gene. Their third eye enables them to perceive
12 WHITEDWARF
the tides of the warp and guide the
Imperiums ships through that perilous realm.
As being able to travel from planet to planet
is so vital to holding the Imperium together,
this makes the Navigator Houses politically
powerful, so the strengthening of this
mutation through inter- and intra-house
breeding is paramount to their leaders.
MUTATION
Beyond a Navigators third eye, which they
usually keep covered when not peering into
the warp (partly because it is an obvious
mutation, something Imperial citizens are
taught to abhor, but mainly because it can fry
someone’s brain with a careless glance), they
are outwardly quite Human. The same cannot
be said of many others usually categorised as
Human, or partly Human.
The Imperium has a difficult relationship
with mutants. On the one hand, they are
almost universally despised and feared. They
are vilified as an evil to be rooted out and
purged from existence. Planetary governors
conduct hunts for them, urging citizens to
turn out mutant relatives or face death for
harbouring them. On the other hand, the
Imperium could not survive without some
mutants, specifically those whose psychic
abilities enable interstellar navigation and
communication. Even these are shunned or
corralled when not carrying out their duties.

Mutations may be far more visible and
obvious. Physical mutations in the 41st
Millennium have no single cause and can be
extreme and nigh infinite in form: from
vibrant skin colouration in bizarre hues to
bestial body parts or unnatural lumps and
cavities as if some petulant god has moulded
them in a fit of pique. Such unfortunates are
without a doubt Human, but that does not
save them from mobs of violent vigilantes.
Some of the more stable collections of
mutations have become so widespread and
successful - despite the distrust, exploitation
and prejudice their bearers suffer - that they
have effectively resulted in subspecies of
Humanity. Where these populations are
recognised and sanctioned by Imperial
authorities, they are referred to as abhumans.
This pejorative and ill-defined term is used to
describe such strains of Humanity as the
hulking but slightly dim-witted Ogryns and
the diminutive, sharp-eyed Ratlings. Some of
these serve as auxiliaries alongside Astra
Militarum regiments (being classified as part
of the Human species means there is no
escape from conscription!), but individuals
occupy other roles suited to their talents too.
Ogryns are frequently employed as labourers
or hired muscle, while Ratlings often find
work in food preparation, espionage or make
livings as thieves. The derision that abhumans
are subjected to effectively bars them from
positions of authority, and it is little wonder
w
that some escape beyond the Imperiums
reach or else throw in their lot with the Dark
Gods of Chaos or less intolerant alien races.
Where mutations end and a stable strain of
Humanity begins is subject to debate within
the Imperium. Powerful individuals, scholars
and entire institutions have differing and
changing opinions on the matter, and their
decisions can appear very arbitrary to you LU
and me. Neither is there any clear boundary
between abhumans as a subspecies of
Humanity and those who are so divergent as
to be classified as alien. There have been
instances of abhuman groups being suddenly
reclassified by some Imperial bureaucracy as
xenos and then hounded into extinction.
Indeed, this is a risk many Kin from the
Leagues of Votann must consider every time
they dock with an Imperial facility!
C/i
Between all the Imperiums expressions of the
Human form, there is infinite variation to
explore, not only for us as writers but also for
anyone wanting to create their own stories
and background for their armies. You may
even be inspired to model strange Imperial
warriors and paint them in unusual colours.
There are many other aspects within this
huge topic that I hope fascinate you as much
as they do me. What, for example, are the
effects on the Human mind when artificially
extended lifetimes can stretch for centuries or
millennia? How much Humanity can the
scraps of brain and nerve tissue inside a
Space Marine Dreadnought still retain? And
then there are the ghoulish lobotomised
Servitors created by the Adeptus Mechanicus.
How much are they still Human and how
much mere golems of flesh and metal? For all
its focus on a single race, the Imperium - as
one should expect from an empire that has
straddled the galaxy for over ten thousand
years - is incredibly diverse and interesting
and, at least in terms of the extremes Humans
are driven to in the name of survival or faith,
grotesque.
A LITTLE EXTRA
Perhaps we will revisit these and other forms READING
of Humanity in a future issue. For now, I What would you like to
must return to the Warhammer 40,000 read about in Worlds of
Warhammer? Let us know
studios lightless scriptorum, where varieties your thoughts, and we'll
of hunched and haggard forms, only barely pass them on!
recognisable as Human, cluster around
team@whitedwarf.co.uk
flickering monitors.
WHITEDWARF 13
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WAKFIAMMEK
l 40.000_______ j

ARKS OF OMEN
A creators’ insight into the latest cataclysm of the 41st Millennium

16 WHITEDWARF

he Imperium of Mankind has always
been at war, and never has this been
more true than during the Era
Indomitus. Across the length and
breadth of the galaxy, the vast armies of
Humanity struggle to hold back the tides of
heretics and aliens that threaten to bring the
Imperium to its knees on a daily basis. Vast
conflicts rage for years, even decades, for no
appreciable gain - only colossal, tragic loss.
To try to make sense of these wars, or even
fii
Vashtorr manifests on the
bridge of Abaddon’s flagship,
The Vengeful Spirit. He offers
answers to the Warmaster's
prophecies, but at what price?
rc
LU
:e
document them all, would be impossible, for
such is the sheer size of the Imperium. Which :es
is why, when the first Ark of Omen appeared, ce
no one paid it any heed. Indeed, it was some
time before anyone of any importance within
is
the Imperium realised what was going on.
And by then, it was too late...
The Arks of Omen had been unleashed.
LU
Rich Butler: Arks of Omen is the latest
cataclysmic event to rock the foundations of
the Warhammer 40,000 setting. It is, without
a doubt, one of the greatest, most ambitious
narratives we have ever created, and it’s a saga
GO
that we are immensely proud of.
IXI
ANDY CLARK &
Andy Clark: Agreed! It’s a bit of a cliche to RICHARD BUTLER
say that it will shake the foundations of the Andy is the senior
setting, but... it will. We’re not ripping the background writer in the
Warhammer 40,000 team,
galaxy in half again (we’ve done that once while Rich is the product LU
before), but this is very definitely a gods-and- developer. Between them,
monsters level of storytelling that we rarely they have created a
complex web of galactic
get to play with. Some stories are like rocks intrigue with many
thrown into a pond - they create ripples. far-reaching threads. They
Well, this story is a boulder! now sit, spider-like, at the
centre of their creation.
Rich: So what’s it all about then? Well, put
simply, this is Abaddons next great offensive.
His next big gambit to crush the armies of the
Imperium once and for all and seat himself
on the Throne of Terra.
Andy: The thing is, we know Abaddon’s story
only too well. The Warmaster is stuck at an
impasse. He knows he can conquer Terra
with the help of the Chaos Gods, but if he
kneels before them then he will become just
another one of their pawns. If he tries to
conquer the Imperium without their aid, he
will fail. The current stalemate of eternal war
is not the worst outcome, but it is also not
what he desires. And so he sets his seers and
prophets looking for anything that could tip
the tide of battle in his favour. They pour
through every prophesy and rumour they can
find, every piece of arcane lore and ancient
knowledge. Yet every portent returns the
same conclusion: mutually assured
destruction.
Rich: It’s at this point that Abaddon receives
a visitor - a daemon by the name of Vashtorr
the Arkifane. Vashtorr is a demi-god of the
warp and, like all Chaos entities, he is a
manifestation of mortal thoughts and
emotions. In Vashtorr’s case, he is born of
diabolical scientific research, cruel
experiments and deplorable inventions.
Andy: He’s the voice in the scientist’s ear
saying go on, it won’t hurt anyone’ when it
WHITE DWARF 17
WAKnAMMEK
40,000
Much of the fighting in Arks of
Omen takes place on board
these colossal space hulks, on
starships or on orbital stations.
The rules and scenarios in the
books enable you to fight these
epic engagements (or others of
your own devising) with your
miniatures collections.
18 WHITE DWARF
definitely will, or the thought in the back of
an inventor’s mind that leads to the creation
of a horrific weapon. He’s a god of industry,
cogitations, mechanisms, dark science and, as
it turns out, the master of the soul forges
where daemonic war machines are created.
Rich: Vashtorr has been dormant for a very
long time, brooding on how to become the
fifth great god in the Chaos pantheon, yet he
lacks the resources and power to join the big
four. However, he sees in Abaddon a way to
get what he wants, and fortunately he knows
something that Abaddon doesn’t.
Andy: It’s a classic game that daemons play
with mortals, but Vashtorr is not your regular
daemon, as Abaddon soon finds out. He is
not a riddler, like many of his kind, but more
akin to a grumpy, impatient engineer with a
gallows humour. He’s also extremely focused
on what he wants. If he helps Abaddon tip the
scales in realspace, the resultant fallout may
help him rise to power in the warp and enter
the Great Game.
Rich: So Vashtorr appears on the bridge of
The Vengeful Spirit (actually, he takes over the
whole ship!) and makes Abaddon an offer
that he cannot refuse. Vashtorr knows where
to find a weapon of incalculable power, but to
access it he will need the Key, which
Abaddon will have to get for him. Abaddon,
of course, is mistrustful of the daemon,
particularly when Vashtorr points out that
the Key is broken and split into hundreds of
fragments all across the galaxy. Fortunately,
he can help Abaddon with that, too.
Andy: Enter the Arks of Omen. The Arks are,
in essence, space hulks - huge, uncontrollable
conglomerations of starships and space debris
that can be hundreds of miles long and are
frequently filled with all manner of
disagreeable creatures. Most space hulks are
thousands of years old and, in their lifetimes,
they will traverse both the depths of realspace
and the nightmare realm that is the warp.
Many will be mutated, corrupted or
possessed by daemonic entities to such an
extent that their component parts are now
beyond recognition. You can’t underestimate
the level of horror that pervades space hulks
- they are gigantic haunted houses that drift
ominously across the galaxy for millennia.
Using his mastery of daemon-tech and
warp-forges, Vashtorr takes scores of these
space hulks and begins rebuilding them into
colossal warships that Abaddon gifts to his
greatest warlords. Should these mighty
warriors have the strength to dominate the
Ark’s daemonic spirit and shackle it to their
will, then they may command it as they see
fit. However, to seal the deal with the
Warmaster, they must first recover the
 :e
:e=
<=
The monstrous Vashtorr the :t5
Arkifane battles the Iron
Angels on Magdalor as he
guides Abaddon to the first •5
Key-fragment.

eg

cn

eg

WHITE DUIARF 19

The Black Legion are at the
heart of Abaddon's latest ploy
to crush the Imperium, with
many of the Legion's warlords
and warbands taking
command of Arks of Omen.
Well-known characters such as
Falkus Kibre and the sorcerer
Xorphas make appearances
throughout the story.
20 WHITE DWARF
Key-fragments assigned to them and pass
them through the warp portal that sits at the
heart of every Ark.
Rich: This is why space hulks are popping up
all over the galaxy accompanied by fleets of
Chaos warships. These Balefleets may appear
in a system, attack a world, then disappear
just a few days later, leaving the defenders,
quite frankly, relieved but also confused. This
is because the disappearance of a Key­
fragment is rarely obvious. It could be a
statue or a relic, a piece of archeotech, an
ancient book... anything really! And in the
maelstrom of battle, who’s going to notice the
disappearance of a book from a vault? This is
why the Imperium is so slow to react to
Abaddon’s plan, because, on the surface, it
does not look like a plan at all. Only a few
members of the Inquisition and some Aeldari
have any inkling of what might be going on.
Andy: It’s only when a strike force led by
Commander Dante of the Blood Angels
encounters an abandoned Ark - the Night
Terror - that the Imperium truly begins to
understand the scale of things. Those in
power come to realise that these seemingly
random attacks are being conducted for a
reason, but they don’t know what it is, when
the next attack may occur or even where. So,
business as usual then! But with a distinctly
higher level of dread.
Rich: And that’s what book one, Arks of
Omen: Abaddon, is all about - setting the
scene for this grand undertaking by the
Warmaster and his monstrous daemonic ally.
Alongside the narrative, you’ll also find new
rules for fighting Boarding Action games
(more on that later in the issue - Ed) so that
you can easily recreate the spaceship battles
that are portrayed in the story. Or, indeed,
create your very own stories. When we were
writing about the Indomitus Crusade a few
years back, we deliberately left some areas of
the story a mystery so that you can create
your own narrative for your games; we’re
doing the same in Arks of Omen. Throughout
this five-book series, we mention there are
around thirty or forty Arks, but we leave
plenty of scope for you to create your own. In
fact, we highly encourage it!
The second, third and fourth books in the
series follow the stories of individual Arks of
Omen and their attending Balefleets as
Abaddon’s most-trusted followers race to
fulfil their part of his grand plan. In these
books, a number of well-known characters
take to the galactic stage to play their part in
the saga. But while the stories in the books
are new, there are threads and arcs weaved
throughout them that make reference to
decades worth of Warhammer 40,000 lore. If
you know your background, you are going to
love finding all the Easter eggs. There are plot
I-
- v I
/■

twists throughout these books that still give
me goose bumps thinking about them.
As an example, the second book in the series
- Arks of Omen: Angron - brings together
lore from the Horus Heresy, the Primarchs
series of novels, 25 years of codexes, and
countless other sources. It heralds the return
of Angron - the most destructive, violent and
unpredictable of all the Primarchs! That alone
is cause for celebration (or lamentation, if
you’re a servant of the False Emperor). I’m
not going to spoil the plot for you, but book
two is a celebration of the World Eaters
Legion (yes, the whole Legion!) in a way that
we have never done before, bringing them
kicking, screaming and butchering their way
into the Era Indomitus. Abaddon’s plan for
Angron is, without a doubt, one of the most
cataclysmic, gory narratives we have ever
created, and it has some very unexpected
consequences that no one will predict. Really,
you won’t! The battle scenes in the book are
truly out of this world - especially the ones in
space. Andy has done an incredible job of
realising the scale of the conflict we are
aiming for. Put simply, the final battle is
bigger than anything we’ve written about
since the Siege of Terra.
LU
co
LU
Andy: It has been like writing a five-act The Daemon Primarch Angron
novel. I genuinely had to take a holiday when takes centre stage in the
second book of the series,
I finished it! On that note, the fifth book is which is out very soon! The
the culmination of the series, in which all of Black Library tie-in novel,
the many threads we’ve woven throughout Angron - The Red Angel by
David Guymer, is the perfect
the books finally come together for a truly companion to the book, delving
epic clash between the Imperium and Chaos. deeply into the Primarch's
background and what his
re-emergence could mean for
It is worth noting, though, that there is a sixth his scattered Legion.
Arks of Omen story, which will be serialised
in the pages of this very magazine! We’ve
been working closely with the White Dwarf
team over the last few months to create new
background, new characters (including some
based on their Chapter, the Tome Keepers)
and new rules to represent the Herald of
Misery, an Ark of Omen taken over by
Warsmith Czagra of the Iron Warriors. While
the story is a stand-alone piece, it cleverly ties
in with the rest of the series, and some of the
characters have key - actually, lets say pivotal
- roles to play in the main Arks of Omen
story. You seriously wont want to miss it. As
Rich mentioned earlier, we want people to
create their own stories, and the Herald of
Misery is a brilliant example of how you can
do just that with your own collections of
miniatures. What will your Chaos warlords
goal be? Or, how do you plan to stop them?
Your own Arks of Omen saga awaits!
WHITE DWARF 21

BITTER AMBITION
Abaddon the Despoiler had embarked upon a campaign of acquisition, spearheaded by vast vessels known as the Arks
of Omen. Each of these was gifted to a champion willing to take up the search for an esoteric prize desired by the
Warmaster. Amongst the greatest of those who grasped the opportunity was Warsmith Czagra of the Iron Warriors.
WHAT ARE
FLASHPOINTS?
Flashpoints are series of
articles that explore a
particular region or war
zone at a specific point in
time. Flashpoints contain
new rules along with
stories and background
about the setting, giving
you plenty of opportunities
to theme your games.
Flashpoints typically span
multiple issues, and articles
are always marked with the
Flashpoint's symbol,
making them easy to find in
your copy of White Dwarf,
22 WHITE DWARF
ARKS OF OMEN: HERALD OF MISERY
he summons of the Despoiler was not
one that could be ignored. Abaddons
challenge wormed its way across the
galaxy. Daemons whispered it through
corrupted vox emitters. Sorcerous visions
were thrust into the fever dreams of psykers.
Warlords hastened to the Despoiler s side
through ambition, loyalty or fear. When
Abaddons offer seeped through into the
Vorlishk Sub-sector, it was sifted from the
nightmare gibberish of the warp by the
divinations of a conclave of mechanistic
cybertheurges who served Warsmith Czagra,
the Grandmarshal of Ruin. This lord amongst
the Iron Warriors had trodden a years-long
path of destruction through the sub-sector s
string of Imperial bastion worlds and forge
moons, fortified xenos broodlairs and pirate
strongholds. Czagras methodical destruction
of those he conquered had long ago become
an obsession. Where other Chaos warlords
&
/
raised blasphemous idols or displayed the
gory remnants of the foes champions, the
Warsmith made examples of his enemies’
every edifice. Though most already lay
broken in mountains of cyclopean rubble,
Czagra pummelled remnant structures to
their deepest foundations with orbital
bombardments. Tectonic plates fractured,
drowning whatever remained in geysers of
molten lava. Czagra had come to conclude
every such act of meticulous annihilation by
searing a vast skull-shaped sigil into the site
of his victories, stamping his mark on the
defeated world with surgical lance strikes for
all to see.
When Abaddons offer reached Czagra, he
was inflicting just such a cruel fate upon the
once formidable fortress world of Narrotor.
The Warsmith weighed Abaddons message as
he worked. His horde was already mighty. Yet

•i
n
9
/
Il
/j
an Ark of Omen represented an awesome
potential for greater destruction. With glacial
inevitability, Czagras ambitions widened to
encompass the power on offer. He envisioned
a spaceborne fortress the size of a planetoid
laying siege to entire worlds.
By the time Warsmith Czagra departed the
Vorlishk Sub-sector, making for the
coordinates embedded in Abaddons
summons, his fleet numbered dozens of ships
and entire warbands sworn or enslaved to his
will. At their head, in both favour and power,
was Czagras own warband of Iron Warriors,
the Effacers of Medrengard. Brutally efficient
siege masters, these warriors had helped their
lord destroy and conquer for millennia. The
majority were cold-hearted veterans of the
Legions Long War, every one marked by
arcane cybernetic augmentations.
Exemplifying this trend and acting as
Czagras axeman and enforcer was the Master
of Executions, Kahrbol Mandrax. His
mismatched ocular bionics were said to
detect his preys souls in dizzying empyric
IK
f
IU
:e
a:
is
LU
GO
=
LU
CO
spectra, but the conflicting neuropathic input
had sent the champion insane long ago.
Few of Czagras warriors openly worshipped
the Chaos Gods, but individual devotees of
each of the Ruinous powers were not
unknown. The greatest in number were those
who killed in the name of Khorne, and they
were often the first to storm any breach
cracked in enemy defences. However, while
the Warsmith willingly embraced the infernal
power that the warp’s daemonic denizens
offered, he was adamant that the entities
know their place as tools of his will. He did
not permit the presence of possessed
Legionaries in his ranks. Any who fell to the ■ W1
: r. .
beguilements of daemons were gunned down
as an example to others who would dare
exchange his authority for that of a warp-
spawned entity.
Many thrall warbands fought at Czagras
command. The most numerous amongst his
mortal followers were the Riven Reforged, a
cult of mechanistic obsessives who idolised
WHITE DWARF 23
WARHAMMER
40,000

m THE BRONZEWROUGHT
Those Iron Warriors of Czagra’s warband who showed the most single-minded
devotion to destruction were granted places in his favoured retinue. Made up of
Chosen and Chaos Terminators, they served as bodyguards and vanguard shock
troops. Their relentless hatred, discipline and martial skill enabled them to operate
almost as an autonomous warband within the Effacers of Medrengard. Czagra also
dispatched them on specialist missions unknown to the rest of the warband. Their
master was Vurnok the Grey, Czagra’s favoured lieutenant and the equal in personal
prowess of many Chaos warlords. Each of the Bronzewrought bore upon their
armour a representation of Czagra’s bronze claw, either as an augmetic gauntlet, an
inscribed sigil or a metallic icon.
a

their Iron Warriors masters. They scavenged
rusted and broken mechanisms and attached
them to their bodies with crude surgeries or
wore them as fetishes. Some were bent double
by the weight of mostly useless machinery.
Dark Mechanicum forces from a number of
traitor forge worlds had made compacts with
Czagra to provide him with insane warp-
wrought creations and arcanotechnic viruses.
Other warbands of Iron Warriors, such as the
Barbican Lords and the Ferrocratic Creed,
had also pledged ritualised oaths to him,
along with traitor Princeps of the Legios
Krytos and Rorgahl, amongst others.
Warsmith Czagra himself rarely deigned to
take to the field in the opening movements of
his assaults, instead preferring to orchestrate
his meticulously planned strategies from
aboard his flagship, the Forgemaul. When the
timing was right for him to make his
presence felt in battle - or on rare occasions
when those plans went awry and he was
forced to intercede - Czagra would lead the
attack in person. Clad in warped Terminator
armour, the Warsmith was an imposing and
deadly combatant. In one massive gauntlet,
he wielded an ancient combi-bolter which
fired bolts that each caged a tormented spirit.
Their detonations released thrumming
gheistwaves of force that crushed enemies
and disrupted battle lines. His other arm
ended in a complex bronze claw of barbed
servo-talons wreathed in eldritch wyrdfire
and edged with daemon chitin, with which he
eviscerated enemy warriors and war engines
with ease.
THE CLAIMING OF A MONSTROSITY
When Czagras fleet translated into realspace
at the coordinates given by Abaddons arcane
message, many of his followers were awed
and disturbed by the sight that greeted them.
Czagra was intrigued. Scores of traitor fleets
circled each other or bullied their way into
favourable positions, distrust and rancour
visible in their aggressive stances. Spread
amongst them were the grossly misshapen
silhouettes of many space hulks. Each was
surrounded by halos of sickly light and
cradled in impossibly vast spider-like
gantries, over which swarmed daemonic
labourers.
These vessels were the Arks of Omen. As the
Despoilers summons had foretold, the titanic
warships waited to be claimed by those who
proved strong enough. Their mastery was
something Czagra and the other aspiring Ark
masters had to seize for themselves.
The vast mustering point that Czagras fleet
entered was both a hive of insane industrial
engineering and a dangerous conflict zone.

24 WHITE DWARF

Threats between rival fleets spiralled into
outright conflict. Battle also raged around
and within several Arks of Omen as would-
be masters fought to yoke the leviathans to
their will. Czagra’s fleet barged their way
through lesser armadas, leaving the wrecks of
dying ships in their wake. It was not long
before the Vengeful Spirit, poised far above
the cluttered mustering point, signalled him.
On the bridge of the Forgemaul, every
pict-screen suddenly came alive with an
image of Abaddon. Czagra ritually knelt
before the looming Despoiler, swearing a
binding oath and committing himself and his
fleet to the bargain. Long moments passed
before Abaddon appeared satisfied. He
granted permission for Czagra’s fleet to
continue and transmitted coordinates for the
Ark he had assigned to the Warsmith. Before
cutting his signal, Abaddon informed the
still-kneeling Iron Warrior that the Ark had
already consumed two eager conquerors.
‘Let us see,’ Abaddon said, the ghost of a
sneer on his lips, ‘if you will be the third’
In the void, the Herald of Misery awaited its
would-be master.
LET US SEE YOU WILL BE THE THIRD?
+++ TRANSMISSION TERMINATED +++
CK
LU
:e
THE HERALD OF MISERY
:e?
The space hulk that would become the Herald ofMisery had
been located upon the tides of the warp by the daemonic
master of the soul forges, Vashtorr the Arkifane. Speared and
wrenched into realspace by techno-sorcerous means, it had
been descended on by the daemon demigod and his legions
of warpspawn thralls, who had moulded it to suit its
intended purpose.
From a distance, the Herald of Misery appeared to be shaped
like a gigantic blunt-nosed arrowhead, a brutal wedge of
dark iron and rock. On closer inspection, it was an
LU
amalgamation of thousands of wrecked ships fused together
by the power of the warp. Individual vessel fragments over a cn
mile in length encrusted its surface like angular metallic
barnacles in comparison to the hulk’s huge mass. At its
tapering prow - or at least the opposite end to where
Vashtorr had added numerous massive engine ports - the
crushed wrecks and detritus were fused with a monolithic
slab of asteroidal rock. It was void-hardened, irradiated by
long-dead suns and veined with warp-tainted strata. The
Arkifane had incised hateful mechanistic runes into the
rock. They empowered the mass of dense material with a
thrumming empyric resonance and turned it into a ram
capable of ploughing through Imperial starforts and shaking
them apart from the inside as it did so.
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WHITE DWARF 25
WAKnAMIviEK
40.000

Czagra manoeuvred his fleet into a

possessive, cage-like formation around the
Herald of Misery. He had already constructed
his strategy to enter the Ark, and he was
impatient to set its pieces in motion.

Czagras orders to his fleet were simple: theirs

would be an aggressive defence of the Herald
of Misery and the surrounding space. They
would drive away rivals for the Ark and prey
on nearby ships, enslaving them and their
warbands or else picking over their wrecks
> for resources. The Grandmarshal of Ruin had
his takeover with the aid of his cybertheurgic
J conclave of mechanistic psykers and masters
of forbidden technological lore. They
assembled multi-dimensional equations and
quantum portents in attempts to divine the
threats inside the Ark. The Warsmiths own
immense intellect parsed thousands of
schemes, his thoughts flashing between his
own mind and cyber-daemonic
manifestations of flesh and machinery that
scurried or flitted in his wake. Three areas of
control were prioritised: the largest of the
Arkifanes added engine clusters, the empyric
emitter of the Obelyskane and, at the heart of
an ancient star fort embedded in the vessel’s
twisted spine, the warp portal.

ACCESS g,R,ANT£Dj. .KAES"!™

>HERALD_OF_MISERY_SECTOR—II_SOUL-FLARE_MAP
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26 WHITE DUIftRF
Mentally compartmentalising the Herald of
Misery, Czagra divided his boarding forces
into five large formations. The first split into
numerous compact strike teams whose task
was to secure groups of ship fragments at the
Ark’s surface. Some of these areas would be
entry points for the other four formations.
Each would thrust into the Arks interior
from a separate location, plunging like a
red-hot awl through its structure and
denizens alike.
Contact was soon lost between the four
delving strike forces, the Ark’s warp-tainted
fabric fouling communication. Czagra had
expected this and was unconcerned, knowing
his sub-commanders had their orders and
understood the price of failure. The four
groups plunged deeper into the Ark, their
vanguard made up of Czagra’s mortal
followers: cultists, mutants, Traitor
Guardsmen and twisted devotees of many
kinds, all eminently disposable in the
Warsmith’s mind. His sub-commanders
employed them to test the integrity of
ruptured passages or, with their deaths, warn
of more insidious dangers such as rad-floods
or severe warp taint. For their part, Czagra’s
conclave of cybertheurges hoped to use the
mortals’ soul-flares as a means of mapping
the Ark’s interior by monitoring their spread
through the Herald of Misery's innards.
lr
The mortal followers were also flesh-and-
blood bait with which to lure out lurking
threats, and the Iron Warriors soon
encountered these in great numbers: feral
tribes of Beastmen, slavering xenos packs,
sinister lone predators such as Ur-Ghuls, and
other less-identifiable creatures. Along the
port side of the Herald of Misery, Czagra’s
forces encountered a rust-coloured fungal
LU
growth - semi-sentient and fiercely predatory CO
- that spread through dozens of wreck
fragments. Most disturbing were tremors that
seemed to convulse through the Ark.
Cavernous rents the breadth of escort ships
honeycombed some areas, their ragged sides
slick with bubbling organic matter. None who
followed them ever returned. Worse was the
sudden increase in grinding vibrations, deck
plates buckling as something too large to
comprehend squirmed its way mindlessly LU
through the Ark. Passages and entire decks
were crushed or rent apart as the thing
passed. Through gaping fissures it sent up
questing pseudopods of mutant, warp-tainted
flesh to seize mortals and Legionaries alike,
dragging them out of sight.

CO
GRYMZAG'S WARP LOOTAS
Greatest of the Ark’s threats was
sizeable infestation of Death Skull Orks
under the leadership of Warboss
Grymzag. Despite their anarchic
savagery and scattered presence, they
came to pose the most cohesive danger
to Czagra’s domination of the Ark of
Omen. The Iron Warriors encountered
them in large numbers in almost every
section they fought through. The Orks
had been the dominant life forms within
the space hulk before its capture by
Vashtorr, and they still viewed the vessel
as theirs. The greenskins had spent
many happy years fighting the Ark’s
other denizens, looting and cobbling
together all manner of mechanical
treasures they discovered into strange
weapons and clanking oddities. They
gleefully threw themselves into the Iron
Warriors at every opportunity, keen to
fight the powerful Legionaries and just
as eager to relieve them of weapons,
armour and twisted cybernetics.
WARHAMMER
40.000
The advances made by Czagra’s four strike
forces fragmented one by one. Thousands of
mortals and dozens of Legionaries were lost
before they began to fight their way back
towards their entry points for extraction by
gunships, boarding engines and armoured
umbilicals. Though furious with the failure,
Czagra was utterly unmoved by his warriors’
losses. Regrouping the survivors into a single
corps, Czagra led the enlarged strike force in
a brutally direct campaign from the Arks
stern towards the mass of fused rock at its
prow. They bludgeoned their way from one
wreck fragment to the next, massacring feral
denizens and blunting Ork reprisals with
every assault. With breaching charges, melta
fire, hammers and chainfists, the Warsmiths
warriors destroyed vast sections and carved
open gaping wounds in the Arks structure.
Czagra’s cybertheurgic conclave unleashed
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28 WHITE DWARF
eldritch binharic entities into the sections he
subjugated, goading the enslaved gheists to
prey on recalcitrant systems and seed the
spread of self-replicating cybernetic growths
to engulf others. His sigil was seared into
bulkheads as a visible marker of his authority.
It was meaningless to any remaining
denizens, but the Warsmith understood the
power of symbols on anything touched by the
warp. By carving his mark into its flesh, he
hoped to impress upon the Herald of Misery
that its master had staked his claim.
Czagra and his massed warband ploughed
inexorably forward. The Orks fought back
with a number of brutal and cunning
counter-attacks, but at best they only
managed to temporarily slow the Iron
Warriors. Eventually, the majority of the Orks
were corralled into a huge maze of canted

decks and fractured ship-fragments near the
huge blunt prow. Czagra, impatient to draw a
line under the conflict, ordered the
greenskins sealed into that section to be dealt
with more fully en route.
DEPARTURE
After weeks of gruelling purges, Czagra
declared himself master of the Herald of
Misery. Infestations of xenos and all manner
of hidden horrors still lurked throughout the
Ark, and the Orks made repeated breakouts
from where they had been driven. However,
overall control had been established, and
Czagra was impatient to depart. Even as the
lumbering Ark swung around to leave the
isolated mustering point, Czagra dispatched
his own hordes of servitor-thralls and
cyber-slaves to construct additions of his own
design. They began the raising of city-sized
bastions bristling with macro-cannons. They
gouged vast trench systems into the
agglomerate vessels surfaces, labyrinthine in
design, large enough to admit the biggest
god-engines and boasting hidden weapon
systems for miles around them.
The self-appointed mouthpiece of the
Warsmiths cybertheurges, the Sorcerer
Mekranteer, revealed that their attempts at
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soul-mapping the Arks interior had failed.
Empyric schemata they had prepared of large
sections turned out to be woefully inaccurate.
It was as if internal dimensions had altered
and warped as the Iron Warriors had fought
through them, chambers shifting location,
passages splitting or connecting to new
locations. It was impossible, he admitted to
Czagra, to determine if this was due to
physical subsidence within the crushed
wrecks, or something hideously organic or
supernatural. Czagra was privately satisfied
that the Arks seeming resistance would prove
a boon should any enemy ever dare board it.
Czagra gave his commands to the daemonic
Ferryman tasked with steering the Ark, and
the Obelyskane was ignited, its strobing
psychic beacon drawing his fleet in the
vessels wake. With a final order, preparations
were made for warp translation. The
I
Warsmith would see his part of the bargain
with Abaddon fully satisfied as swiftly as
possible - he wanted no lingering debt to the
Warmaster. The journey would be long,
however. There would be prey aplenty on the
long route and, more importantly, time to ...
cement his plans on how to use the Herald of
Misery to wreak untold destruction once
Abaddons prize was secured.
WHITEDWARF 29
‘ WARHAMMERj
k_______ 4 0.00 0_______ j|

THE UNTAMED ARK

ARKS OF OMEN: HERALD OF MISERY
New Boarding Action rules for fighting on an Ark of Omen
ver the next 15 pages, you’ll find new rules for can, of course, play them as one-off games using any army.
I Boarding Action games set on the Herald of Misery, You could fight a battle where the Tyranids and the
I one of Abaddon’s monstrous Arks of Omen. This Necrons clash over an infected space hulk, for example.
suite of rules includes Warp-infected Entity tiles Not a tasty meal or a worthy prize, perhaps, but the Hive
(which you’ll find on the card section included in this Mind and the Silent King work in mysterious ways.
issue) and six intense new missions. While these missions However you choose to play these missions, we wish you
are part of the ongoing story of the Arks of Omen, you the very best of luck as you board the Herald ofMiseryl

J 11

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UNTAMED ARK •5

MISSIONS
When playing an Untamed Ark mission, follow the Mission Sequence laid out in Arks of Omen: Abaddon, with the following
additional rules:

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. In the Determine Mission step, use the table below to determine which mission to play instead of the one found in the book. cn
All of the missions in this issue use the additional Warp-infected Entity tiles; the rules for these can be found on below. In the Create
the Battlefield and Place Objective Markers step, the Warp-infected Entity tiles are placed face down and shuffled, before each is
randomly placed face down on the battlefield (without either player looking at the tiles face), with one on each of the marked Warp-
infected Entity Zones.

BOARDING ACTION MISSIONS

D6 _______ MISSION_______
1 Dominate the Darkness (pg 34)
2 Stake The Claim (pg 36)
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3 Bitter Contest (pg 38)
4 Baited Defence [pg 40)

5 Cast Down Their Idol (pg 42)

6 Last Holdout (pg 44)

WARP-INFECTED ENTITY TILES GO

The missions presented in this issue feature new pieces of terrain to include on your Boarding Action battlefields called Warp-
infected Entity tiles. On one face, these six tiles all feature a blank, featureless hole leading to the decks far below, the floor having
been ripped out in some past battle. The other face depicts different parts of the giant mutant entity that infests this untamed Ark.

At the start of the battle, all of these Warp-infected Entity tiles are placed on the battlefield face down as outlined above. The missions
rules will then specify at what points you should turn these tiles over and how many of them to do so. Only then will you discover
what parts of this unfathomable denizen strike where.

When placing a
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Warp-infected Entity tiles do not block visibility, and each time a model moves, at no point can any part of its base move across a
Warp-infected Entity tile, regardless of which side of the Warp-infected Entity tile is facing up.
- ste
The rules associated with each Warp-infected Entity tile are shown over the page.

mow 31
WAKnamiviEK
L 40.000 j

HYPNOTIC GAZE
Disturbing Presence: When this Warp-infected Entity tile is turned face up, any actions
being performed by units that are within 4" of and visible to this Warp-infected Entity tile
automatically fail, and any of those units that are Set to Defend or Set Overwatch are no longer
in either of those states. While a unit is within 4" of and visible to this Warp-infected Entity
tile, that unit cannot perform actions.

Malefic Gaze: While a unit is within 4" of and visible to this Warp-infected Entity tile, that
unit’s controlling player cannot re-roll any rolls made for that unit or models within it.

BARBED MAW-TENDRILS
Mindless Feeding: When this Warp-infected Entity tile is turned face up, and at the end of
the battle round, roll one D6 for each unit within 4" of and visible to this Warp-infected Entity
tile: on a 1, that unit suffers 2 mortal wounds; on a 2-5, that unit suffers 1 mortal wound.

FLAILING PSEUDOPODS
Mucal Mire: At the start of the Movement phase, roll one D6 for each unit within 4" of and
visible to this Warp-infected Entity tile: on a 1-3, until the end of the turn, halve the Move
characteristic of models in that unit and halve Advance and charge rolls made for it.

DISEASED VENT
Necrotic Exhalations: While a unit is within 4" of and visible to this Warp-infected Entity tile,
each time a model in that unit makes an attack, subtract 1 from that attacks hit roll.

HEAVING FLESH
Corrosive Emanations: Each time an attack is made that targets a unit within 4" of and visible
to this Warp-infected Entity tile, improve the Armour Penetration characteristic of that attack
by 1.

Kill It, Burn It, Destroy It: At the end of a player s turn, if they have one or more units within
1" of this Warp-infected Entity tile, they can select one of those units to attack the mutant
entity at this Warp-infected Entity tile. If they do so, roll one D6: on a 1-2, the attacking
unit fails and suffers 1 mortal wound; on a 3+, the attacking unit is successful. If the unit is
successful, the mutant entity is injured and recoils from the attack; remove all Warp-infected
Entity tiles from the battlefield. Then the Warp-infected Entity tiles are placed face down and
shuffled, before each is randomly placed face down on the battlefield (without either player
looking at the tiles face), with one on each of the marked Warp-infected Entity Zones. Finally,
roll two D6s, re-rolling any duplicates or any that correspond to the Warp-infected Entity tile
position that was just attacked; turn those Warp-infected Entity tiles face up.

32 WHITE DWARF
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BOARDING ACTION MISSION
DOMINATE THE DARKNESS
MISSION BRIEFING
Warsmith Czagra had minutely plotted his mastering of the
Herald of Misery. Throughout the Ark of Omen, his sub­
commanders pushed forward to claim the vessels vital systems
and purge the surrounding decks of savage denizens. Ever was the
ship-sized monstrosity a threat to all as it heaved its way through
the Arks metal flesh. Where it could not be avoided, desperate
efforts were made to drive it from secured areas.
MISSION RULES
Predatory Mutant Beast: At the start of the first battle round,
turn the Warp-infected Entity tiles in locations 2 and 5 face
up. From the second battle round onwards, at the start of the
battle round, roll two D6s, re-rolling any duplicates or any that
correspond to a Warp-infected Entity tile that is already face up;
turn those Warp-infected Entity tiles face up.
Underdog Bonus: If a player receives an Underdog Bonus, that
player starts the battle with 1 additional Command point.
34 WHITE DWARF
OBJECTIVES
SEIZE THE ARK'S SYSTEMS
Progressive Objective
Without control of the Arks insane and daemon-twisted systems,
the agglomerate vessel would be going nowhere - leaving its
would-be master unable to fulfil his side of Abaddons bargain.
At the end of each player s Command phase, the player whose
turn it is scores 5 victory points for each of the following
conditions they satisfy (for a maximum of 15 victory points):
• They control one or more objective markers.
• They control two or more objective markers.
• They control more objective markers than their
opponent controls.
This objective cannot be scored in the first battle round. In the
fifth battle round, the player who has the second turn does not
score any victory points at the end of their Command phase;
instead, at the end of their turn, they score 5 victory points for
each of the above conditions they satisfy (for a maximum of 15
victory points).
RECOIL IN PAIN
Progressive Objective
Though seemingly mindless, the gigantic mutant entity posed
lethal risks as it lashed out instinctively. Only the most devastating
wounds that gouged huge craters in its flesh reached its twisted
senses and drove it back. Such triumphs were short-lived, as its
pulsating and writhing mass re-knit such rents with ease.
Each time a unit from a player s army successfully attacks the
mutant entity (see Heaving Flesh, pg 32), that player scores 10
victory points.
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WHITE DWARF 35
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BOARDING ACTION MISSION
STAKE THE CLAIM
MISSION BRIEFING
Lurking within a deep chamber that served as both the Arks
bridge and the creatures lair was the daemonic Ferryman of the
Herald of Misery, a being supposedly bound to obey the Arks
master. Yet locating the Ferrymans chamber was no easy feat.
Czagras cybertheurges discovered a chain ofpsychic keystones
whose activation, they divined, would unveil the Ferrymans
location. The Warsmith deployed some of his most brutal boarding
parties to crush anything that barred his way to them.
MISSION RULES
Lurking Mutant Beast: At the start of the first battle round,
turn the Warp-infected Entity tiles in locations 3 and 4 face
up. From the second battle round onwards, at the start of
the battle round, roll one D6, re-rolling if it corresponds to a
Warp-infected Entity tile that is already face up; turn that Warp-
infected Entity tile face up.
Underdog Bonus: If a player receives an Underdog Bonus, that
player starts the battle with 1 additional Command point.
36 WHITE DWARF
OBJECTIVES
KEYSTONE CONTROL
Progressive Objective
While some of the Arks savage denizens avoided the unnatural
emanations of the warp-attuned keystones, others were drawn
to them. They defended their territories with wild avarice or
fanatical devotion, while the Iron Warriors strove to eradicate
them in mass culls.
At the end of each player s Command phase, the player whose
turn it is scores 5 victory points for each of the following
conditions they satisfy (for a maximum of 20 victory points):
• They control one or more objective markers.
• They control two or more objective markers.
• They control more objective markers than their
opponent controls.
• They control the Prime objective marker.
This objective cannot be scored in the first battle round. In the
fifth battle round, the player who has the second turn does not
score any victory points at the end of their Command phase;
instead, at the end of their turn, they score 5 victory points for
each of the above conditions they satisfy (for a maximum of 20
victory points).
TERRITORIAL RIVAL
End Game Objective
Whether the feral champion of one of the Arks pack-like tribes or
an ambitious rival seeking to rise in the Warsmiths favour, enemy
leaders were regarded as worthy offerings to the Dark Gods as well
as strategically sound targets.
At the end of the battle, each player scores 10 victory points if
their opponents Warlord is destroyed.
 *

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mow 37
WAKnAmmEK
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BOARDING ACTION MISSION

BITTER CONTEST
MISSION BRIEFING
As the Warsmiths strike forces pushed ever deeper into the Arks
bowels, through fragment after fragment of crushed and twisted
wrecks, encounters with the immense beast became sudden
and unheralded. Even as the Iron Warriors evaded its clutches,
there were ferocious battles with increasingly bold or desperate
denizens. They were as eager to expel the Legionaries from
their domain as Czagras warriors were to carve out new bases
of operations.
At the end of each player s Command phase, the player whose
turn it is scores 5 victory points for each of the following
conditions they satisfy (for a maximum of 25 victory points):
• They control one or more objective markers.
• They control two or more objective markers.
• They control more objective markers than their
opponent controls.
• They control both objective markers labelled A.
• They control both objective markers labelled B.

MISSION RULES
Lunging Mutant Beast: From the second battle round onwards,
at the start of the battle round, roll three D6s, re-rolling any
duplicates or any that correspond to a Warp-infected Entity tile
that is already face up; turn those Warp-infected Entity tiles
face up.
This objective cannot be scored in the first battle round. In the
fifth battle round, the player who has the second turn does not
score any victory points at the end of their Command phase;
instead, at the end of their turn, they score 5 victory points for
each of the above conditions they satisfy (for a maximum of 25
victory points).

Underdog Bonus: If a player receives an Underdog Bonus, that

player starts the battle with 1 additional Command point.

OBJECTIVES
EMPIRE BUILDING
Progressive Objective

As they sought to expand their territories or lay claim to

strategically significant sites, both forces attempted to establish
cohesive power bases.

38 WHITE DWARF
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WHITE DWARF 39
_______
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BOARDING ACTION MISSION
BAITED DEFENCE
MISSION BRIEFING
Ruthlessly analytical, Czagras Iron Warriors learned to read some
of the mindless beasts telltale signs and attempted to identify areas
in which it was particularly active. Their coldly calculating ability
to weaponise their chosen battlefield saw them lure their enemies
into dangerous reach of the creature in numerous confrontations.
MISSION RULES
Mutant Beast Territory: Before the battle, in the Create the
Battlefield and Place Objective Markers step, instead of placing
the Warp-infected Entity tiles randomly, the Defender looks at
each of the Warp-infected Entity tiles and secretly places each
one face down on one of the relevant Warp-infected Entity
Zones that does not yet have its Warp-infected Entity tile. From
the second battle round onwards, at the start of the battle round,
roll two D6s, re-rolling any duplicates or any that correspond
to a Warp-infected Entity tile that is already face up; turn those
Warp-infected Entity tiles face up.
Dug In and Readied: The Defender has the first turn.
Underdog Bonus: If a player receives an Underdog Bonus, at
the start of the first battle round, that player can select one unit
from their army to make a Normal Move of up to 6".
40 WHITE DWARF
OBJECTIVES
TERRITORIAL CAPTURE
Progressive Objective
The regions of the Ark in which the mutant entity was most active
were viewed as blessed with dark power by some of the denizens.
To others, they afforded the opportunity to plunder the chasms
opened up by the beast’s passage. The Iron Warriors, meanwhile,
saw only the need topurge these regions of resistance and to
continue the grinding acquisition ofyet more of a vessel they
already viewed as belonging to Czagra.
From the second battle round onwards, at the end of each
player s turn, the player whose turn it is scores 5 victory points
for each of the following conditions they satisfy (for a maximum
of 15 victory points):
• They control one or more objective markers.
• They control two or more objective markers.
• They control more objective markers than their
opponent controls.
AGGRESSIVE LINEBREAKERS
End Game Objective
Spurred on by vengeance, bloodshed or whispered urgings in their
minds, forces of all kinds sought to break their foes’ battle lines or
die trying.
At the end of the battle:
• The Defender scores 5 victory points for each Prime
objective marker they control.
• The Attacker scores 10 victory points for each Prime
objective marker they control.
 LU
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i /s« 1 asfe WHITE DWARF 41

 BOARDING ACTION MISSION
CAST DOWN THEIR IDOL
MISSION BRIEFING
As Czagras warriors punched brutally through one wreck
fragment after another, they learned from the slaves they took
of the deification of the mutant monstrosity by some cults of
denizens. Against these foes, Czagra orchestrated devastating
assaults that focused on inflicting violent and hugely symbolic
wounds on the creature wherever its bulk appeared. To the cults
who opposed him, the message was clear: there was room for only
one object of awe and fear on the Herald of Misery, and that was
Czagra himself.
42 WHITE DWARF
MISSION RULES
Rampant Mutant Beast: At the start of the first battle round,
turn all Warp-infected Entity tiles face up.
Vanguard Fanatics: Once the first battle round has started, the
Defender cannot use their Patrol Entry Zones when setting up
any Strategic Reserve units from their army in an Entry Zone.
Maul the Beast: The Attacker can attack any Warp-infected
Entity tile, as outlined in the Kill It, Burn It, Destroy It ability
on pg 32, not just the Heaving Flesh tile. Each time the Attacker
successfully attacks the mutant entity in this manner, that tile is
turned over, and the sequence ends - the mutant entity does not
recoil from the attack, and all other Warp-infected Entity tiles
remain as they are.
Underdog Bonus: If a player receives an Underdog Bonus, that
player starts the battle with 1 additional Command point.
OBJECTIVES
SUBJUGATION OF BELIEF
End Game Objective
Every plume of tainted gore and every severed proboscis eroded
the faith of the monstrous entity’s worshippers, while every failure
strengthened their belief in its abhorrent omnipotence.
At the end of the battle:
• The Attacker scores 15 victory points for each Warp-infected
Entity tile that is face down.
• The Defender scores 15 victory points for each Warp-
infected Entity tile that is face up.
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Entry Zone Entry Zone Entry Zone Entry Zone

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?SLMH WHITE DWARF 43

WMKnMmiviEK
L_______ 40.000________ i

BOARDING ACTION MISSION

LAST HOLDOUT
MISSION BRIEFING
Desperate survivors were hunted mercilessly through the Arks
shifting geometries by ceaseless attackers and pushed back
to their last-ditch holdout. Death was on the air, a bloodlust
that saturated the Arks very fabric. The hunters roared their
aggression, and the defenders, with nothing left to lose, prepared
to sell their lives as dearly as possible. The deckplates groaned and
bulged, the massive entity within seething with hunger.
MISSION RULES
Thrashing Mutant Beast: At the start of the battle round, roll
three D6s, re-rolling any duplicates; turn those Warp-infected
Entity tiles face up. From the second battle round onwards, at
the start of the battle round, turn any face-up Warp-infected
Entity tiles face down and any face-down tiles, turn face up.
From the second battle round onwards, at the end of each
player s turn, the player whose turn it is scores 5 victory points
for each of the following conditions they satisfy (for a maximum
of 10 victory points):
• They control one or more objective markers.
• They control two or more objective markers.
STATEMENT OF DOMINION
End Game Objective
The final sweeping purge was a statement to the Dark Gods and
to the spirit of the Ark itself. Mastery, it proclaimed, is seized by
the strong.
At the end of the battle, each player scores 10 victory points for
each objective marker they control.

Underdog Bonus: If a player receives an Underdog Bonus, that

player starts the battle with 1 additional Command point.

OBJECTIVES
BLOOD-SOAKED CONTROL
Progressive Objective

In the battle for control of the Ark, it was not enough to simply
engage the enemy and rout those with cowardice in their hearts.
The eradication of the foe needed to be methodical, structured
and thorough. Every bolthole needed to be seized and every
chamber purged.

4.
As

44 WHITE DWARF
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WHITE DWARF 45
 WARHAMMER
40.000 /

ECHOES FROM
THE WARP
/
I

Prep the assault boats - it’s time for a BoardincjJf ion

I ve had the distinct pleasure of being release of something a little bit special, and, if
9 given the opportunity to write a number you will indulge me for a few hundred words,
a of these columns over the last year or so. I will endeavour to explain why.
I Normally, they have taken the form of
introductions to various elements of the rules A few weeks back, Arks of Omen: Abaddon
development cycle, providing a look into the hit the shelves, and with this book came a
thought processes that work to create the whole new way to experience the dangers of
tabletop experience that is Warhammer the dark millennium. Found within its pages
40,000. This month, however, marks the are the core rules for playing a new format
DUNCAN WAUGH
Duncan is one of the
games developers in the
Warhammer 40,000 studio.
His latest project was
writing the rules for
Boarding Actions, which
enable you to fight battles
in the cramped confines of
a starship. This may
explain why he keeps
looking up nervously at
the air vents.

46 WHITE DWARF

that we call Boarding Actions. It uses the
recent space hulk terrain to create games of
Warhammer 40,000 at the 500 points level,
featuring exact map layouts, bespoke army
construction rules and a focus on smaller,
more intimate battles.
This is all well and good, but what is playing
Boarding Actions actually like? I have to
preface this by stating outright that lam...
well, I’m biased. And not even just a little bit.
I’ve been involved in this hobby for over
thirty years now and writing rules for nearly
a third of that time; in all of that, I struggle to
think of many game experiences I have
enjoyed as thoroughly as the one provided by
this way of playing. Throughout the hundreds
of hours poured into its playtesting, Boarding
Action games have been consistently
entertaining and engaging. So with that out
of the way, I will tell you some tales of brutal,
tactical combat, of belligerents battling their
way through a series of tight, claustrophobic
environments and of some truly nail-biting
final turns.
THE PLAYING EXPERIENCE
The first thing that strikes you in Boarding
Actions is the pacing; each turn is tense and
eventful, filled with critical moments. Every
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unit, be they the lowliest of grunts or the
most elite of warriors, is critical; you have so :es
few pieces in play that each of them is vital to LE
!<
the success of your mission. In the first turn,
jockeying for position, securing critical
corridors, and getting blocking units into
position are all key, as in the following turn
things will generally get very loud and very
violent extremely quickly. During our
extensive internal playtesting, we’ve seen a
really interesting shift in players’ behaviour
compared to normal play, with many a gamer,
for example, using their Command points to
re-roll a critical Advance roll in the early
stages of the battle.
And that ties in to an important aspect of this
game: every distance matters. The difference
between managing to get visibility on a
target, thereby letting you charge them, or
just squeezing into the tighter control ranges
needed for objectives can turn a game
completely in your favour. Can you get your
LU
fleeing, critically injured warlord behind
some bodyguards, saving them from the
vicious fusillade following them down the
corridor? What about that open doorway;
can your last defender in an objective room
cover the distance to that open door and slam
it shut to prevent the enemy from taking it?
WHITE DWARF 47
l WARHAMMER
40,000
Games of Boarding Actions are full of
high-energy, knife-edge narrative moments
like these, and that comes about because the
board, and the mission itself, provides so
much character. This is, in large part, due to
the fact that the terrain layouts in each
mission are set, allowing us as designers to
tailor the experience in a very bespoke
manner. And each of these maps has had
hours upon hours poured into its design,
going through multiple rounds of playtesting
in the process. Every wall, every door, every
objective is in its place for a particular reason.
Sometimes this makes for corridors that are
tight and restrictive, perfect bottlenecks that
can be used to hem the enemy in. By the
same token, they can also offer a pathway
straight into enemy territory that is relatively
safe from incoming shots. Connecting
passageways can provide escape routes, but
every doorway is a speed bump, making
effective manoeuvrability highly varied.
Conversely, the more open areas can also
provide safety if your army comprises a large
amount of infantry, as they will be able to
support one another far more effectively with
overlapping fields of Overwatch fire and
layers of defence.
48 WHITE DWARF
MISSIONS
Arks of Omen: Abaddon features nine
balanced missions, with mirrored or rotated
layouts ensuring absolute parity between the
players. Yet each of these battles plays very
differently from its fellows. Some are highly
focused on the intricacies of the layout, with
relatively simple objectives attached to them,
while others go heavily into the unique
special rules that a void-based conflict can
offer. These range from the ever-present
danger of sudden depressurisation to the
ongoing effects of a rapidly escalating reactor
meltdown bathing the battlefield in
debilitating radiation.
The unique possibilities offered by the terrain
- with its opening and closing doors, and
modular design - has offered us as game
designers unparalleled ability to provide
unique and tailored experiences to you, the
player. This has made it easier than ever to
capture the narrative hooks offered by the
Warhammer 40,000 universe, mixed in with
the ability to ensure with absolute certainty
that you will find a wide variety of play
experiences between the missions within
each and every book in the Arks of Omen
series.
 CK
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ARMY COMPOSITION Above is an example of a Blood

There are a small number of additional rules BOARDING PATROL DETACHMENT
related to playing in such close confines,
ensuring that things work smoothly. These HQ TROOPS
changes offer some additional tactical depth 0-1 0-3
Angels Boarding Patrol
Detachment created for
Boarding Action games.
ELITES
0-3

8 > *
suitable to the scale of the much smaller
conflicts.

Some of these changes affect how you build

your army. The army lists presented in the
codex books have received a small number of
adjustments (which can be downloaded from
the Warhammer Community website) to
ensure that everything is balanced. However,
outside of these downloads, all you need to
play are your datasheets and the small
number of Stratagems and Enhancements
found within Arks of Omen: Abaddon.
Because players do not use any of the
Stratagems, Relics or Warlord Traits found in
their codexes (they simply aren’t balanced for
games of this size and layout), future
instalments in the series will include small,
cut-down rules sets for each of the games
Factions, featuring a limited number of
bespoke Stratagems and Enhancements.
These have been tailor-made to really bring
out the flavour of these small-scale
engagements. But, crucially, their scope and
breadth have been kept to an appropriate
level, ensuring the game will always be quick
and fast-paced to play. Indeed after the first
few games, you should find it easy to fight
your way through Boarding Action battles
within an hour!
I hope this article has encouraged you to give
Boarding Actions a shot. Why not head down
to your local Warhammer store and see if you
FUTURE ECHOES
can get a demo game in? There are a whole If you've got an idea you
lot of Arks out there, and the Imperium would like to see explored
needs every defender it can get if it is to in Echoes From the Warp,
let us know, and we will
survive what’s coming for it... get on the voxtothe40K
team straight away!
team@whitedwarf.co.uk

WHITE DWARF 49
1 «■ V A Ml ■ A » AB
WAKHA|V|I*IEK
40, non
CLOSE QUARTERS
Actions, doors and ACTIONS, DOORS AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN
everything else you In this article, we are going to take a look at
some general principles to take with you into
need to know about your first few games of Boarding Actions -
fighting in a approaches that will be relevant regardless of
spaceship! the Faction you are playing. While the Core
Rules of Boarding Actions are almost entirely
the same as typical games of Warhammer
40,000, the few differences introduce many
new subtleties to the game that will affect
everything from your army construction to
individual model placement (for more on
this, see this issues Echoes From the Warp).
THE MUSTERING MIX
When constructing your Boarding Patrol (as
armies are known in Boarding Actions), it
can be incredibly tempting to load up on all
the goodies: Terminators, Possessed,
Sorcerers, you name it - anything and
everything to strike terror into the hearts of
50 WHITEDUUARF
your foes. But be careful! Not only will you
quickly reach the points limit but, while these
sorts of units are all downright punishing on
the tabletop, they lack one key ingredient: the
Objective Secured ability.
It is only through units with this crucial
ability that players will be able to seize control
of objectives and then be able to move off
them, taking the fight to the enemy and
pushing them back, away from these critical
parts of the battlefield. Due to the heavy
restrictions on visibility involved in the maps,
it simply isn’t possible to keep a unit sitting
on a backfield objective while hammering
away at your opponent s forces from afar. And
the last thing you want is to have a big, heavy
hitter being unable to get stuck in at a crucial
location because they are needed to babysit
an important objective elsewhere.

So, when mustering your army, make sure to
have at least some core troopers in your force
who can take control of these vital areas
while being protected by your more robust
elements. A good rule of thumb is to ensure
you have a minimum of two units (or ideally
three, depending on their own resilience)
with the Objective Secured ability.
THE GLOVES ARE OFF
Another facet for any matched play gamers to
keep in mind is that the Balance Dataslate
does not apply to Boarding Action games.
The battlefield is so different to that of a
typical Warhammer 40,000 one that many of
the same concerns are no longer relevant.
Instead, its raw and brutal piece trades, as
units desperately try to get off that one round
of shooting before the enemy closes the
distance and engages them in melee.
Besides the knock-on effect of removing
these rules adjustments, you will also find
that a lot of units that you might see less often
on the open battlefield find a new lease of life
in the twisting darkness of shipboard combat.
One example of this is the Electro-Priests in
Codex: Adeptus Mechanicus.
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For those unfamiliar with these, there are two
variants: the Fulgurites, who are brutal, melee
powerhouses, and the Corpuscarii, who trade
a chunk of that close-combat power for some
decent, but very short-ranged, shooting (a
mere 12”). On a typical battlefield, the
Fulgurites reign supreme, benefiting from
being a more focused tool for the job they are
often given, whereas the Corpuscarii tend to
be more situational in their application, DUNCAN WAUGH
generally requiring a degree of support and It's a rare occurrence, but
cross-unit coordination in order to really Duncan has successfully
managed to shoe-horn his
shine. In many of our Boarding Action face into a second article
games, however, the Corpuscarii have really in this issue. Curiously, the
come into their own, doing well at shredding picture above is actually
different to the one in
enemy units with their ranged fire before Echoes From the Warp, but
choosing whether to follow up on the same Duncan pulled exactly the
target or split their attention elsewhere with same expression.
Apparently someone keeps
their melee output, lending them a huge shutting doors on him.
degree of tactical flexibility.
This is just one example of many that we have
encountered across the very large number of
games that we have run, with players
enjoying the process of rediscovering their
own Factions as they adapt to the very
different environment that they find
themselves in.
WHITE DWARF 51
 WATCH YOUR PLACEMENT
You need to take extra care when moving
your models, for it is an unwise soldier who
opens up while their teammates are within
their field of fire. In Boarding Actions,
models block visibility to other models, so
you must always endeavour to plan your sight
lines carefully in order to take full advantage
of your surroundings without unduly
exposing yourself. This is particularly
important if the unit is going on Overwatch
(more on this later), as you need to watch out
for alternative, encircling routes that your
opponent might use in order to prevent your
troops from being able to bring all their
weapons to bear.

Facing the threat of the Assault Intercessors (A) charging their
position, the Necron Warriors (B) are set to fire Overwatch in an
effort to protect the corridor.
However, they failed to spot the threat of the closed Hatchway. The
Assault Intercessors (A) use this to advance without exposing
themselves and, once the Hatchway is opened, the Necron Warrior
on the left of his unit (B) prevents his teammates from shooting
through him, blunting the effectiveness of his unit's defensive fire.

This can also be used to your advantage,
however. If you see a dangerous threat
advancing down a corridor intent on flanking
or cutting off a weakened element of your
force, you can shove a hardy unit such as
Terminators in the way Then you will see
how quickly the tempo shifts as they are
forced to either seek alternate routes or face
the grind of cutting through the big block of
ceramite you have placed in their way.

With their Objective

Secured ability, the Assault I* Mt;
Intercessors (A) want to
move up and secure the
objective. However, the Il
Necron Warriors (B) have
taken up a commanding
position and will be able to
rain down some powerful
shots on them, potentially
destroying the already
weakened unit.

Spotting an opportunity,
the Space Marines player

1
moves up their Terminators
(A) to block the corridor,
putting their more durable
unit in harm's way to
protect the Assault
Intercessors (B) and take
control of the corridor.

52 WHITE DWARF

KNOCK, KNOCK
One of the key aspects to get used to in
Boarding Action games is that of pacing. For
the most part, doors can only be opened or
closed at the end of a player s Movement
phase. Sending a unit down a route that has
one or more doors along it can restrict how
far they can push forwards. Doors do,
however, make it easy to gain the benefits of
cover and can act as strategic bottlenecks in
melee fights, slowing the enemy’s offensive.
This means that you have to be much more
careful about how quickly you extend your
forces, especially when you also consider the
fact that actions such as Overwatch attacks
can only be performed by units that did not
Advance and that you can only declare
charges against targets that are visible to you.
Going too slow can make it easier for your
CK
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opponent to dictate control of the midfield,
but racing forwards without thought can set ■ Eb
CE
up your units to get hit hard with little in the
way of recourse.
So how do you put this into practice? Well,
there are several key principles to follow:
• Be aware of your opponents threat ranges.
This means how far each of their units can
move in one turn and where they will be
able to shoot or charge from those
positions. It is okay to leave units from
your force in these locations (indeed,
sometimes it will be necessary), especially
if it helps draw your opponent s units out
of their ideal set-ups. But the key is to try
to make sure you aren’t feeding them their
ideal targets and to always make sure that
you have the ability to hit back.
WHITE DWARF 53
WAR HAM HER
k______ 40.000_______ j
F

Don’t box units in. The missions are
designed with a high degree of
interconnectivity in mind, but there are
still areas with more restrictive
manoeuvrability. There are times when
sacrificing tactical flexibility by dedicating
a unit to a more specific path will pay
dividends, but you also have to keep in
mind that, with smaller units and some
good dice rolls by your opponent, it can
be possible for you to lose a vital anchor
piece in a single turn. When this happens,
you need to make sure that you have an
alternative unit on hand that you can
quickly divert to that part of the map. In
essence, try to make sure that each unit in
your army can do one of two jobs
depending on the outcome of your
opponent s next turn.
• Ensure a balance between pushing
forward aggressively to put pressure on
your opponent and moving more slowly
to secure important positions and firing
lanes. By putting heat on your foe at the
locations of your choosing, you will be
able to dictate the flow and shape of the
battle, forcing them to react to you.
However, you will still need to adapt to
their actions, and this is where some units
adopting a more patient, methodical
approach will be key. Remember it is a
five-turn game, and you want to be active
in each of those turns. Be careful,
however, as it can be easy to become too
reactionary, giving up the initiative in the
process.
ENSURE UNITS SUPPORT ONE ANOTHER
The ratio between mobile elements and
objectives is a tight one, with most battles
being decided along three or so main paths
through the map. If you can set up favourable
conditions for the first couple of engagements
(see the point about not overextending), this
can grant you far greater manoeuvrability
and flexibility in the later turns. In order to
achieve this, you should look for ways that
your units can position themselves in order
to support one another. The key to this is
using the unique corridor environments
found within Boarding Action battlefields to
your advantage, as shown in the examples
below and to the right.
THE FALLACY OF SUNK COSTS
Avoiding this is an issue in all wargames, but
it’s particularly crucial in games of Boarding
Actions where Command points are limited
and the small number of units can easily

Mutual Support: In this

instance, the Necrons
player took up a flexible,
commanding position,
dictating control over the
central corridor in their
previous turn. The Space §

w
Marines player still needs £

w
to advance forwards, I
however, even though this j
involves putting their units !
within charge range of the j
Lychguard (A). As such,
they move up their own I
melee unit (B) into the
jaws of their enemy. , i
Normally this would be
ill-advised and result in a j
quick and painful death for I
the Assault Intercessors.
Realising this threat, they j
also use their Intercessors I
unit (C), placing them on

w
Overwatch. This ensures I

QI
that, should the Lychguard I
i
attempt to attack the f
Assault Intercessors, the j llo^
Intercessors will be able to I
unload on them. While f
unlikely to kill them
outright, they should dent f
their numbers, improving [
the odds of the Assault j
Intercessors unit surviving I
to strike back. ;

54 WHITE DWARF
 CK
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That's Bait: The Necrons-
player has positioned their
<1
:c5
Lychguard (A) ready to (E
take out whoever moves
on to this objective marker.
With this in mind, the
Space Marines player
positions their already
weakened Assault
Intercessors (B) on the
objective with their more
powerful Aggressors (C)
ready to hit back at the
Lychguard should they go
after them. This puts the
Necrons player in a
difficult position - they are
faced with potentially
losing a significant portion
oftheir Lychguard to a
counter-attack from the
Aggressors unit
(essentially a poor
exchange killing off the
last of the Assault
Intercessors), or leaving
them on the objective and
letting their opponent
score the victory points
from it. Now, if the Necrons
player had another unit
they could redirect to this
area, that could
significantly change
things...

cause players to sink large portions of their

force into fulfilling relatively unimportant
tasks. It is inevitable that you will not win
every engagement, and you are going to lose
models. However, what matters is the overall
mission, and if you are able to turn that loss
into serving a purpose, then all the better.
Indeed, it can often be a good idea to jam a
sacrificial unit into position to hold up a key
corridor, even for just one turn if the timing
is spot on. With the pace and brutal nature of
a game at this scale, it is more important than
ever to learn when to dig in and when to let
things slide, brushing off the loss and moving
forward.

Now that you have some insight into the

different ways that Boarding Action games
play out on the tabletop, you will be able to
hit the ground running as you slice, burn and
purge your way through the many void craft
populating the war-torn galaxy.

DWARF 55
 I
Bl

I ■
■. \

*

MB hroughout the course of the Arks of Omen
storyline, we will be showcasing a key mission from
the Arks of Omen source books. This issue, we are
looking at The Pipeline mission from the first book
in the series, Arks of Omen: Abaddon.
The mission is a tricky one because players are awarded
bonus victory points for controlling opposing pairs of
objectives. It features a direct central corridor that provides
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crucial rapid mobility and reactive capability, but it can
also be easily blocked by a strong, durable unit. Each of the
objectives has a couple ot nearby Hatchways, making quick
charges against any units holding them a constant threat. =5
We join the battle at the start of the Attacker s turn, where
the Genestealer Cults player is faced with a few difficult
tactical decisions. Can they claim the eastern and western
objectives? Will they have to wait a battle round and
weather the storm? What would you do?

*•; -I?
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1
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1 - both the Intercessors and
Assault Intercessors pose a
threat to the western
objective, and the Attacker
only has a single unit on this
side of the board. They decide
to play for time, committing
their resources to breaking
the western flank. As a result,
they move their Aberrants
aggressively, hemming the
Assault Intercessors in the
doorway. This gives them a
direct approach to follow up
on the other unit of
Intercessors if things go their
way over the following turn.
2 - The Defender has taken up
a strong commanding stance
in the centre, from which they
can redirect their Aggressors
to aid the combat on either
flank and help shore up any
failing units. They also have
the option to strike forwards
into enemy territory if their
luck holds against the
Attacker's onslaught this turn.
3-The Attacker takes a
gamble, moving their Hybrid
Acolytes to open the door and
following up the move with a
charge against the
Intercessors holding the
objective. This leaves their
home objective unguarded -
a prime target for the
Aggressors. The Attacker
decides the enemy is unlikely
to reach it in a single move,
so, playing the odds, they
attack the eastern flank.
4 - Getting this unit, with its
ability to secure objectives,
onto the eastern objective is
key, but the unit can't take it
by themselves. So the Attacker |
moves them up in preparation 1
for securing the site next turn,
after the Acolyte Hybrids have
cleared the area.

WHITE DWARF 57
 DEADLY HANGAR
The Sneaky Ladz take on the Prodigal Sons in our series grand finale
■■I he corridors of the Gallowdark ring to
the sounds of furious battle once
more. For many months now, Astra
Militarum, T’au and Harlequin kill
teams have fought their way through its
darkened hallways in a bid to claim at least a
small part of it for their respective faction.
But it’s the Orks and Thousand Sons who
have truly dominated the ancient space hulk.
Now these bitter enemies clash one final time.
KILL TEAM... DISENGAGE!
With the White Dwarf team’s Gallowdark
expedition coming to a close this month (see
later in the mag), the Dwarfers decided to
end it with a Battle Report. They agreed that
Lyle and Matt - the WD Top Ops going into
the last stage of the campaign and by far the
most competent of the five gamers - should
play each other in the final battle.
58 WHITE DWARF
sk : (a 4"- 'X
* . •*
A.
After a quick chat with Elliot Hamer (the Kill
Team games developer), Lyle and Matt
decided to play the Deadly Hangar mission
from the Into the Dark core book (page 92).
Elliot s main reason for suggesting this
mission was because - aside from it being a
very balanced fight - you can use the Operate
Lights action to turn the lights on and off in
the hangar. The Orks and Thousand Sons
may actually end up fighting in the dark!
With this being the last game in the series, we
expected some high-end tactics from the two
players. As such, we’ve presented this Battle
Report with overhead maps to show what
Lyle and Matt are up to throughout the game.
Will this section of the Gallowdark be
conquered by the Prodigal Sons, or will it be
overrun by Da Sneaky Ladz? Turn the page to
get stuck into the action.
 LU

Sfe, . .

:'-x.
viiL

STRATEGIC EXPLORATION
Before the battle, the players drew a five of diamonds,
representing five Resource points available to fight
over in this final battle. Lyle as the Defender settled on
a corner section of the map for this game, as there
were territories next to it that could be plundered for
materials as well.
While Resource points were a material that both
players were interested in, there weren’t enough for
both of them to score the maximum number possible
at the end of the game. Those nearby territories could
be crucial!

_____

UJHITEDUJARF 59
 I

UCILLTEAIVh
0RKK0MMAND0S

DA SNEAKY LADZ
Lyle: For this battle, I’ve brought all the boyz.
This is the first time I’ve left both Zippa and
Pop behind, but there are reasons for this.
I Zippa is great at taking objectives, but worse
A than awful in combat, and I’ll need operatives
that can fight to deal with Matt’s Sorcerers.
Pop, whether he does his job (by which I
mean exploding) or not, is almost always a
LYLE LOWERY casualty early on, which again means I’ll have
Lyle's proven to be the
most able tactician out of one fewer operative on the table. I need boots
the five Dwarfers in this on the ground for this mission, so boyz it is!
campaign, having won
most of his games. He
promises this has nothing In terms of equipment, I’ve given the
to do with the rules that dynamite to Bruze this time. He has the
have been added to his Thievin’ Git Battle Honour, which makes him
rulebook in crayon.
my most cost-effective dynamite carrier.
Grok has a stikkbomb to make him a bit
more frightening, while Reddik has a choppa
in case he ends up in combat. I gave the Shiny
Slugz to Dak - hopefully that API will be
useful against Matt’s power armour.
So what’s my plan? I’m going to keep the
lights turned off and do some sneakin’!
Keeping my team on Conceal orders, plus the
Skulk About Strategic Ploy, should keep my
boyz pretty safe. With the objectives, I plan to
let Matt reveal the ones on his side early on,
then make a move for the ones in the centre.
This should ensure that, when I inspect the
energy cells, I have a better chance of
revealing a good one. At least, that’s the plan!

NUMBER OPERATIVE OPERATIVE TYPE NOTES RANK

Power Klaw, Shifty, Resilient,
GrokThroatslitta Nob Stikkbomb [2EP]
TAC OP TYPE

Dak Dakka Boy Ambusher, Shiny Slugz [SEP] 13 Veteran

Seek and
Rout Breacha Boy VAce
Destroy
Ragga Snipa Boy Sharpshooter, Calculated 21 Ace

Mouf Comms Boy

Faction Tac Zuka Rokkit Boy Ambusher, Calculated

Get Stuck In!

60 WHITE DWIIRF
 ■

■ I

THOUSAND SONS WARPCOVEN ILr"

PRODIGAL SONS
hi5

Matt: This is going to be a tough battle, but
then all of the games I’ve played against Lyle
have been tough! Let’s see if the Prodigal Sons
can step up to the mark and give his Orks a
thrashing in the final game.
First off, I’m taking all three of my Sorcerers,
and I’m tooling them up with Arcane Robes
to limit the damage that the Orks can do to
them. Sanakht Bekti also has Animate Avians
to discourage Lyle from trying to get his
operatives into combat with him. Brother
Shen and Brother Metenh will provide
reliable firepower, with Shen having a High
Capacity Magazine for some useful re-rolls. I
also gave Metenh a Gargoyle Bayonet because
I
he’s likely to get quite close to the Orks, and I
want him to be able to hit back. Amen’ket
and P’Tra are there to inspect energy cells
and turn the lights on and off when required.
I also used my Herdstone to give Amen’ket a
Mutant Appendage. Tzeentch, in his wisdom,
gifted my champion with a mini arm for
opening doors.
MATT HUTSON
Matt's Thousand Sons -
My plan is to outmanoeuvre Lyle. If I can race particularly his cabal of
into the hangar quickly (my higher APL and Sorcerers - have left the LU
other Dwarfers cowering
extra arms should help with opening doors), in fear during their
I can pin the Orks down on his side of the lunchtime gaming
board and inspect the energy cells at my sessions. Or maybe they're
just scared of Matt - he is
leisure. I think Sanakht Bekti is going to have 7 2", after all.
to do a lot of killing.

hlv!

WHITE DWARF 61
 1 WARHAMMER I
I
...Jt 40.000 ,

KILLTIEAMj
DEPLOYMENT

AN OPPORTUNITY FOR LOOTIN'

Da Sneaky Ladz approach a large hangar intent on lootin’ whatever may be inside it. But
the Prodigal Sons have discovered the same enticing room. Violence is imminent.

he Deadly Hangar mission features one very large
room in the centre of the board, surrounded by a
corridor. Within the hangar are 10 energy cells
(indicated by orange and black objective markers),
which have to be inspected by the players. Should the
energy cell be defective, it is (unsurprisingly) worth
nothing, and the objective marker is removed from the
game. If it proves to be operational, the player who
inspected it scores 1 VP. If, at the end of the battle, an
operative controls an active objective marker, it is worth
an additional 3VP. Lyle and Matt will, of course, be intent
on scoring these valuable victory points.
WHO TURNED OUT THE LIGHTS?
The energy cells are situated in a room with very little in
the way of cover. However, the lights can be turned off in
the hangar, enabling operatives to sneak about in the dark.
This means they count as being in Cover when far enough
from an enemy operative, which is ideal if they are also on
Conceal orders. The problem is, there’s a control panel (a
light switch) at each end of the room, so both players can
use actions to turn the lights on or off. To help you keep
track of a fighter s status, we’ve included an info panel on
each image to show you what order they’re on, if they’re
injured and if the lights are on where they are.

Energy Cell - Mission Objective Thousand Sons Barricade Thousand Sons Barricade

Ork Barricade

<
L

io
wfei <f 1 ' '! ' • fl
4 W.
. ®
•

?. i

**
*0/
I !*’ F
I wi
jJ A‘
Mil ■ -

A
it wi law
◄

Control Panel
Control Panel Energy Cell - Mission Objective Ork Barricade (LightSwitch)
(LightSwitch)

62 WHITE DWARF
 ACTIVE OPERATIVES

■
’IT H
A4 Bl
H
A3
J
SYMBOL OPERATIVE

Merhet Maat
OPERATIVE TYPE
Sorcerer
ORDER

t
B3 B3 ! ® Brother Shen Rubric Marine Icon Bearer

■ 3
o P'Tra Tzaangor Fighter
o
<9’“
Thousand
Sanakht Bekti Sorcerer
Orks
Drop Zone Sons
G Amonhep Rhan Sorcerer ft
■
Drop Zone

Em ® Brother Metenh Rubric Marine Gunner ft

® Amen'ket Tzaangor Champion
0 Nob ft
© Slasha Boy ft
LU
| 33
*3 Bl A4
B3
I ©
v Breacha Boy
ft
ft
II
O Snipa Boy ft
© Burna Boy ft
■ ■ .7 Comms Boy ft
KEY 0 *
Door Depleted Objective Uninvestigated O Rokkit Boy ft
irricade o Active Objective Objective 0 Boy ft

If READY FOR
SNEAKIN'
ft"
As the Defender, Lyle
deploys first. He places his
assault specialists - Bruze,
Jakand Reddik-atthe
south-west corner of the
board (1). Ragga stands
ready to enter the hangar
and take up a sniping
position, while Mouf lurks
nearby ready to give the
Snipa +1 to his APL.

Lyle places Dak, Zarbutz

and Zuka at the north-west
corner of the hangar (2).
Grok and Gordok (wearing
his scuba mask) lurk
behind them ready to
storm into the hangar.

All of the Orksare

deployed on Conceal
orders.

SORCEROUS
INTENTIONS
Matt deploys second. He
positions Sanakht Bekti,
Amonhep Rhan and
Brother Metenh in the
south-east corner of the
board next to the hangar
door (3).

He deploys the rest of his

team - Merhet Maat, P'Tra,
Amen'ket and Brother
Shen next to the
north-east door (4).
Brother Shen will have the
‘o
dubious honour of
entering the hangar first.

All of the Thousand Sons

are deployed on Conceal
orders, except Amen'ket.
Matt revels the Tac Op Scry
Secret. Lyle decides that
Mouf has the secret 'cos
he probably knows stuff!

WHITE DWARF 63
 I
[KILL TEAM j
4

TURNING POINT ONE

INTO THE DARK

The Prodigal Sons enter the hangar first, but the Orks aren’t far behind them. Both sides
immediately begin to inspect the energy cells to see if any of them are still working.

■ M att took the first activation of the game, moved
I* fl Brother Shen into the hangar and immediately
I k turned off the lights. ‘Lyle’s got more operatives
Iff than I have, and I want to avoid getting shot for
as long as possible,’ explained Matt. ‘It’s the Rokkit Boy
and the Snipa I’m worried about.’
Lyle took full advantage of the darkness to move his
leader, Grok, into the hangar. The Nob was closely
followed by Gordok - one of his ‘more expendable’ boyz
- who took advantage of the gloom to inspect an energy
cell. Despite being out in the open, he couldn’t be shot due
to the lights being off. Unless, of course, Matt decided to
turn the lights back on later in the Turning Point!
Matt used both Merhet Maat and Sanakht Bekti to inspect
energy cells, too. Sanakht Bekti discovered his to be active.
‘Tzeentch told him where to look,’ explained Matt. The
Sorcerer didn’t have enough action points to pick it up
and get into cover, so Matt decided to play things safe and
move both of his Sorcerers behind his barricades.
Meanwhile, Lyle continued to open doors and move his
Orks in from the north of the hangar. They all, sensibly,
remained on Conceal orders.

MORE POWER!
The first time an operative
performs the Inspect
Energy Cell action, the
player rolls one D6. On a 6,
the energy cell is active,
earning that player a
victory point (and more
victory points later if they
can hold on to it!).
However, if they don't roll a
6, the energy cell is
removed from the board.
The next time either player
uses an operative to
inspect an energy cell,
they roll one additional 06
for each objective marker
that has been removed
from the board. This means
that the objectives that are
inspected last are more
likely (but not guaranteed)
to be in working order.

Matt activates Brother

Shen (1). Because of his
proximity to Merhet Maat,
the Rubric Marine Icon
Bearer adds Ito his API,
which he uses to open the
door. He walks slowly into
the hangar, moves straight
towards the Control Panel
and turns off the lights.

Merhet Maat follows

Brother Shen into the
hangar (2). He floats over
to the energy cell in the
north-east corner of the
board and performs the
Inspect Energy Cell
mission action (which
costs OAP, thanks to his
Mutant Appendage). The
energy cell proves to be
defective. Merhet Maat
then dashes into cover
with Brother Shen (3).

64 WHITE DUIfiRF
■a ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ORDER OF ACTIVATION

H SYMBOL OPERATIVE OPERATIVE TYPE ORDER

A4 Bl A3 ® Brother Shen Rubric Marine Icon Bearer f 2
| 83 B3 I : Comms Boy e
Orks Thousand
a @
©
Merhet Meat Sorcerer
■ DakkaBoy
e
t
Drop Zone Sons
Amen'ket
EQ
Tzaangor Champion
■
Drop Zone

Grok Throatslitta ; Nob e

o P'Tra Tzaangor Fighter e
o 0 e
Gordok | Boy
o Sanakht Bekti Sorcerer t
J 83 83 ! 0 Zarbutz I B°y e LU
A3 81 A4 ® Brother Metenh Rubric Marine Gunner e
B Q
O
Zuka
Amonhep Rhan
Rokkit Boy
Sorcerer
t
e
LU
■ ■ ■

■ O Ragga ; SnipaBoy e
KEY v Bruze BreachaBoy e
Door Depleted Objective Uninvestigated © Jak ; Slasha Boy e
O Objective © Reddik i Burna Boy e

Lyle activates Grok

Throatslitta (4). He uses
Get it Dun! to add Ito
Zuka's APL. He then opens
the door and strolls into
the hangar. He looks at the
lights for a bit but decides
to leave them off.

Gordok runs into the

hangar and performs the
Inspect Energy Cell action
on the objective in the
north-west corner (5).
Because it's the second
objective to be inspected,
he rolls two D6 for it, but it
also proves to be broken.

Matt activates Sanakht

Bekti. He opens the door,
moves into the room and
inspects the energy cell
near the centre (6). It still
has power, earning Matt
1VP! 'This is a really poor
place for my Sorcerer to be
standing if Lyle decides to
turn on the lights' points
out Matt. So he spends 1CP
to play Capricious Plan,
enabling him to dash
Sanakht Bekti into cover
behind a barricade.

'Matt's done exactly what

we both mentioned we
would do in our intro chat,'
says Lyle. 'He's gone for
one of the middle
objectives as early as
possible so that he can
save the ones nearer his
drop zone for later in the
game. I'm definitely
concerned about the
speed of his Sorcerers,
which may as well have
4APL each thanks to his
mutations and Tactical
Ploys.'

WHITE DWARF 65
 I WARHAMMER

LKIIlTEAMj
1
' 40.000

TURNING POINT ONE (CONTINUED)

FIRST BLOOD
As the Orks sneak into the darkened hangar, the Thousand Sons begin to uncover more
working energy cells. Both sides start to make flanking manoeuvres.

Dak having opened the door in the north-
■ I west corner of the hangar, Lyle moved Zarbutz
|||| into the room and dashed him towards one of
the central objectives. As long as Matt doesn’t
turn on the lights, he should be fine,’ said Lyle, looking a
little bit dubious about the safety of his Ork Boy.
Fortunately for Lyle, Matt chose to move Brother Metenh
(wielding his much-feared warpflamer) along the
southern wall outside the hangar.
While most of the Orks moved into the hangar, Lyle
decided to switch Zuka on to Engage orders (the
Ambusher rule has caught most of the Dwarfers out at
one point or another during this campaign). The Rokkit
Boy successfully incapacitated Amen’ket (see below) and
forced Matt to keep P’Tra behind cover to avoid him
suffering a similar fate.
With one operative down, Matt was now even more
outnumbered. His last action was to move his third
Sorcerer into the hangar to inspect an energy cell. It
proved to be in good condition, scoring him a second
victory point. At the end of the first Turning Point, the
scores were even!

Amen'ket moves along the

top edge of the hangar bay
wall and into cover behind
the barricade that Matt
placed there (1).

Lyle activates Zuka the

Rokkit Boy (2). He uses his
Ambusher Battle Honour to
change his Conceal order
to Engage, then fires at
Amen'ket, who can be shot
because he is also on an
Engage order. He scores
two critical hits, which
Matt fails to save. The
Tzaangor Champion is
incapacitated by the
barrage of rokkits. 'I should
have read the scenario
rules properly,' says Matt. 'I
thought no one could be
shot at range if the lights
were out. As it turns out,
the lights aren't even off in
the corridor! Oops!.'

This activation also scores

Lyle 1 VP for the Shokk
Taktiks Tac Op because he
incapacitated an enemy
operative during the first
Turning Point.

Matt uses the higher APL

of his Sorcerers to move
Amonhep Rhan into the
hangar, dash him onto the
objective next to the
Control Panel and inspect
it (3). It turns out to be
active, earning Matt a
second victory point.
‘Those extra action points
are proving useful,’ he
says, cheerfully.

Off-screen, Brother Metenh

moves along the outside of
the hangar's southern wall,
while both Zarbutz and
Bruze enter the hangar
from the north.

66 WHITE DWARF
 ■ ■ ORDER OF ACTIVATION
SYMBOL OPERATIVE OPERATIVE TYPE

■■
ORDER
M Bl ■ Brother Shen Rubric Marine Icon Bearer
83 B3
I Comms Boy e
I Merhet Meat Sorcerer f
' I
3 o
Orks Thousand Dakka Boy e
Drop Zone Sons
Drop Zone ® Amen’ket
Grok Throatslitta *
P'Tra Tzaangor Fighter e

I B3
to
o 83 |
0
o
0
Sanakht Bekti
Zarbutz
Sorcerer
Boy e LU
A3 Bl A4 ® Brother Metenh Rubric Marine Gunner

I! o
o Amonhep Rhan
Rokkit Boy
Sorcerer
t <* LU
■ o Snipa Boy
V Breacha Boy
Door o Depleted Objective Uninvestigated © Slasha Boy
o Objective © Burna Boy e

Having had the door

opened for him by Mouf
(the Comms Boy is very
courteous for an Ork),
Ragga moves into the
hangar and inspects the
objective next to the
Control Panel (4). The
energy cell proves to be a
good one, earning Lyle 1VR

Lyle activates Jak, the

Slasha Boy, and runs him
along the southern edge of
the hangar (5). He is
closely followed by Reddik,
the Burna Boy (6). He
wisely keeps both of them
in cover as the lights
outside the hangar are
always on, and his
operatives can be shot if
they stand out in the open.
Tm hoping to outflank
Matt, but I'm not keen on
running at the Gunner with
the warpflamer,' says Lyle.

SCORE
KOMMANDOS
Energy cells found 1

Tac Ops
Rout 0
Shokk Taktiks 1
Get Stuck In! 0

SCORE 2
WARPCOVEN
Energy cells found 2

Tac Ops
Scry Secret 0
Sorcerous Ritual 0
Damage Limitation 0

Ml SCORE 2

WHITE DWARF
-----I-----------------------
KIIJ.TIEAM1f
$

TURNING POINT TWO

PUT THAT LIGHT OUT!

Da Sneaky Ladz go on the offensive in a bid to scrag a few of the Prodigal Sons, but the
trio of Sorcerers proves to be more than a match for the Kommandos.

MMI he start of the second Turning Point saw both Matt
and Lyle play Strategic Ploys. Matt picked Exalted
Astartes, while Lyle chose Dakka! Dakka! Dakka!
and Waaagh! ‘This is the turn when I go on the
offensive,’ explained Lyle. ‘Those Sorcerers scare me, and I
need to do whatever I can to take them down.’
Matt kicked off proceedings by getting Amonhep Rhan to
turn the lights back on. While most of the Orks were still
on Conceal orders and in Cover, Zarbutz was caught in
the open (we imagined the Ork trying his best to stay still
in the hope that no one would notice him!). He was hit by
a Doombolt and a salvo from an inferno boltgun but
somehow survived (though very badly injured).
Combat was the main order of the Turning Point, though.
Jak attacked Brother Metenh, but things didn’t go to plan
for Lyle when the Ork scored fewer hits than he would
have liked, and the Rubric Marine proved to be quite
adept in combat. In retaliation, Matt activated Sanakht
Bekti and launched him across the hangar and into
combat with Bruze. The fight was... one sided. However,
the Sorcerer was now stood very close to a lot of Orks,
several of which were in poking distance of a light switch.

Matt activates Amonhep

Rhan first and changes his
order to Engage. He moves
the Sorcerer next to the
Control Panel and turns
the lights back on (1)1 Matt
plays the Psychic Cabal
Tactical Ploy, enabling
Amonhep Rhan to borrow
Merhet Maat's Doombolt
psychic power. He casts it
on Zarbutz, the Ork Boy
standing very much in the
open under very bright
lights. The Sorcerer causes
just 3 damage to Zarbutz.

Sorcery over, Matt uses

another CP to play
Capricious Plan. Amonhep
Rhan dashes into cover
and Matt changes his
order back to Conceal,
making him much harder
to shoot.

68 WHITE DW
 i,S
ORDER OF ACTIVATION
I1'-,
SYMBOL OPERATIVE OPERATIVE TYPE ORDER is Z
Bl o AmonhepRhan Sorcerer e>
B3 B3 I o i Slasha Boy t
3
© Brother Shen Rubric Marine Icon Bearer e>o
0 Zarbutz ■ Boy •
o
Orks Thousand
Drop Zone
A Sons
e>
E2
Sorcerer
SB© 9*
Sanakht Bekti
■
Drop Zone

■ ; Comms Boy______ t o
® Merhet Maat Sorcerer

I
o o
® Brother Metenh
SmpaBoy_____
Rubric Marine Gunner
B3 B3
I 0
o
Gordok Boy e
A3 Bl A4 P'Tra Tzaangor Fighter e
B ©
latslitta | Nob
j Burna Boy
t
■ o I Rokkit Boy
KEY ® i DakkaBoy
Door o Depleted Objective Uninvestigated v t
o Objective Amen'ket Tzaangor Champion

Lyle activates Jak and

charges Brother Metenh
(2). He scores two hits and
a critical hit. He then turns
one of those normal hits
into a critical hit thanks to
the Waaagh! Strategic
Ploy. Matt also scores two
hits and a critical hit. A
series of blows and parries
are traded. This results in 5
damage being inflicted to
Brother Metenh and 4
■a damage to Jak. Lyle tries to
use the Slasha Boy's Dat
All You Got? rule, but he
causes no mortal wounds.

Matt activates Brother

Shen, who shoots Zarbutz
(3). He causes 6 damage,
leaving Zarbutz on just 1
wound. Brother Shen then
turns off the lights and
goes on guard using the
extra API he gains from
being near Merhet Maat. In
return. Lyle activates
Zarbutz, who inspects one
of the energy cells. It
proves to be defective.

Sanakht Bekti charges

Bruze. His combination of
combat buffs (Timewalker,
Vicious, Stalwart, Duellist,
Animate Avians and
Relentless) enable him to
kill Bruze outright (4).
However... Lyle uses the
Just a Scratch Tactical Ploy
(for free, thanks to his
Tactical Uplink) to ignore
one of Matt's critical hits.
But... Matt had the Exalted
Astartes Strategic Ploy in
play, so he fights again,
killing Bruze a second
time! He then uses 1CP to
play Capricious Plan to
change his Sorcerer's
order to Conceal.

WHITE DWARF 69
 I I
1
i KILL TEAM i
TURNING POINT TWO (CONTINUED)

DEATH IN THE DARK

With a Thousand Sons Sorcerer causing havoc in their midst, the Orks do everything they
can to take down the Heretic Astartes.

he sudden appearance of a Sorcerer in the middle of
his kill team left Lyle with little doubt about what he
| needed to do next. T have to take him out of action,’
I said Lyle. ‘Not only is he right among my operatives,
he’s also sitting next to objective markers that I haven’t
inspected yet. I can’t have Matt stealing them.’
The rest of Lyle’s activations saw him pour as much
firepower as he could into Sanakht Bekti. First Mouf shot
at him, then Ragga, then Gordok. But a well-timed bit of
healing from Merhet Maat kept the Sorcerer alive. So Lyle
impatiently charged with Grok. The Ork Nob inflicted a
few points of damage but was then incapacitated so
violently that he would have died twice over. In
retaliation, Lyle moved Reddik into the doorway and
unleashed his burna on Sanakht Bekti. He scored enough
wounds to incapacitate the Sorcerer, much to Lyle’s relief!
Elsewhere in the hangar, Brother Shen fired upon Mouf
but was in turn shot by Zuka. Unwatched by anyone,
Merhet Maat found a third operational energy cell for the
Thousand Sons while Dak looked at a light switch. The
second Turning Point ended with the Thousand Sons
taking a very slight lead in victory points.

Lyle activates Mouf and

steps him into the hangar.
Despite Sanakht Bekti
being on Conceal orders
and with the lights off,
Mouf is so close to him
that he is still able to shoot
the Sorcerer (1). He scores
four hits, two of which are
critical. Matt uses the
Sorcerer's Arcane Robes to
turn one of those critical
hits into a regular one, but
Sanakht Bekti still takes 4
damage.

Merhet Maat moves and

dashes behind the red
barricades towards the
southern edge of the
hangar (2). Matt uses the
Sorcerer's Mutant
Appendage to inspect the
energy cell, which turns
out to be a good one,
scoring him 1VP. Though
he wants to pick up the
energy cell, Matt instead
uses the Sorcerer to cast
Temporal Manipulation on
Sanakht Bekti, restoring
him back to full wounds.

Because of how Matt

positioned Sanakht Bekti
(in Cover, on Conceal and
just out of sight range
because of the lights being
off), Lyle is unable to leave
Ragga where he is and still
be able to shoot him. Lyle
changes the Snipa Boy's
orders to Engage, sidles
him just a bit closer to the
barricades and unleashes
his scoped big shoota at
the Sorcerer (3). He scores
five hits out of six dice,
causing 6 damage in total
(taking Sanakht Bekti
down to 7 wounds).

70 WHITE DWARF
 ORDER OF ACTIVATION
SYMBOL OPERATIVE OPERATIVE TYPE

SI
ORDER
M Bl A3 o Amonhep Rhan Sorcerer t ><*
I B3 B3 I o
© Brother Shen Rubric Marine Icon Bearer • ><*
3 o
Thousand e
o
Orks
Sons
Drop Zone
Sanakht Bekti Sorcerer
SSO Bp ■
Drop Zone
c
@ Merhet Maat Sorcerer e

I B3
o o B3
I
0
®
0
Brother Metenh Rubric Marine Gunner
f >V
e>o
e e
■ A3 Bl A4 o P'Tra Tzaangor Fighter e
B © a Boy
•
•>
o o
KEY o t
Door o Depleted Objective Uninvestigated v e
o Objective Amen'ket Tzaangor Champion

Gordok moves towards

Sanakht Bekti, shoots at
* him, but fails to cause any
damage (4).

Lyle activates Grok and

charges Sanakht Bekti (5).
The Nob causes 5 damage,
W/ t but the Sorcerer inflicts a
colossal 31 in return! 'It's a
new record!' says Matt,
triumphantly, as Lyle
removes his leader from
the board.

Matt fires Overwatch with

Brother Shen, who causes
7 damage to Mouf (he can
shoot the Ork because,
despite being in the dark,
he is on Engage orders).
Lyle then steps Zuka into
the doorway at the top of
the hangar (6) and fires at
Brother Shen (who is also
on Engage orders), killing
him outright!

SCORE
KOMMANDOS
Energy cells found 1

Tac Ops
Rout 0
Shokk Taktiks 1
Get Stuck In! 0

SCORE 2

WARPCOVEN
Energy cells found 3
Tac Ops
Scry Secret 0
Sorcerous Ritual 0
Damage Limitation 0

SCORE 3

WHITE DWARF 71
BIlvvARHAMMER I

Kll.l. TIEAM j
TURNING POINT THREE

ENERGY FOR THE DARK GODS!

With the Orks dominating the hangar and Sanakht Bekti out of action, the Thousand Sons
make moves to grab as many energy cells as they can.

yle won the roll-off to activate an

operative first in this Turning Point.
Both he and Matt then picked the same
■■ Strategic Ploys as the previous Turning
Point (Exalted Astartes, Dakka! Dakka!
Dakka! and Waaagh!).

With two Sorcerers still alive and dangerous,

Lyle opted to take out Brother Metenh first.
Though Jak incapacitated the Rubric Marine,
he was stabbed with a Gargoyle Bayonet in
return. This assault prompted Matt to play
things a little more cautiously. ‘There’s no way
I can take on that many Orks now,’ said Matt,
so I’m taking the objectives and running.’ He
did just that, with Merhet Maat and
Amonhep Rhan both grabbing objectives and
exiting the hangar. If he could hold on to the
objectives at the end of the game, they would
score him 6VR

Lyle used the rest of his activations to move

his Orks across the hangar. They inspected BROTHER METENH
the remaining energy cells, but none of them
were active. Ragga picked up a good energy
cell, while Zarbutz ran to the one in the
south-east corner in an attempt to stop Matt
claiming it. Once again, the scores were tied!

[s]

72 IVKIlEDUIARF
 ■ ■ ■ ■
1=
ORDER OF ACTIVATION
"I
H
A4 81 A3
SYMBOL

S
OPERATIVE

fek____
OPERATIVE TYPE

SlashaBey
ORDER

e
I B3 B3 Merhet Maat Sorcerer e
©
■ A 3
Thousand
o Amonhep Rhan
Burna Boy
Sorcerer
Orks
Drop Zone
Sons
Drop Zone
Comms Boy
Al ’ o P'Tra Tzaangor Fighter •
e
□
0 Zarbutz Boy
o
o
0 Gordek Boy
■ - -Q O Snipa Boy
UJ
I B3
A3 Bl
83 | o
®
Ztika Rokkit Boy
Dakka Boy
<?
e
I Brother Metenh Rubric Marine Gunner LU
® Brother Shen Rubric Marine Icon Bearer
■ ■ ■ ■ o Sanakht Bekti Soteefef
KEY © Grok Throatslrtta ftob
Door I O Depleted Objective Uninvestigated v Bfttze Breacha Boy
o Active Objective Objective Amen'ket Tzaangor Champion

Lyle activates Jak and once

again charges Brother
Metenh (1). The Ork slays
the Rubric Marine but
takes 4 damage in return.
The kill also scores Lyle
the Rout Tac Op.

Merhet Maat picks up an

energy cell with his Mutant
Appendage, scries a secret
from Mouf, then floats out
of the hangar (2).

Mouf inspects an energy

cell, but it's a dud (3)!

Amonhep Rhan picks up

an energy cell and moves
out of the hangar (4). He
later fires Overwatch at
Jak, incapacitating him.

Zarbutz inspects another

dud energy cell, while Dak
dashes into the centre of
the hangar (5).

SCORE
KOMMANDOS
Energy cells found 2
Tac Ops
Rout 1
Shokk Taktiks 1
Get Stuck In! 0

SCORE 4

WARPCOVEN
Energy cells found 3

Tac Ops
Scry Secret 1
Sorcerous Ritual 0
Damage Limitation 0

SCORE 4

WHITE DWARF 73
^W^WARHAMME
40.000
k
_

i KILL TEAM]
TURNING POINT FOUR

SHOT OUT OF SPITE

The Thousand Sons realise that while they have two energy cells, the Orks have the
potential to grab more. The Sorcerers move back in for the kill.

H S att t0°k t^ie first activati°n °f ^e final Turning
|Ri Point, but before he could move anything, Lyle
I Iff I played t^ie Sssshhhh! Strategic Ploy, enabling
Iwl him to dash a number of his operatives across
the hangar. Most of them edged closer to objectives! Matt
would need to kill at least one Ork and steal his objective,
while keeping his own operatives alive, to win the game.
Matt made the first attempt with Merhet Maat when he
tried to assassinate Reddik with a Doombolt. He wounded
the Ork but then faced a difficult decision. ‘I could kill
him with my warpflame pistol, but I might then lose my
Sorcerer to return fire,’ said Matt. ‘So... he’s running back
out of the hangar. Aaaaand, shutting the door.’
Matt’s second attempt was with P’Tra, who narrowly failed
to kill Gordok. Amonhep Rhan finished the job, causing
Gordok to drop the objective. Now all Matt needed to do
was have Amonhep Rhan survive the incoming fire. ‘This
is when I wish I had a CP spare for Capricious Plan,’ said
Matt as bullets and rokkits hit the Sorcerer. In the end,
Amonhep Rhan was gunned down by Dak, who ran in to
grab one of the energy cells. It was a last-minute but
decisive victory for Da Sneaky Ladz!

Matt activates Merhet

Maat, switches him to
Engage, floats him through
the door and fires a
Doombolt at Reddik (1).
The Ork takes 6 damage.
Before he can return fire,
the Sorcerer retreats back
through the Hatchway and
uses his tiny extra arm to
shut the door behind him.

Gordok picks up an energy

cell and hides next to the
control panel. Having
waited the entire battle for
some action, P'Tra leaps
into the hangar and inflicts
9 damage on Gordok (2).

Amonhep Rhan runs back

into the hangar (3), slays
Gordok, then shoots
Zarbutz. P'Tra is killed by REDDIK
Ragga, while Dak moves in
to claim the energy cell. He
then incapacitates
Amonhep Rhan with his
Shiny Slugz!

SCORE
ORKS
Energy cells found 2

Tac Ops
Rout 2
ShokkTaktiks 1
Get Stuck In! 0

SCORE 5

THOUSAND SONS
Energy cells found 3

Tac Ops
Scry Secret 2
Sorcerous Ritual 0
Damage Limitation 0

SCORE 5

74 WHITE DWARF
 *B
-
Is 5.'
as! 1I”
FINAL SCORE
EfX;

kj.'
K0MMAND08 WARPCOVEN —
Mission Objectives 11 Mission Objectives 6
• ■■'

Tac Ops 3 Tac Ops 2

£
Fully Painted Kill Team 2 Fully Painted Kill Team 2

TOTAL SCORE 16 TOTAL SCORE 10

a

KOMMANDO UJ
VICTORY LU

THE POST-BATTLE CHAT Matt: And a fiffh(ish) if I used Capricious

Matt: That was far too close. But it would
have been closer if I’d read the rules for the
scenario properly at the start. I totally
thought that Amen’ket couldn’t be shot when
he was outside the hangar, but I was wrong.
He might be alive today if I’d known that.
Lyle: True, but the game was genuinely really
close, despite the score at the end. Had you
denied me that objective at the end, I would
only have scored 13 VP. If you’d managed to
hold it with your Tzaangor Fighter, or if
Amonhep Rhan had survived, you’d have
won. It was just good shooting on my part at
the end I think, despite being in the dark!
Matt: It was fun turning the lights off then
back on again. It might even be more fun
than opening and closing doors! That rule
added an extra level of tactics to the game
and a new set of problems to consider when
taking on the enemy. If you’ve mastered
doors, you’ve mastered Into the Dark. Lights
are the next level. That said, what I need is a
psychic power to open doors or turn off lights
from a distance.
Lyle: Now that would be pretty cool! I did
really enjoy that game mechanic. Sneaking
my Orks about in the dark was a lot of fun.
That moment when you turned the lights on
and Zarbutz was standing in the open was
hilarious. It was a nothing to see here’
moment. I’m amazed he survived.
Matt: I liked using my Mutant Appendages to
open and close doors, too.
Lyle: I was really feeling the action point
deficit at the start. Your Sorcerers being able
to do three actions, then a fourth with their
little arms, was horrible.
Plan to perform a Dash action.
Lyle: You definitely had the drop on me early
on. Because Kommandos can fight in combat
while on Conceal, there’s a big temptation to
charge in and just hit you with choppas and a
power klaw. But Orks aren’t that survivable
- they don’t have power armour on for a HERETIC OF THE
MATCH
start. I made the mistake of charging into Matt: Merhet Maat scored
your Sorcerer with Grok, which very quickly the most victory points, so
saw him dead. Even Jak struggled against he's my Top Op of the
game. He scored Scry
your Gunner. In hindsight I should have kept Secret from Moufand
whittling your operatives down, then charged survived the game to
in to cause those final points of damage. report back his findings.
He also found and held on
to an objective. So that's 6
Matt: Sanakht Bekti is like your squig - he’s a out ofthelOpointsI
fire ship that just terrifies people into making scored. Really 8, because
he's fully painted!
a mistake. That was the goal really - make
you shoot him and ignore everything else.
I’m really pleased I managed to pull off
Temporal Manipulation and give him his
wounds back - that felt very Tzeentchian, just
reversing everything that had happened. I did
consider casting Ephemeral Instability to
slow you down, but I got caught up casting
damage-dealing spells. I need to use my full
suite of psychic powers. Be a bit more subtle.
Lyle: Interestingly, while the victory points
we could score for the mission were pretty
tight, neither of us did particularly well BOY OF DA MATCH
Lyle: Dak was clearly my
scoring our Tac Ops. You held me up long dude of the match, He
enough to prevent me scoring Get Stuck In! didn't do much for most of
the battle, but he was a
proper hero at the end, He
Matt: That was purely unintentional. I was ran in at the last moment,
too busy not dying. You’re right, though, I shot a Sorcerer, denied
didn’t pick the best Tac Ops. Damage Matt an objective and
secured an objective of his
Limitation was never going to happen, and own, all in a single Turning
Sorcerous Ritual would have meant not Point. And all without
shooting or chopping, which is much more taking a single wound.
Proper sneaky, dat lad.
fun in my opinion.

UIHITEDUIARF 75
 KILL TEAM ENGAGE!
Five Dwarfers. Five I t seems like only yesterday that five kill
I teams took to the battlefields of a war-
kill teams. A whole
I torn world for the very first time. They
lot of carnage. And, I proved themselves amidst the rubble of
after many months ruined cities and derelict manufactorums,
of fighting, the end across snowscapes, rust deserts and urban
of our campaign! wastelands before taking to the void in a bid
to uncover the secrets of the Gallowdark.
In time, the Dwarfers’ new recruits became
veteran operatives. They mastered the arts of
infiltration, espionage, demolition and
assassination as they fought fierce
engagements with each other. Many of them
still bear the scars of these desperate
skirmishes. An unfortunate few succumbed
to their injuries and live on only in the
memories of their fellow operatives. A fair
number of ferocious red creatures exploded.
Their deaths were mourned by no one.
76 WHITE DWARF
THE FINAL FRONTIER
As we begin the last article of our campaign
series (sob, cry), Lyle, Sophie, Matt, Ben and
Dan join us once more to show off their final
kill teams and talk about their games in this
stage of their campaign. As this was the final
time they’d be playing, our famous five
challenged each other to grudge matches
before Lyle and Matt fought a Battle Report
to mark the end of the series. We recommend
reading it before this article as there may be
some spoilers otherwise!
We also take a cheerful look back at the
team’s favourite moments of the campaign
and dish out awards for the most explosive
moment, most experienced operative, most
sassy closing of a door, and plenty more
besides. But now, for one last time, we go Into
the Dark!
 THE THIRD (AND FINAL) STAGE OF THE EXPEDITION
As their campaign draws to a close, the Dwarfers and
their kill teams have explored fifteen locations on
their Gallowdark map. Many of the central and
northernmost areas have been depleted of materials,
but there are still some high-scoring areas to the
south. While their campaign has now ended, the team
may one day return to the Gallowdark - perhaps with
new kill teams - to continue their explorations.

OPERATIONAL MAP REF: AE|405 N

MATERIALS KEY GALLOWDARK SECTOR A\GD557

* Salvage

R +
Knowledge
Resources MATT VS BEN
i
y Wild A* (CACHE)
[DEPLETED]
LU
MATTVS
MATT VS LYLE
SOPHIE
54»
F
[DEPLETED]
[DEPLETED] p LU
DAN VS MATT r
fl 6^ R
■
fl DAN VS BEN [DEPLETED]
_ £
- [1 REMAINING] SOPHIE VS BEN
7V
[1 REMAINING] U
c
I p
I
LYLE VS SOPHIE
3 QV i
[DEPLETED]

DAN VS
MATT
2^
LYLE VS
[DEPLETED]
■
SOPHIE
--- -— B
9V
SOPHIE VS BEN [1 REMAINING] DAN VS BEN
2f [DEPLETED] 8* [2 REMAINING] *

SOPHIE VS DAN
Q* (CACHE)
u
[5 REMAINING] LYLE VS BEN
10 4» r
* LYLE VS MATT
LYLE VS DAN
10 V
[6 REMAINING]
^3
h
-ffi

3
5f [DEPLETED] [3 REMAINING]
£
■
g ■

L •W~~w~ — ' WK ~ JBL aw w—w. vm. W4 — aw 'gM' g? "W 7J

STAGE 3 TOTAL
WINS LOSSES DRAWS SALVAGE KNOWLEDGE j RESOURCES
MATERIALS
GAME PLAYER 1 PLAYER 2 RESULT
1 Ben 11- 15 LYLE 6 0 0 11 0 10 21
2 Dan 12- 13 DAN 3 2 1 It 4 17
3 Dan 14-9 MATT 3 3 0 10
4 kle 5-14 BEN 2 4 0
5 Lyie 10-16 SOPHIE 0 5 1 0 11

UIHITEDUIARF 77
 1^VVHKnMrvTMEK
tKILLTEAMj
ORKKOMMANDOS

******

SNEAKY LADZ
NUMBER OPERATIVE OPERATIVE TYPE NOTES XP
_____ RANK
1 GrolTfhroatslitta Power Klaw, Shifty, Resilient Ts •>Ace

3 Jak Slasha Boy Duellist, Stalwart 30 Ace

5 Bruze Breacha Boy Thievin' Git, Resilient 26 ^Ace

7 Reddik Burna Boy Calculated 7 Veteran

9 Zarbutz Boy 0 ▼ Adept

11 Zuka Rokkit Boy Ambusher, Calculated 20 Ace

Gordok
13

15

17

19

78 WHITE DWARF
 —

sJ

Lyle: Its been a long, fun campaign. We’ve
actually been playing Into the Dark for so
long now that it’s easy to forget that this was a
campaign of two halves, with the first taking
part on the ground. Both ways to play have
been great fun, with different tactics and
stories in each environment to delve into.
I felt a real connection with my Kommandos
very early on, and I was really pleased with
my team’s composition. So much so that I
didn’t feel compelled to add many new
operatives. That’s one of my favourite aspects
of the Kommandos - they all have specific
roles to play, and the characterful miniatures
support that perfectly. Instead, I spent my
hobby time painting and modelling my
measuring gauges, some scenery and the
Orksprey. I found my painting was inspired
and motivated by the games I was playing.
My campaign ended with me scoring three
commendations. I used them to increase my
asset capacity, then purchased an Expanded
Armoury so that I could take more gear into
battle. I then secured more gear, including
the rare equipment Mork’s Eyeball, which I’ll LYLE LOWERY LU
give to Dak to improve his shooting. Finally, I Having stomped da blue­
gave Dak an extra 5XP for his performance in skins, crushed da humies,
given da pointy-ears a
the Battle Report. good choppin' and shot da
magic-ladz, Lyle and his
Overall, I had a lot of fun playing with the Kommandos are ready for
some R&R. They were last
Kommandos. I’ve grown very attached to seen flying into the sunset
them. Next, though, I’m going to turn to the in their Orksprey shouting
Space Marines and paint a Phobos Strike something about going on
a ladz 'oliday.
Team and an Intercession Squad. LU

STASH DA LOOT!
The Pursue and Secure mission that I
played against Sophie was perhaps my
favourite of the campaign. It has a unique
pre-game phase where one of your
operatives runs around looking for
somewhere to hide the objective. Your
opponent then has to find it. I picked . ye
Zippa for this task, which he performed
admirably. While Zippa ran away to hide,
my Orks got stuck in, with Bruze
incapacitating no less than four of
Sophie’s Harlequins, including her Lead
Player (which also scored me the
Headhunter Tac Op). Bruze caused so ' — ■

many casualties that I was able to pick up

the Fearsome Reputation requisition for
him. My team took a fair few knocks in
this game, but overall survived pretty well!

REQUISITION LEDGER_____ REQUISITION

TRANSACTION DEBIT/CREDIT DETAILS POINTS
Starting Balance STASH: STRATEGIC ASSETS:

4
■ Harpoon • Tactical Uplink
+4 Resource poi
Fearsome • Stikkbomb • Loot Hoard
Bruze gains 3XP • Sledgehammer • Med Bay
Reputation
Game Played ±w • Dynamite
• 4x Climbing Rope
• Expanded Armoury
Asset Acquired Expanded Armoury
■ 4x Slugga
• 4x Choppa ASSET CAPACITY

1 \|4
• Fungal Brew
• Shiny Slugz
• Mork's Eyeball

GALLOWDARK EXPEDITION MATERIAL POINTS ^'"1

Salvage: 11 (clubs)
Knowledge: 0 (spades)
Resources: 10 (diamonds)

WHITE DWARF
 I
I
tKI 1.1. TEAM I
■MBIMIMdt 40 OIU1

* ®

CAST OF THE CRIMSON SUN

NUMBER OPERATIVE OPERATIVE TYPE NOTES XP RANK
1 The Sky King Lead Player Fusion Pistol, Kiss. Virtuoso, Martial Artistry, Grand Role V > Ace
WAce
The Golden Hunter Shadowseer Neuro Disruptor, The Role of the Fallen, Whimsical, Resilient 25 >Ace

5 The Star Queen Player Shuriken Pistol, Kiss, Dazzling Spectacle

6
7 The Hidden Knight Player Shuriken Pistol, Kiss, Calculated -V- Veteran
8
9 The Dawn Lord Player Shuriken Pistol, Embrace

11

13

15
16
17

19

80 WHITE DWARF
I
Sophie: Overall, our Kill Team campaign has had to get back. He gave it to his Grot, who 12
been great fun, despite my shocking track
record on the battlefield. I had a couple of
ran off like a lunatic with my Harlequins
chasing him. Unfortunately, he ran to the
rL
brutal games (mostly against Orks and
Thousand Sons), but some of the other games
fam, and they came out for a fight. I actually
deployed the Dawn Lord - one of my new
q I*”

really could have gone either way. I very operatives - for the first time in this battle,
nearly beat Dan in one of our games (it was and he lasted less than a Turning Point before
so close!), and I killed two of Ben’s operatives getting shot. He didn’t suffer an injury, but he
in the last game we played, which was a didn’t gain any experience either. Welcome to SOPHIE BOSTOCK
moral victory of sorts. Bishops death and the the team! My last action of the campaign was Inspired by her acrobatic
story that Ben created around it (see Bens to reward myself with a Webway Portal, players, Sophie can often
section later) is a great bit of narrative. I’m be found acting out grand
which should be fun to try out.
performances. Sometimes
proud to have been the catalyst that made it she's dancing in the dark,
happen. Going forward, I’m probably going to try out sometimes in the
moonlight and LU
a different kill team. Harlequins have been occasionally into the fire.
My other game this month was against Lyle. fun, but I’d like to try a more durable force Last we saw of her she
We played Pursue and Secure, in which one with longer-ranged guns. Perhaps I’ll make a was dancing on the ceiling
(oh, what a feeling).
of his operatives had a valuable item that I kill team for my Moon Eaters Chapter. LU

POWER TO THE PEOPLE

My game against Ben saw us fighting over
power in the Power Overload mission. As
the defenders, my operatives had to stop
the Bullsharks storming in like the
hooligans they are and breaking all the
power nodes. I thought, rather than play . pl
defensively, Fd rush out and take the
Guardsmen by surprise. This worked for a
while, and I chopped up a couple of his
Veterans early on. But then Ben started to
concentrate his shooting, and the tide
began to turn; his Gunner, ‘Zapper’ c \\
Hobbs, caused 24 damage with one shot!
Ben won the game, but I had the last laugh
because I killed two of his operatives in
the post-battle sequence. My base may
have no power now, but Bishop and Pins
are pushing up the space daisies.

REQUISITION LEDGER REQUISITION

TRANSACTION DEBIT/CREDIT DETAILS POINTS
Starting Balance STASH: STRATEGIC ASSETS:

\3/
; Game Played ^[31 +2 Salvage points • Support Grip • Loretrove
Game Played +2 Resource points • Pure Psychocrystals • Expanded Armoury
I Asset Acquired Webway Portal • Prismatic Grenade • Webway Portal
• Accelerated
Monofilament Wire
• Mocking Panoply
V
• Shrieker Toxin Rounds ASSET CAPACITY
• Wraithbone Talisman X 7

GALLOWDARK EXPEDITION MATERIAL POINTS

■ Salvage: 9 (clubs)
Knowledge: 0 (spades)
■ Resources: 2 (diamonds)

WHITE DWARF 81
 tk WARHAMMER

KILL TIE AM j
1" 40.000 ------ —---------

THOUSAND SONS WARPCOVEN

PRODIGAL SONS
NUMBER OPERATIVE OPERATIVE TYPE NOTES XP RANK
Warpflame Pistol, Destiny Discipline, Mutant Appendage, 25 •>Ace
1 Merhet Maat Sorcerer
Studious (Temporal Manipulation), Resilient
Soulreaper Cannon
3 Brother Shen Rubric Marine Icon Bearer Unwavering 13 Veteran

5 Amen'ket Tzaangor Champion Savage 9 Veteran

7 Kh'nem Tzaangor Fighter Autopistol, Chainsword 1 ▼ Adept

Autopistol Chainsword
9 Sanakht Bekti Sorcerer Prosperine Khopeshjempyric Discipline, Time-walker, Warp Swell, Duellist, Stalwart, 37 Grizzled
Vicious
Sorcerer Iri^oBolt'Pi irpfire Discipline, ln< ^Veteran

11 Brother Metenh Rubric Marine Gunner Warpflamer, Unwavering 6 Veteran

Amarhqteop Tzaangor Blades
13 Hakor Tzaangor Icon Bearer 0 ▼ Adept

15 Brother Naratt Rubric Marine Warrior 0 ▼ Adept

17

82 WHITE OUMRF
 5
Matt: I’ve enjoyed using the Warpcoven against Lyle were much tougher as he is a lip
immensely in this campaign. From a very shrewd tactician. If you want to improve
modelling perspective, it was my first time at a game, you need to play people who are MW

painting Tzaangors, and I’ve had fun better than you! 5

converting my Sorcerers and Rubric Marines.
In game terms, they were great fun to play After the Battle Report, Lyle cruelly denied
with. I didn’t quite master the Tzaangors, but me getting a commendation for having the
I reckon I nailed the Sorcerers! A smaller most Resources. So I spent the one I got for
team of elite operatives definitely works completing the stage on some rare equipment MATT HUTSON LU
better for me than a large team. Although I - an Oculus. That meant I could also use Like an acquisitive bird,
am curious to see what a Sorcerer and 10 Pursuit of the Arcane to give someone 2XP. I Matt has amassed a
Tzaangors could do. veritable horde of shiny
gave it to Brother Metenh, making him a wargear for the Prodigal
Veteran. He now has the Unwavering Battle Sons. He wears his gilded
Campaign-wise, I enjoyed playing Sophie, Honour, giving him a 4+ invulnerable save. horns with pride, and his
Dan and Ben most because they were easy to arcane robes give him an LU
air of nobility. His
beat! What I really mean is that we had fun As for future Kill Team-ing, I’ve just finished high-capacity magazine is
narrative games, but tactically I had the painting a Blooded warband (including a the talk of the town (it is, of
upper hand most of the time. The games course, this magazine).
Traitor Ogryn), so I might try them out next. LU

RUBRICS CUBED
My kill team started with
three Rubric Marines, but
over the last few months!
have slowly added more of

“Cl
them to my roster. I was up
to six by the end of the
campaign, so I thought I'd
paint the last three in the set.
Hence Rubrics cubed! With
Amonhep Rhan to lead them,
I now have a full squad of 10
Rubric Marines painted to
add to my Thousand Sons
army. This squad has green
details, while my other two
squads have yellow and pink
details. This was always the
goal with my kill team - to
make the models usable as
both a skirmish force and as

I
part of a larger Warhammer
40,000 army. I plan to paint
the rest of my Tzaangors next
to take them up to 10.

REQUISITION LEDGER REQUISITION

TRANSACTION DEBIT/CREDIT DETAILS POINTS
Starting Balance STASH: STRATEGIC ASSETS:

0
• 2x Gargoyle Bayonet • Herdstone
Beseech the Changed Merhet Maat's • 3x Arcane Robes ■ Rebinding Altar
Changer of the Immaterial Flight for a Mutant • 3x Gilded Horns • Expanded Armoury
Ways Appendage • Sorcerous Scroll
• High Capacity
Pursuit of the Magazine
Arcane Brother Metenh gains 2XP (Inferno Boltgun) ASSET CAPACITY
• High Capacity
Magazine
(Inferno Bolt Pistol)
• Animate Avians
• Occult Talisman
• Oculus

GALLOWDARK EXPEDITION MATERIAL POINTS

1
• Salvage: 2 (clubs)
Knowledge: 4 (spades)
Resources: 10 (diamonds)

WHITE DWARF 83
 1 WARHAMMER I
> 40 000 3_ ,

KILL TRAM
ASTRA MIUTARUMVE GUARDSMAN ~ ■■
"“iDARK

oo'

st

HUTANIAN BULLSHARKS
NUMBER OPERATIVE OPERATIVE TYPE NOTES XP RANK
1 Sgt. 'Bully' Ketua Sergeant Veteran Plasma Pistol, Power Weapon, Resilient 14 Veteran
Bolt Pistol, Chainsword, Bladework 1 ▼ Veteran |
3 'Operator 2' Diell Comms Veteran Resilient 8 Veteran
'Tash' Thorne Sniper Veteran Sharpshooter, Gun Ace 18 I 4^ Ace
5 'Bishop' Irons Zealot Veteran Resilient 9 •V Veteran
6 ’Stitch^Malika Resilient # Veteran I
7 'Chef' Kebakaran Gunner Veteran Flamer, Crack Shot 7 Veteran
> Veteran I
8 ‘New Guy' Plasma Gun, Sharpshooter, Severe Cone
9 'Zapper' Hobbs Gunner Veteran Meltagun, Decorated Veteran 11 •T Veteran
10 'Pins' Deeler Grenade Launcher, Decorated Veteran, I T Veteran j
11 'Shiv' Payne Trooper Veteran Ancillary Support, Gun Ace 11 Veteran
Tz 'Taurox' Binns Ancillary Support, Swift I Veteran J
13 'Trench' Magnusson Trooper Veteran Ancillary Support, Swift 10 Veteran
14 'Hot-shot' Niran Trooper Veteran Ancillary Support, Gun Ace I 4F Veteran
15 'Ace' Karim Hardened Veteran Final Litany 6 Veteran
16 Spades 3 ▼ Adept
17
18
19
20

84 WHITE DWARF
 2
Ben: After battling T’au and Harlequins for against Dan came right down to the wire with
oxygen and antique machinery respectively, a mere inch (A) tipping the game from a
my campaign is finally over. draw to a three-toed victory.

It’s been a really engaging campaign to play However, this month also saw the deaths of
in. Despite challenges (big Sorcerer-shaped two of my operatives at the hands of Sophie’s
ones), I feel I was getting comfortable with Harlequins. The fatalities include my Gunner
how best to use my team. I often come with grenade launcher and my Zealot,
undone in games because I make decisions Bishop. I’d always thought it would be fun to LU
BEN HUMBER
that see models act in ways I imagine they paint up a renegade version of the Bullsharks, It's been a tough campaign
would as real people. I feel I can still do that and this cruel end to the campaign would be for Ben - he has lost many
in Kill Team while adding in a few tactics. good friends along the way
a cool narrative reason to do so. I even wrote but, in the end, his Astra
a short bit of fiction about it, below. Militarum troopers did him
My game against the T’au this month was a proud. He even got a new
great example of a tactically challenging game tattoo on his shoulder to
For now, though, I’m going to switch kill celebrate his kill team's
that was also great fun from a narrative teams and play some games with my Phobos success - a little circle
perspective, with our kill teams fighting over Strike Team. Models with more than seven with eight arrows coming
a series of airlocks. Despite losing, my game out of it. Cute!
wounds each - imagine that!

‘The Emperor protects,’ said Sergeant Ketua, his voice
reverberating from the metal walls as he addressed the
team. ‘Those were his last words before he died. None
amongst us were more devout, more resolute in faith
than Trooper Irons, known to us as Bishop. He kept us
true when all seemed lost. He was our guiding light in
this unremitting darkness.’
Not anymore, whispered a voice in his head.
Sergeant Ketua’s eyes moved over his team as he
spoke, their faces illuminated by the five remembrance
candles that flickered before them. Medic Malika met
his gaze. Her drawn face was devoid of the optimism
that she’d exhibited on previous campaigns. The
sergeant wondered if she’d heard the whispers too.
He’d been hearing them for some months now.
The Emperor Protects, the voice scoffed.
Bishop had been a friend. He’d died on what was to be
their last mission before returning to Hutan. For
what? Scraps of intelligence and some salvaged junk.
As if they needed any more shovels. It was pointless.
He would no longer order his friends to their deaths in
the name of an uncaring Emperor.
‘The Emperor protects^ he spat. ‘A cruel joke. Rookie,
Operator, Digs, Pins, Bishop. All dead. For nothing.
For a lie.’ All eyes were on him now. He’d spoken
heresy, yet none of them challenged him. In the
corner, the vox unit chirped incessantly - Diell had
not answered the call from their extraction Valkyrie.
‘Irons was blind,’ continued Ketua. ‘We all were. But
this darkness has opened my eyes. The Emperor does
not protect. We have a foothold here, weapons and
resources. And I’ve grown rather accustomed to the
dark. What say you, Bullsharks?’

REQUISITION LEDGER REQUISITION

I TRANSACTION DEBIT/CREDIT DETAILS POINTS
; Starting Balance STASH: STRATEGIC ASSETS:
• 4x Hot-shot Capacitor ■ Comms Network

Game Played +2 Resource points

Pack
■ 3x Krak Grenade
• Expanded Armoury
■ Med Bay 4
• 2x Trench Shovel
• Chronometer
• 2x Frag Grenade
ASSET CAPACITY

GALLOWDARK EXPEDITION MATERIAL POINTS j

Salvage: 3 (clubs)
• Knowledge: 6 (spades)
Resources: 6 (diamonds)

WHITE DWftRF 85
<
KILLTEAMj

DESIGNATION: DARKLIGHT
NUMBER OPERATIVE OPERATIVE TYPE NOTES XP RANK
1 T'kemali Shas'ui Pathfinder Martial Philosopher, 17 •>Ace
2 Blooded Pathfinder Reliant Support
3 Sa'cha Shas'la Pathfinder Merciless Hunter 9 V Veteran
Cunning ilunter 12
5 Tucu'pi Shas'la Pathfinder Reliant Support 6 ▼ Veteran
franspectrai Interference Pathfinder Merciless Hunter Veteran
7 Hari’sa Marksman Pathfinder Cunning Hunter 12 Veteran
Weapons Expert Pathfinder Ion Rifle, Reliant Support Lingering Ailment
9 Tahini Drone Controller Pathfinder Cunning Hunter, Sapped Strength, Lingering Ailment 12 Veteran
Kor'vesLau MB3 Recon Drone ./ T Capable Under Fire
11 Kor'ves Cho MV31 Pulse Accelerator Drone Critical Impairment 5 ▼ Adept
Kor'ves jko MV33 Grav-jnhibitor Drone I ▼ Adept
13 Egu'si Weapons Expert Pathfinder Rail Rifle 4 ▼ Adept
kor'ves Sha MV7 Marker Drone I ▼ Adept
15 Kor'ves Nai MV4 Shield Drone 0 ▼ Adept
kor'ves Hoi MVIGun Drone I ▼ Adept
17 Kor'ves Dae MV1 Gun Drone 0 ▼ Adept

19
20

86 WHITE DWARF

Dan: This campaign has been one exciting
roller coaster of a ride from start to finish. My
initial forays into Kill Team went well, with
the T’au proving deadly at range (whod have
thought it?). I came unstuck with the finer
points of the rules a few times, but my little
blue guys and g’irls did reasonably well on
the ground. They were pretty successful at the
killing bit, but I often took my eye off the ball
when it came to taking objectives. My
Pathfinders like to shoot first and ask about
objectives later.
Then we went into space and things went
from average (a place I am very happy being!)
to terrible. My traditional tactic of stand back
and shoot it till its dead’ just didn’t cut the
mustard in spaceship combat. But the last
2
82
months gaming has turned things around a
little. Two victories! Glory to the Greater
Good! Admittedly, a fair degree of luck was .id
involved and, some might say, a bit of
recklessness, but those two games bumped
me up to second at the end of the campaign.
The highlight of my final game against Matt
was charging a Recon Drone into combat to
stop the Rubric Marine with the objective DAN HARDEN
escaping - a cunning move that enabled the Dan's spent the last seven
rest of my team to move in for the kill. months coming up with
terrible puns for this
article's headers. He's all
As a reward for acquiring the most punned out now. He hasn't
Knowledge, I upgraded my base of operations got a single pun left in him.
LU
Tot'aully empty. Except that
with an Expanded Armoury. I also picked up one. We'll be keeping an
a Comms Network for completing the ion him. Yes, he is writing
campaign stage. These Pathfinders are tooled his own bio. No, he can't
be stopped.
up and ready for future Kill Team action!

AIRLOCKED!
My final game against Ben saw us playing * 1
the Airlocked mission. This scenario is

w
- -
unusual as your kill team is split up across

m
three areas, so your operatives can’t
interact after deployment. On one flank,
my Pathfinders were outnumbered seven
to four, but Hari’sa survived long enough
to fight ‘Zapper’ Hobbs in close combat
(both of them with one wound
remaining!). On the other flank, Ben’s
well-concealed Sniper caused horrific
casualties until I markerlighted him
enough to shoot him. Then ‘Hot-shot’
Niran and Col’tura slapped each other a
bit as they fought for control of the oxygen
wheel. Meanwhile, in the centre, T’kemali
was beaten unconscious by a guy with a
spade. Still, I won 13-12!

REQUISITION LEDGER REQUISITION

TRANSACTION DEBIT/CREDIT DETAILS POINTS
Starting Balance STASH: STRATEGIC ASSETS:

0
■ Target Analysis Optic • Aerial Surveillance Drone
Exemplar of the • High-intensity • Tidewall Barricade
Tahini gains 3XP Markerlight • Remote Sensor Tower
Greater Good
• Orbital Survey Uplink • Expanded Armoury
Asset Acquired Expanded Armoury • Drone Repair Kit • Comms Network
• 2x EMP Grenade
• Climbing Equipment ASSET CAPACITY
• Experimental Pulse
Ammunition

//

GALLOWDARK EXPEDITION MATERIAL POINTS

Salvage: 2 (clubs)
Knowledge: 11 (spades)
Resources: 4 (diamonds)

WHITE DWARF 87
 I I
t KILL TEAM1V

KILL TEAM DISENGAGE: THE DEBRIEF

They think it’s all over. It is now! After several
months of intense gaming (with a little bit of
work in between), the Dwarfers have come to
the end of their Kill Team campaign. As is
customary after such a grand undertaking,
they decided to share some of their campaign
highlights, including their Top Ops and most
memorable moments. But first, we have a few
interesting stats for you. There were a grand
total of 374 incapacitations over the 30 games
they played, resulting in 41 injuries (19 of
them Dans), 6 deaths (5 of them Bens) and 8
squig-shaped detonations (all of them Lyle’s).
Lyle scored the highest amount of experience
across all of his operatives, totalling 160XP
overall. He was also the only player to get a
perfect score of 20 in a game (don’t ask Dan
about the 5VP he scored in that game, two of
which were for having his models painted!).
Now, on with the debriefing.

TOPOPS
There were many stand-out fighters in the campaign, but, when push came to shove, the Dwarfers could only pick
one member of their team to be their Top Op. These are the decorated war heroes.
*

POP N’MOJO SANAKHTBEKTI 'TASH' THORNE THE MOON SEER

Lyle: Pop was great to play
with. It was always fun
seeing if he would get to his
target, and there were a lot
of tense roll-offs for priority
that often decided his fate!
Dan: My Transpectral
Interference Pathfinder (the
notorious T.I.P.) was my
markerlight marksman of the
campaign and a pretty efficient
killer, too.
Matt: It’s pretty obvious why I
chose Sanakht Bekti - he was
just a monster. There was no
one else in the campaign that
even came close to matching
the damage he could put out.
Ben: My Sniper was my most
prolific killer and the only Ace
in my team. I thought losing
Vantage Points would limit his
usefulness, but he just needs a
long corridor instead!
Sophie: The Moon Seer was
somehow always just where
I needed her to score a kill or
a Tac Op. She was
incapacitated more than any
other Player!

IN MEMORIAM
Not all of the team’s operatives survived to the end of the campaign. Some, like ‘Operator’ Booth, didn’t survive
the first battle! Here we remember their brave sacrifices. Rest easy, battle brothers and sisters (and squigs).

From left to right: 'Operator’ Booth, krumped real gud by Orks; 'Rookie' Sachs, magicked to death; 'Digs' Jackson, fatal encounter with a hyper-accelerated projectile;
'Pins’ Deeler, kissed to death; 'Bishop' Irons, killed by lack of faith in the Emperor (and a power sword to the chest); J’Huli, lasered in the face; Pops 1-7, shot by Pathfinders
Guardsmen, and exploded (many times).

88 WHITE DWARF
 5
|S
CAMPAIGN AWARDS
BATTi
©■■ ' •. ' V
1
1... ■ ‘

«*
’ " “

I 7? LU

*
LU

MOST SASSY CLOSING OF A DOOR MOST OVERKILL KILL LU

A lot of doors were closed during the course of this campaign, but arguably the Grok has 15 wounds, but that didn't stop Sanakht Bekti inflicting 31 wounds on
most hilarious was The Redtide Prince peering out of a doorway in search of a him during this month's Battle Report, effectively killing him twice over (with a
Pathfinder to shoot at, missing with all of his shots and Sophie, a bit miffed, wound to spare). The Sorcerer has inflicted more wounds than any other model in
flicking the door closed in her Death Jester's face. the campaign, almost exclusively in combat.

r-

. A

MOST EXPERIENCED OPERATIVE MOST DESTRUCTIVE EXPLOSION

It's no surprise that Sanakht Bekti became the most experienced operative in the Lyle and his Orks love explosives, and their most devastating detonation occurred
campaign. He was also the only one to achieve Grizzled status. Jak, the Slasha during a battle against Dan's T'au. Lyle's first hostile action of the game saw his
Boy, came in a close second, with Merhet Maat and the Golden Hunter - Sophie's Nob throw a stick of dynamite that incapacitated a Drone and two Pathfinders
Shadowseer - taking third place. The Guardsmen and T'au didn't even get close! and wounded two others. The T'au have now learned to social distance.

■ ■

J*-
MOST DESPERATE ATTEMPT TO SCORE A VICTORY POINT
Arguably the most desperate scrap occurred this very month between 'Hot-shot'
Niran and Col'tura as they fought for control of a wheel while simultaneously
trying to shoot, then stab each other. In the end, the Veteran Guardsman won the
fight, turned the wheel and won himself some delicious oxygen!
MOST (UN)HEROIC LAST STAND
This award goes to Spades, one of Ben's operatives. During a game against Matt,
Spades was incapacitated by a Sorcerer, so Ben declared he was using In Death,
Atonement. Matt, with one AP remaining, just closed the door on the Guardsman,
who ran screaming up and down the locked corridor before bleeding out.

UJHITEDUIARF 89

Loot, secure, capture; how do you.take your Critical Ops objectives?
ELLIOT HAMER
Elliot is the games
developer for Kill Team,
which means he's worked
on pretty much every rules
set and supplement for the
game over the last few
years. It's believed that he
sees the world only in
coloured shapes. His local
shop, for example, is just 18
white circles and 1 blue
square from his front door.
90 WHITE DUIARF
WARHAMMER F
KILL TEAM
40.000
OPERATION
BRIEFING-
J
Forget what you ve learnt, rookie! High
command are shaking things up and sending
us into a whole new war zone. The rules of
engagement are different here, and I dont
want a dressing down from the platoon
commander because you didn't read the new
briefings. Now pay attention so you know the
difference between capture and ‘secure'.
The 2022 Critical Operations card pack
introduces some exciting changes to Kill
Team. In this column, I will highlight and
provide commentary on these changes, and
also offer some tactical insight on how to
approach the new missions.
MISSIONS REIMAGINED
The way battles are generated is the first big
change. Rather than connecting the mission
and map as one, they’re independent of each
other. This means you’ll generate one mission
and one map for each game. There are a
possible 27 different combinations, which
gives you agency to determine the most
appropriate game. But equally, if you just
want to randomly draw these combinations
for a quick pick-up game, you can.
The missions have been honed to provide
three streamlined mission objectives: Loot,
Secure and Capture. These core objectives
have differences in how they score you
victory points (VPs), each requiring a
different tactical approach (more on that
later). For sleeker gameplay, we’ve removed
the unique mission rules you would find in
the Core Book’s Critical Operations missions.
Overall, the intent is to provide a more
focused and balanced experience for players
with the new primary mission objectives.
k w
< MT «
We’ve also introduced a new selection of Tac
Ops for each of the four archetypes. We kept
some old favourites, refined others and
introduced brand new ones too. In general,
you’ll find that these Tac Ops have fewer
conditions and action point requirements
than before. The way you generate them has
also changed. You can now select the ones
you want; you can take a maximum of one
from your faction’s Tac Ops and the rest from
one of your faction’s archetypes. Overall, we
feel this further streamlines the gameplay
experience while still providing a challenge to
select and implement the right options. These
Tac Ops are considered the most up to date,
particularly in an organised play setting such
as a tournament. However, narrative players
should feel free to use them too, deciding
which similar ones they replace for the
purposes of Spec Ops.
Setting up operatives is another thing that’s
changed. Previously, the Defender had the
choice of drop zones at the cost of setting up
their operatives first. However, if the killzone
was symmetrical, there was no tactical benefit
in being the Defender. Now, before setting up
operatives, both players must divide their kill
team as evenly as possible into three groups.
They then alternate setting up their
operatives, one group at a time, starting with
the Defender (there’s no distance requirement
between the groups, so you don’t have to set
them up near each other). This provides more
interaction between the players, as both have
multiple opportunities to influence and react
to one another. Nonetheless, we still
encourage asymmetrical killzones, so it’s a
meaningful choice between being the
Attacker or the Defender.

Other small tweaks include an additional
Command Point once you’ve selected your
kill team. Also, in the Scouting step, the Dash
action via Recon is done as though the
operative can FLY to help you get past terrain
or up onto Vantage Points, while Fortify lets
you set up a barricade further out and on a
Vantage Point.
With Critical Operations getting a big shake
up from this mission pack, I wanted to
provide some insight into how to get the
most from these changes. With Kill Team
being an objective-based game, I’ll focus on
the three mission objectives.
LOOT
The Loot mission will be very familiar to Kill
Team players; it’s Loot and Salvage from the
Core Book. This mission has a very simple
mechanic - perform the Loot action at an
objective marker to score 1 VP. Mastering this
objective will require some thought, as each
objective can only be looted three times
during the battle, and you can score a
maximum of 4VP per Turning Point from the
mission objective (a core rule in the new
mission sequence). In an even match, players
will realistically draw an imaginary halfway
line between their kill teams, each scoring
three objectives the maximum three times.
Therefore, your best approach to this mission
is tipping that balance - protect three
objectives and steal one off your opponent.
Even if it’s only for one Turning Point, that
effectively becomes a 2 VP difference.
2
fs
If you can get an operative to 3APL (either
inherently, with a +1APL modifier or
indirectly with free actions), try an early rush
for an objective in your opponents territory.
Recon an operative in the Scouting step and
then Normal Move, Dash and Loot with
them. You can achieve the same thing if your
faction gives you ways to set up further into
the killzone (Kommandos, for instance, have
the Sneaky Git Tactical Ploy). Enemy
operatives are often on Conceal orders in the
first Turning Point, so your operative will be
less at risk from attack. Then, in the following
Turning Point, you can move back to safety
(maybe even looting the objective again
beforehand), so at least one of the limited
Loot actions at that objective marker is yours.
Even if you can’t get back to safety, sometimes
it’s worth sending a brave operative to Loot
an objective marker. Because each objective
can only be looted once per Turning Point, U1
even if your operative gets incapacitated after
they’ve looted it, your opponent will be
bWHITEDWARF 91
„...
V I __
■r
iKILI.TIEAM;
i I
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s
I*
unable to Loot it that Turning Point. This
grim reality of victory in death is very 40K!
The Loot mission has the highest total action
point cost across the battle. With that in
mind, plan out which operatives you can use
to play defensively and score your home
objectives; you can’t maximise the
effectiveness of your offensive operatives if
they have to spend valuable action points at
the back. This might mean leaving some of
your more offensive operatives on the bench
for the game so that you can use the more
defensive operatives from your roster.
CAPTURE
In the Capture mission, your operatives must
control objective markers at the end of a
Turning Point. Doing so captures it, and you
score 1 VP for each objective marker you’ve
captured. A captured objective marker then
stays under your control if friendly operatives
move away, but you lose it if enemy
operatives subsequently control it following
the normal rules.
The obvious benefit of this mission is that
your operatives aren’t bound to the objective
markers all game. Once they’ve held it at the
end of a Turning Point, you can move them
92 WHITE DWARF
ill 11
1 i i
in
I *
off to attack elsewhere, safe in the knowledge
that the objective marker is scoring you VPs
(unless the enemy steals it off you, of course).
This is particularly beneficial to kill teams
with fewer operatives.
For the hotly contested objective markers, I
recommend late grabs at the end of a Turning
Point for this mission, using your early
activations to engage enemy operatives. If you
claim an objective early in a Turning Point,
you’ve given your opponent the rest of the
Turning Point to react. If you claim it towards
the end, your opponent will be running low
on activations with which to react to their
fullest.
As this mission is the only one that doesn’t
require a specific mission action to score VPs,
you can be more aggressive with your actions
to maximise your attack. Applying early
Turning Point pressure will force your
opponent to make difficult decisions about
how to respond: should they deal with the
threats or hold their ground through fear of
losing objectives?
SECURE
The Secure mission requires an operative to
perform the Secure action at an objective

marker to secure it. It then stays yours until
an enemy operative performs that action at
that objective marker, even if your operative
moves away or the enemy only takes control
of it (they must perform the Secure action to
secure it and start scoring points from it).
You then score 1 VP at the end of each
Turning Point for each objective marker
you’ve secured.
At first, this might seem like similar tactics to
those required in the Capture mission: late
objective grabs, so your opponent can’t take
objectives back. While this will be valid in
some instances, you’ll soon discover that the
action requirement changes the dynamic
slightly. For example, an operative can’t
Charge and Fight (or Normal Move and
Shoot) and then automatically take control of
the objective if they incapacitate the
controlling operative. This is because they
have to then perform the Secure action, and
at this point most operatives will be out of
action points.
Instead, there’s a good case for early Turning
Point grabs in this mission. It makes it much
harder for your opponent to secure
objectives, as they have to overcome the APL
deficit to control them, then perform the
is
if-
LU
1
■5*
CL
Secure action as well. Tough operatives
securing objectives can demand a significant
investment from your opponent if they are to
dislodge them, and in that situation, you’ve
dictated the flow of the battle. Your opponent
will then have to work hard to rebalance the
advantage you’ve gained.
Rules that adjust the number of action points
required to perform mission actions can be
particularly effective in this mission. For
example, a well-placed Grisly Mark token
from a LEGIONARY SHRIVETALON
operative can be a nightmare for enemy
operatives to overcome. Similarly, operatives
who can perform mission actions for fewer
action points can overcome the action point
deficit. A KOMMANDO COMMS BOY can
Charge and Fight its way into control of an
objective marker (even better if equipped
with a choppa) and then perform the Secure
action for free as a result of the I Got a Plan,
Ladz ability. ADDITIONAL
BRIEFINGS
Do you have an idea we
Good luck playing the new Critical could feature in Operation
Operations mission pack, and do be sure to Briefing? Let us know your
thoughts, and we'll get our
try out the creative ways the pack provides to comms operative to tell Kill
generate missions too. The Veto and Bid Team high command!
methods provide a fun mini-game and ice
team@whitedwarf.co.uk
breaker before you get stuck into battle!
WHITEDWARF 93
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 OF FANG AND
FUNGUS
FLASHPOINT CLAS
Grots and skaven are natural enemies, their mutual animosity running deeper even than the
malice they bear towards the otherfolk of the realms. For centuries, the Moonclans and the
ratmen have fought for control of the clammy depths. In Chamon, the greatest of all bossgrots
now looks to take the initiative in this war...
■■ ver since the sack of Excelsis, Skragrott
the Loonking had been deep in
thought. While Gordrakk and Kragnos
had got lost in the thrill of trashing the
humie city, the bossiest of bossgrots had seen
the way the wind was blowing and ordered a
retreat to his lair in Chamon, so he could
think over what it portended. Like all
creatures of Gorkamorka - ferocious god of
the wilds - Skragrott had an affinity with
Ghur and its moods. The Realm of Beasts was
currently convulsing in fury, pumping its
savage energies across the cosmos. Skragrott’s
hordes had already encountered grot tribes
that were practically foaming at the mouth
with battle-rage, eager to duff up any surface
dwellers they thought were looking at them
funny.
By the time Skragrott had passed through the
subterranean realmgate he’d first used to
enter Ghur and was seated once more upon
the throne of Skrappa Spill, he had reached a
decision. This was a proper opportunity, one
you didn’t get every day. His minions were
spoiling for a fight, and even the sluggish
96 WHITE DWARF
troggoths were waking with increasing
regularity. More importantly, after
consulting’ with the captive and mutated
seers of his Fungal Asylum, Skragrott now
knew that the Bad Moon was charging
around the void with more aggression than
ever, vomiting forth colossal fangs of
loonstone to bombard the realms. The
Loonking would be a squigs uncle before he
missed such a chance for carnage.
As was befitting of the (admittedly self­
proclaimed) master of grotkind, Skragrott
soon had manifold schemes afoot. None
could say exactly what the Loonking was up
to, but his subjects had other tasks to occupy
themselves with - namely forcing everything
that wasn’t blessed by the Bad Moon out of
Ayadah. This was grot territory, a clammy
utopia granted by their monstrous lunar
god-thing, but not everyone had got the
message. Yet even as the grot hordes overran
Dawnbringer outposts and Kruleboyz lairs,
one enemy remained foremost in their
spiteful little minds: the ‘ratz’

The skaven had long infested Ayadah. From
within heavily industrialised fortress-warrens
such as the Verminvaults, clawpacks of the
Clans Verminus and enginecovens of the
Clans Skryre had launched regular attacks,
pumping boiling warpfire, clouds of
poisonous chokelung gas and endless packs
of ratmen into grottish boltholes. Through
the darkness, meanwhile, slunk agents of the
Clans Eshin, sticking knives in the backs of
bossgrots and collapsing their skraps with the
resultant infighting.
'Sneakzy is it? Them orruks and ratty
boyzfink we're just a bunch of sneakz,
no good in a real scrap? Right then.
Time taget to work'
- Skragrott the Loonking
But the skaven were not invincible.
Skragrott s spies had reported that the ratmen
were reeling; some stunty-god had apparently
returned from wherever hed zogged off to
and kicked them out of a major lair. Many
warlords predictably blamed each other for
the disaster, and as rival clans turned on one
another, they made themselves vulnerable.
With Ghur’s heartbeat pounding within his
skull, Skragrott addressed his whooping and
gibbering subjects. Morkish trickery had its
place, but the Bad Moon (and, though he did
not say as much out loud, the Loonking s own
ego) demanded a crushing victory that
proved the grots’ might. While Skragrott
remained in Skrappa Spill with his personal
‘Konkererz’, plentiful skraps of the King’s Gitz
SKRAPPA SPILL
Ayadah is a dank, twilit and ultimately loathsome continent,
marked by the Bad Moon ever since Skragrott's hordes overran it
in a single night Rising near its heart is Skrappa Spill, the
formidable and infamous lair of the Loonking, Once inhabited by
the junk-thieving Gnoblars who now serve ogorkind, Skrappa
Spill is no conventional mountain but a pile of rusting swords
and weapons that would loom over many of the great
Stormkeeps, Hundreds of grots now dwell within its metallic
caverns and tunnels, while in the Spill's deepest pits reside
hidden realmgates, accessible only to the Loonking's inner circle.
p
- as his wider hordes were known - were
unleashed to run the skaven out of Ayadah. 1?2.3
4
At their head, bounding atop the bloated
g'
squigs Toof and Nailz, rode the Loonboss
Shiwit. An especially large and bullying grot,
he had earned his master’s favour following
his infamous victory over the extra smelly
ratz’ in plague-infested Moltania, having
throttled one of their rabid priests with its
own tail. With him came not only
innumerable Moonclans but also the
piercing-riddled Spiderfang tribes of the
Yhornwoad and a troggherd that followed a
cn
beast that dubbed itself‘Thunk’.
With his ladz so riled up, Shiwit’s assault met
with initial success. Jabbing spears, gnashing
jaws and grottish spellcraft crashed through
Ayadah’s caverns, overwhelming the ratmen
before they could rally. Skaven scaffold-works
and bell towers erupted in lurid fungal
blooms. While fortified outposts such as the
Verminvaults endured, many skaven clans
cn
were overrun by the grot hordes and were
pushed back from Ayadah to the Minewarren
Strip in the north. Skragrott followed the
progress of his armies with a spiteful glee,
eager to expand his vile empire.
Yet, as the Gitz reached the Minewarrens,
Skragrott’s decisive conquest began to
evaporate before him. Shiwit’s braggadocious
reports became sparse, replaced by
increasingly creative requests for
reinforcement - citing skaven wonder
weapons of terrible lethality and his gaggle of
shamans muttering of‘bad vibez’ thrumming
through the depths. Unbeknownst to the lord
of Skrappa Spill, the skaven had a plan of
their own underway - one that the grots only
slowly came to appreciate.
WHITE DWARF 97
 WAR IN THE WARRENS
The skaven are an industrious and
innovative race, able to turn even the most
minor opportunities into an advantage -
albeit often in volatile fashion. So deep does
the ratmen’s hunger for power run that they
will exploit the realms themselves with an
unbridled avarice. Such was the case in the
Minewarren Strip.
The skaven had long infested the caverns of
the Minewarren Strip, but it was Arch-
Warlock Brasswhisker who truly discovered
the regions arcane potential. While
excavating for deposits of precious chamonite
realmstone, the Arch-Warlock uncovered
something unexpected: wellsprings of potent
natural magic where feats of alchemical
sorcery impossible elsewhere could be
performed. Quickly, Brasswhisker grasped
his discovery. The magic-channelling ley lines
that crossed the realms had long been
factored into the skaven’s machinations, but
most believed that they existed only as a
horizontal plane. Yet it appeared that a rare
few geomantic nexuses - places where these
channels crossed - manifested underground,
a fact that presented exciting possibilities.
98 WHITE DWARF
Brasswhisker s toadies soon seized many of
these subterranean magical wellsprings,
raising teetering weapon smitheries and
laboratories upon them. Within, the Arch­
Warlock’s acolytes bound the rampant
magical energies of Chamon into all manner
of warped weaponry. In doing so, they
augmented the destructive power of these
devices to new extremes. Yet it was not
enough for Brasswhisker to merely control
the nexuses. He wished to experiment upon
them, and he would do so in the most
destructive of fashions.
Like many Arch-Warlocks, Brasswhisker had
access to considerable reserves of warpstone,
the malignant realmstone of the infernal
sub-realm of the skaven. He soon ordered his
minions to implant shards of this substance
into the nexus points. These sites began to
glow a sickly green, as did the crossed ley
lines that formed these wellsprings. Channels
of magic splintered into jagged offshoots,
undermining the arcane web that
underpinned the Minewarren Strip. Other
skaven could sense something gloriously foul
afoot, their whiskers twitching in nervous
anticipation as the walls of reality were
 fe*
BSf

scrabbled at like claws down a gossamer

curtain.
fill the caverns with a dank gloom in which
sentient shadows crept and nameless things
crawled. While this wouldn’t purify the
I"
The grots knew, more or less, that the nexuses in the conventional sense, these
ratmens tampering with such ‘magicky no-doubt vile energies were at least not
places’ was responsible for the increasing fundamentally corrosive to reality. But to
tectonic instability that saw caverns thrash achieve this, the grots would need to fight
and tear apart, each split in the rock backlit their way to the nexus points - a task the
by harsh viridian light. Moreover, they skaven would not be making easy...
recognised on an instinctive level that what
the skaven undertook was corrosive to
Chamon’s very being. First and foremost,
however, they were infuriated at the skaven’s
CO
dogged resistance. The Minewarren Strip was
close enough to Ayadah that a skaven
counter-invasion could be launched from its
depths, and no one wanted to tell the
Loonking they’d left the job unfinished.

As Shiwit funnelled more of his mobs into

the bitter tunnel fighting, he demanded that
his shamans use their magicky know-wotz to
mess with the warpstone in retaliation.
Eventually, either the most intelligent or
quick-talking of the spell-flingers proposed
that if the warpstone shards were removed
from the nexus points, the grots could instead
inundate these locations with all manner of
arcane spores. Such contamination would see
huge fleshy mushrooms burst into being and

'Oh, zog!f a troggoth lumberingfrom the shadows. In

Grib threw himselfprone. The cavern floor
scraped flesh from his cheeks, but better
that than stare into the lightning that leapt
from the ratman cannon and blasted along
the tunnel where greenskins and skaven
were locked in mortal combat. As the grot
pulled his hood over his face, screams
echoed around him, followed by a rising
odour of burntfungus and scorched fur.
Looking up, Grib cursed at the sprawl of
charred bodies littering the ground. At the
other end of the cavern, the colossal
war-engine still loomed. A long brass barrel
hung within a cage of wooden scaffolding.
Pipes snaked from its side and plunged into
the earth, glowing an eerie green as they
sucked up... something... and fed it into the
crystal at the weapon's rear. Tongues of
lightning crackled at random around the
structure, hitting one of the ratmen
crawling across it and blasting their
sizzling corpse away.
one shovel-like hand it held a rock torn
from the cave wall. The beast squinted, its
warty tongue sticking out as it hurled its
projectile at the recharging cannon.
The rock ricocheted off the cavern ceiling
arcing down to sever one of the cables. The
torn pipe lashed through the air, pumping
out vile green energy. Terrified shrieks went
up from the skaven as the crystal upon the
weapon glowed brighter and brighter,
scaffold rattling as the thing vibrated.
Then, with an almighty screech, the crystal
burst. Grib could only watch in slack-jawed
horror as a wave of crackling magic surged
down the corridor, reducingfirst the
ratmen, then the troggoth to faintly
sparking slurry - before a horrendous
melting sensation washed over his flesh,
and thought collapsed into sheer pain.

'Right then,' the grot muttered. 'Not stickin’

around here.’ Grib was about to make good
on that when a grunt drew his attention to

WHITE DWARF 99
 WAR IN THE
MINEWARRENS
FLASHPOINT CLASH
An underground mini-campaign for Gloomspite Gitz and Skaven

■■■ he Minewarren Strip has long been coveted by
Skragrott the Loonking, for its numerous tunnels
would make an excellent extension to his
■ underground empire. Yet the tunnels are inhabited
by ratz (skaven to us mortals), who are unlikely to
relinquish their stronghold without a colossal fight. The
grots must use every underhanded trick they can to
outsmart their verminous foes and overcome the deadly
weapons and war machines of the Clans Skryre.
Over the next few pages, you will find a mini stand-alone
campaign for two players that pitches the Gloomspite Gitz
against the Skaven as they battle for dominance of the
labyrinthine Minewarren Strip. Will you lead a horde of
deranged and unpredictable grots in conquest of these
ancient tunnels, or will you lead a swarm of deranged and
unpredictable skaven to defend them? When it comes
down to it, casualties and calamities will be high on both
sides. It should be hilarious, whichever side you choose.

WE DWARF • ■ ■ ■

-a
 S'

UNDERGROUND WAR I'

INTRODUCTION
On these pages, you will find a campaign arc for 2 players. One player takes
on the role of the Gloomspite Gitz, and the other player takes on the role
of the Skaven as you play through a series of battles that capture the wars
waged within the perilous tunnels of the Minewarren Strip.

WHAT’S A CAMPAIGN ARC?

A campaign arc is a self-contained mini-campaign that can either be played
as a stand-alone campaign in open or matched play or as part of a Path to
Glory campaign. This one is designed to last for 2-3 battles, making for a
perfect weekend’s worth of gaming between 2 players.

THE BATTLEPACK
This campaign arc can be played with the Open War battlepack, the Path to
Glory battlepack or the Contest of Generals battlepack. If you play through
the campaign with Path to Glory armies, there are extra rewards to add to
your Path to Glory roster at the end of the campaign.

FORGING A DIFFERENT NARRATIVE

If you and your opponent do not have Gloomspite Gitz and Skaven armies,
you can quickly adapt this campaign for other armies by renaming the
locations that are being fought over and coming up with a suitable narrative
for your armies. The Warhammer Age of Sigmar Core Book and many of the
battletomes contain detailed maps within to help you choose a new location.
Alternatively, you can use places of your own creation to fight over!

GETTING READY
One player takes the role of the Gloomspite Gitz; the other plays the
Skaven. There are 4 locations in this campaign, all within the depths of the
Minewarren Strip: the 3 initial locations - the Temple of the Great Horned
Rat, the Geo-arcane Confluence and the Cavern Cities - and the final
location, Brasswhisker’s laboratories.

Before the campaign can begin, the Skaven player must decide where their
Verminous Strength resides. These are their War-swarm, their Claw-horde
and their Splinter Talon. To make this decision, the Gloomspite Gitz player
is encouraged to look at the rewards each of the locations will give to the
victor and try to guess where the Skaven player is likely to emerge from their
gnawholes (see the location tables on page 104 for details). Once the Skaven
player has made their decision, they should note it down in secret. The
campaign is now ready to begin!

PLAYING THE CAMPAIGN

The campaign consists of 2-3 battles. For the first battle, the Gloomspite Gitz
player picks 1 of the 3 initial locations from which to launch their campaign
against the Skaven. When making their choice, they are encouraged to look
at the rewards each location gives the victor and to also try to guess where
the Skaven player has burrowed the least of their forces.

Once the Gloomspite Gitz player has chosen the location of the first battle,
the Skaven player reveals if the location hosts their War-swarm, Claw-horde
or Splinter Talon. This determines how many points the Skaven player can
spend when picking their army, as follows:

mow 101
 VERMINOUS
POINTS OF THE SKAVEN ARMY
STRENGTH
War-swarm 10% more than the Gloomspite Gitz army
Claw-horde Same as the Gloomspite Gitz army
Splinter Talon 10% less points than the Gloomspite Gitz army

SELECTING THE BATTLEPLAN

Each of the 3 initial locations has a location table associated with it (see page
104). These describe which battleplan you will use based on the battlepack
you selected, as well as what rewards are given to the player who wins the
battle. If the battleplan is randomly determined, it is chosen after armies
have been picked.

FIGHTING THE BATTLE

After the armies have been picked and the battleplan has been selected, you
can fight the battle using the Warhammer Age of Sigmar rules. In addition,
you can use the following new set of realm rules in this campaign.

REALM RULES
REGION OF WAR:
THE MINEWARREN STRIP, CHAMON
SPECIAL RULES
Danger at Every Turn: Long since overrun by skaven, the Minewarren
Strip has fallen into a state of increasing disrepair. Now every tunnel or
cavern has become a close-quarters deathtrap.
When a model makes an attack with a melee weapon, you can target
an enemy unit within 1/2" of another model from that unit instead of
using the weapon’s Range characteristic for that attack. If you do so,
the attacking model must be within 1/2" of another model from its own
unit that is within 1/2" of the target.

Warpstone Contamination: The skaven have tainted the ley lines in

the Minewarren Strip with unstable warpstone, creating volatile arcane
nexuses that threaten to tear reality itself apart.
Subtract 1 from save rolls for units within 6" of a terrain feature. At the
start of your hero phase, roll a dice for each friendly unit within 6" of a
terrain feature. On a 1, that unit suffers D3 mortal wounds.

...

io

102 WHITE DWARF

THE AFTERMATH
After the first battle has been fought, the winner of the battle gains the
reward of that location in the next battle of the campaign.

If the Gloomspite Gitz player wins the first battle, they’ve managed to
overcome the Skaven hordes and now seek to deliver the killing blow to
Brasswhisker’s deranged operation. The next battle fought is The Warped
Heart (see page 105). This is the final battle of the campaign, and it has its
own unique battleplan.

If the Skaven player wins the first battle, they have held their territory for
now, but they have not defeated the Gloomspite usurpers. The Gloomspite
Gitz player picks 1 of the 2 remaining locations, and a second battle is fought
in the same manner as the first.

If the Gloomspite Gitz player is the winner of this second battle, The Warped
Heart is then fought as the third and final battle of the campaign. If the
Gloomspite Gitz player loses this second battle, they fail to rout the Skaven,
do not reach Brasswhisker’s laboratories, and the Skaven player wins the
campaign, as described below.

co
WINNING THE CAMPAIGN
The player who wins The Warped Heart battle wins the campaign. In
addition, the Skaven player wins the campaign if the Gloomspite Gitz fail to
push them back to Brasswhisker’s laboratories.

REWARDS FOR PATH TO GLORY ARMIES

Players using Path to Glory armies with this campaign arc gain the
following benefits:

1. In step 3 of the aftermath sequence after each battle, units involved gain a
bonus D3 renown points each.

2. The winner of the campaign can immediately add 1 artefact of power

to their vault. For the Gloomspite, the artefact represents some trinket
uncovered deep within the Minewarren Strip and now infused with lunar
energies. For the Skaven, it represents a gift (no doubt coming with strings
attached) from Brasswhisker and his cronies for repelling the grot invaders.

WHITE DWARF 103

; •
 TEMPLE OF THE GREAT HORNED RAT_____ ___ ___
Once the dwelling of some mine-clan noble, this palace is now dedicated to the skaven s god. Its spire breaks through to the realm’s
surface, and it may yet attract the attention of another godly power, if the grots invoke it...
BATTLEPLANS
Open War Path to Glory Contest of Generals

Roll a D6:
1-2 - The Ritual
Use the Open War battleplan generator. Rising Power
3-6 - Hold or Die
The Gloomspite Gitz army uses The Gloomspite Gitz player is
Territory B. the attacker.
The Gloomspite Gitz player is the
disruptor or custodian.
Skaven Reward: If the Skaven player wins the battle, in the next battle, each friendly Skaven Hero counts as 2 Heroes for the
purposes of the Great Clans battle traits.
Gloomspite Gitz Reward: If the Gloomspite Gitz player wins the battle, in the next battle, friendly Gloomspite Gitz units are
affected by the Light of the Bad Moon while they are wholly within 12" of any friendly Gloomspite Gitz Heroes.

GEO-ARCANE CONFLUENCE
This cavern thrums with warped energies, jagged lines ofgreen energy pulsing across the floor. If the grots can drive out the ratmen,
they can infest the place with arcane fungal spores.
BATTLEPLANS
Open War Path to Glory Contest of Generals
Roll a D6:
1-3 - Sudden Assault
Use the Open War battleplan generator. Burn and Pillage
4-6 - The Watchtower
The Gloomspite Gitz army uses The Gloomspite Gitz player is
Territory B. the attacker.
The Gloomspite Gitz player is
the invader.

Skaven Reward: If the Skaven player wins the battle, in the next battle, each friendly Skaven Wizard can attempt to cast 1
additional spell in your hero phase.
Gloomspite Gitz Reward: If the Gloomspite Gitz player wins the battle, in the next battle, after deployment but before the first
battle round begins, you can pick 1 friendly Gloomspite Gitz Wizard on the battlefield. That Wizard can automatically cast
a spell that they know that summons a Mork’s Mighty Mushroom, Scrapskuttle’s Arachnacauldron, Scuttletide or Malevolent
Moon endless spell (do not make a casting roll). That spell cannot be unbound, and it cannot be dispelled in the first battle
round. Set up the endless spell as described in the effect for that spell.

THE CAVERN CITIES

Once the dwellings of the Minewarren Strip’s industrious citizens, these dank and winding tunnels stretch for miles - the perfect
place to launch an ambush or locate some roaming cave creatures.
BATTLEPLANS
Open War Contest of Generals
Path to Glory
Roll a D6:
1 - The Trap
Use the Open War battleplan generator. Frontal Assault
2-6 - Breakthrough
The Gloomspite Gitz army uses The Gloomspite Gitz player is
Territory B. the attacker.
The Gloomspite Gitz player is
the invader.

Skaven Reward: If the Skaven player wins the battle, in the next battle, at the start of the combat phase, each friendly Skaven
■ Hero that does not have a mount can retreat.
| Gloomspite Gitz Reward: If the Gloomspite Gitz player wins the battle, in the next battle, at the end of deployment, you can add
1 unit of 10 Squig Hoppers to your army. The unit must be set up wholly within 12" of a friendly Gloomspite Gitz Hero and
more than 9" from all enemy units.

404 WE DWARF
Ok-
THE WARPED HEART
Through disrupting the skaven’s
geomantic manipulation, the
grots and their troglodytic
allies have pushed towards the
ratmen’s stronghold. Here lie the
laboratories of Arch-Warlock
Brasswhisker and his minions,
as well as huge bulbous engines
that draw power from the
corrupted nexuses. The grots
must inundate these places with
their own gloamy magics, and
the skaven will fight viciously to
defend them.
TUNNEL FIGHTING
This battle uses the Tunnel
Fighting rules (Age of Sigmar Core
Book, pg 354).
THE ARMIES
The Gloomspite Gitz player is the
attacker. The Skaven player is the
defender. The total points cost of
the Skaven army must be 75% of
the total points of the Gloomspite
Gitz army. Armies are picked
following all other rules outlined
in the battlepack being used.
J.
DEFENDER’S
TERRITORY
______
BATTLEPLAN
THE BATTLEFIELD
This battle is fought amongst the
perilous tunnels and crazed skaven
industry of the Minewarren Strip,
and appropriate terrain features
should be used to represent this.
DEPLOYMENT
The territories for the battle are
shown on the map below. The
players alternate setting up units
one at a time, starting with the
attacker. Each player must set
up their units wholly within
their territories.
BATTLE LENGTH
The battle lasts for 5 battle rounds.
FIRST TURN
The attacker chooses which player
takes the first turn in the first
battle round.
PATH TO VICTORY
In this battle, the players fight for
control of the small quarters of the
battlefield instead of objectives.
Each small quarter is controlled in
the same manner as an objective
ATTACKER’S N
TERRITORY
_____
33^
(core rules, 18.1.1), except that
models must be wholly within a hi
small quarter to be able to contest
it, and each player can only gain
control of 1 small quarter in each
of their own turns. In addition,
each small quarter counts as
an objective for the purposes of
grand strategies, battle tactics
and abilities.
TUNNEL MASTER
If a player gains control of a small
quarter, that small quarter cannot
be controlled by the opposing
player for the rest of the battle.
GLORIOUS VICTORY
If a player controls 4 small
quarters that are all touching each
other horizontally, vertically or
diagonally across the battlefield
(as shown on the map) they
immediately win a major victory.
If neither player has won a major
victory when the battle ends, then
the player who destroyed the most
enemy units wins a minor victory.
Any other result is a draw.
ft
WHITE DWARF 105
A<; I Of SIG M A R

STEMMING
s <1 THE TIDE
w FLASHPOINT RONDHO
A
■ir /

hr 11

to X-

WHAT ARE
FLASHPOINTS?
Flashpoints are series of
articles that explore a
particular region or war
zone at a specific point in
time. Flashpoints contain
new rules along with
stories and background
about the setting, giving
Across Rondhol and Lendu, the Stormcast Eternals of the Kraken Blades fight desperate
you plenty of opportunities delaying actions against the oncoming Waaaghl. Yet these born hunters are well practised at
to theme your games. bringing down prey much grander than themselves - and when they strike, they are as
Flashpoints typically span merciless as the tides.
multiple issues, and
articles are always marked ■ ■ fl hite froth split the waves around the Grunting, he straightened and made for the
with the Flashpoint's ■ K spear-ship. The vessel’s beast-hide ship’s railing alongside the ship-kin of his
symbol, making them easy ■111 topsail snapped sharply as it caught warband: Thane, Nataur, Laughing Og, Svasta.
to find in your copy of
White Dwarf. W W the wind, turning the ship in a The latter’s eyes widened as she stared at the
steady arc. monster rearing from the waters.

‘There, kinsfolk!’ ‘Blood ofAlhor.’

The raid-captain’s holler saw Llor running, The megabasilopod was colossal. Its whale-like
almost slipping, across the slick decking. body tapered into a fanged snout from which

106 WHITE DWARF

 Brinnock
fe
w.

) Lentock

Beastgrave *

A
L Wreathport

AjT a
A/- T V A Choppas
< • Headkrakkas
J Warclan
* Kruleboyz
Warclans
Dawnbringer
Crusaders
’ Khornate Raiders
! Thunderbellow
Ogors
4
O Notable Battle

Gargant Stomping
Necksut T
Ground

i
Grots of Lake
Retch

emerged tentacles that lashed a circling pack of
sharks. Llor swallowed. He was blooded in
battle, but this... a pang ofprimal terror
caused him to drop his gaze. As he did so, his
eyes fell on darting streaks of brilliance within
the water.
‘What’s that?’he asked, frowning. Ghostly
lights raced away from their vessel: fish, pulsing
with bioluminescence. The raid-captain
chuckled.
‘I’m sure the Great Kraken forgives,’ she
winked, before peering over the rocky shelf
where the Stormcasts crouched. ‘Besides, you
can redeem yourself now.’
A tidal surge of war-painted orruks wound
through the defile below, seething around a
stone goliath hewn into the shape of their
god. The idol’s tread cracked the earth as it
neared the valley’s terminus and the
Sigmarite territories beyond.

‘Trust the zephyrfish, lad. Prepare to strike!
‘Bring them salt and blood,’ rumbled Og
Four-Lives, their Prime, as he reached the
outcrop’s lip. Then, he jumped. The other
Kraken Blades followed, as if leaping from
atop a mizzen-mast.

‘Thinking, Llor?’ Svasta asked, tentacle-like

tattoos shifting over her face. Her fellow
Stormcast’s markings mirrored them as he
grunted.
‘About the megabasilopod.’
‘Was that the one where you soiled yourself?’
Thane asked, smirking as he rested his
greatsword over his shoulder. As Llor rolled
his eyes, Svasta snorted and patted his
weather-beaten cheek.
Blood of Alhor, they keep coming. Every day, greenskins and
their monstrous allies cross the horizon to bring us ruin. We do
not know where Ka-rokk, the head of the beast, roams; he
moves amongst his hordes with boundless energy, as if
Gorkamorka’s breath runs down his neck. My ship-kin and I
work to slay his champions in the hope that the greenskins will
fall to infighting. But I fear that Rondhol and Lendu will bleed
even worse before we are done.
- Knight-Judicator Zagesi, He of the Starlight Bow

WHITE DWARF 107

 As the idol rushed up towards him, Llor
reached out, grasping one of its crags. The
arrested momentum tore at his arm, but his
Reforged flesh held firm. With a snarl, Llor
heaved himself atop the idol and unsheathed
his crackling greatblade. His kin followed
suit, though Nataur had fallen off-target; only
Svasta’s grip held him above the furious
greenskins, some of whom were already
clambering atop the idol.
Llor thrust his greatsword downwards,
splitting the idol’s hide, staggering it. His
ship-kin did the same or else beat back
outraged greenskins or ducked beneath the
grasping of the goliath’s stone arms. Llor
grunted as a club struck his midsection; the
Vanquisher only just managed to bring up his
blade, spitting the oncoming greenskin before
the orruk’s maul could cave his head in. But
for each moment the Stormcasts were
distracted, the idol gradually picked up
speed, marching relentlessly onwards. Time
was running out.
At first, the megabasilopod had been vexed by
the nimble Cathargi vessel and its javelin­
armed crew. Then a blade-like fin had smashed
the foremast, and the creatures tentacles raked
the decking. The raid-captain, veteran of a
hundred bloody assaults, had been seized in
those coils and squeezed until his chest
I-
9 beside Llor. New scars tangled with the
108 WHITE DWARF
collapsed and gore exploded from his mouth.
Llor now hung inverted, ankle enveloped in a
slick tentacle.
Llor snarled before hurling his last javelin,
lancing one of the megabasilopods eyes. The
beast howled and spasmed, dropping Llor to
the deck.
Groaning, Llor blinked. At first he dismissed
the lights in the water as some concussed
phantasm. But as Svasta helped him stand, she
gestured to them also.
The zephyrfish approached in a shimmering
arrowhead. Two narrow shapes followed them;
Cathargi spear-ships. Though his ears rang,
Llor joined his own hoarse cheer to those of his
ship-kin as the vessels outflanked the
foundering leviathan, harpoons spearing its
flesh.
It paid to have kin.
The rumble of air through the valley rose into
a raptor’s screech. Llor decapitated another
orruk before looking up through the spray of
hot blood, spirit soaring.
The Prosecutors descended in shining arcs,
accompanied by swirling star-eagle. One of
the winged Stormcasts gestured with a
hammer; Llor nodded, before he and his kin
leapt from the idol’s back. Then, their
brethren struck.
Each Prosecutor hurled hammers crackling
with Azyrite force. They slammed into the
defile’s walls, causing craters to burst open
and rock to shear free. Orruk howls turned to
wails beneath the avalanche. The idol stood
against the crushing rain until its legs were
smashed, and it collapsed. Emerald light
flickered in its eyes before winking out.
Llor watched from where he’d landed, his
breathing ragged. Glancing up, he caught the
gaze of the same Prosecutor. The winged
Stormcast raised a hammer in salute, before
streaking away.
‘Alhor feasts today, eh?’ Svasta murmured
tentacles painted across her face, but her grin
kept its feral edge. Llor chuckled.
Aye. So he always shall, if all his many limbs
strike true.’
 ^^■11 Ii
s
te Beast Feats Thy Righteous Purpose -

§
VRE, (FOLK OT THE (FRONTIER^
GREENSKINS COME WIELDING
UNCANNY POWERS/
y *

j
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by
> 1

CO

’ /
I
THE CRAVED CHAGGA WEIRD-EYE
AND HIS HORDE OT SHAMANISTIC GREENSKINS
READ NOW O<F THIS WARPED PROPHET'S MOST DIABOLICAL
AND DERANGED ACTS:
$
'ATTER THREE DAYS OT BARBAROUS PRAYER, HE -TATTOOS GLOWING, HE THRUST HIS ARM INTO
DID SUMMON A HATETUL SPELL IN THE IMAGE OT THE JAWS OT THE DRACONITH MIMIRAXIS,
A COLOSSAL GREEN TOOT TO CRUSH THE OUTPOST PROTECTED AGAINST THE NOBLE BEAST'S TANGS
■
OT SKARPOINT IN BUT ONE STOMP. AS HE RIPPED OUT ITS TONGUE.
'WITH ONLY HIS TISTS HE IS BELIEVED TO HAVE
CARVED THE MENHIRS O<F OLD HROLGA INTO
'ATTER TOLLOWING A BOAR-SHAPED CLOUD TOR
MANY LEAGUES, HIS MINIONS DID DISCOVER
1
EIDOLONS OT THE GREENSKIN GOD, WHICH WERE AND DESTROY A SECRET WAY'TORTRESS OT THE
THEN ANIMATED BY BESTIAL MAGICKS. MIGHTY ASTRAL TEMPLARS.

F
'<FROM THE EYE5 O<F HIS MOST HIDEOUS MASK HE
SHOT TORTH SPEARS O<F GREEN ENERGY THAT
DESTROYED A SACRED COMET BETORE IT COULD
STRIKE THE REALM.
'THROUGH SHEER TURIOUS BELLOWING HE
COMPELLED THE GODTROTH RAPIDS TO CHANGE
COURSE SO THAT THEY TLOODED THE LANDS OT
THE TOUL CROWTEAST TRIBE.

WHITE DWARF 109

 -
; t-'
Modelling and
LORDS OF WAR
■■■he Mortal Realms are home to many
valiant heroes and nefarious villains.
painting inspiration
These powerful individuals command
for the armies of I great respect (or instil great fear) in
the Mortal Realms. their own right, but many of them also lead
This issue: mighty vast armies into battle. Some are ruthless
heroes and warlords who see their followers as tools to
be used and expended in their quest for glory.
monstrous villains!
Some are agents of Sigmar who seek to bring
order to the realms through remorseless
conquest. Many are bloodthirsty brutes who
stand in the front line of every battle, their
blades covered in gore.
Creating your very own hero for Warhammer
Age of Sigmar has never been easier. The
110 WHITE DWARF
Anvil of Apotheosis rules in Season of War:
Thondia enable you to design a hero from the
ground up. Want to make an orruk pirate
Megaboss armed with a cannon? You can!
How about a vampire duellist with magical
swords or a skaven Clawlord riding a giant
rat beast? You could even make a daemon
assassin! There really is no limit to what you
can create using the Anvil rules. Opposite,
you will find some useful suggestions and
considerations for how to go about creating a
hero to lead your army into battle, followed
by a gallery of inspirational characters. Some
are named special characters, others feature
unusual paint jobs, while some have been
converted into entirely unique heroes.
FORGING A LEGEND
i-
Useful advice for creating your very own hero of the Mortal Realms
There are lots of aspects that can be explored
HEROES (AND VILLAINS) OF THE REALMS
when coming up with a colour scheme and
background for your hero. Indeed, colour Below are some examples of heroes from the Mortal Realms.
schemes and stories are often linked. Here are Each of them has their own background and a unique army that
a few suggestions for creating your own hero. they lead into battle. Ka-rokk, for example, is the main
protagonist in our Flashpoint Rondhol series and leads the cn
• Give them a name. Hero or villain, every blue-clad Choppas, while the Seraphon in Starmaster Zectoka’s
constellation can be recognised by their crimson markings. co
character needs a name. The realm they’re
from may help set the tone for their name.
A fiery one from Aqshy, for example, or a
more verdant one from Ghyran.

• Choose a domain. Where is your hero

from? Typically they will have a home
realm, region or city that could influence
how you build and paint them. Perhaps
their domain is the place where they’re co
fighting instead!

• Write some background. Is your hero a Weirdnob Shaman Ka-rokk - Da Choppas Slann Starmaster Zectoka - Fangs of Sotek
mighty warrior, a cunning tactician, a
powerful wizard or a bloodthirsty lunatic
(or a combination of the above)? Perhaps
they are you in miniature form!

• Give them a motive. Is your hero fighting

to reclaim a lost territory or an ancient
relic? Are they all about conquest? Maybe
they fight in one of Sigmar s Dawnbringer
Crusades. Perhaps they seek vengeance.

• Create a colour scheme. Base it on the

realm they’re from, the land they’re
fighting in or the faction they fight for.
Will they wear the same colours as the Warlord Hakfang - Clan Mors Marrowthirst - the Suppurating Court
army they lead or something unique?

CELEMNIS, THE SILVER MAIDEN Celemnis is a great example of a hero of the

Mortal Realms. Using the format above, she
has the following:

• Name: Celemnis, the Silver Maiden.

• Domain: Elixia in the Realm of Metal.

• Background: A former sword-smith,

Celemnis was boiled alive in a cauldron of
molten silver. She now haunts the ruins of
Elixia as an incorporeal Banshee.

• Motive: Vengeance against the Chaos

Sorcerer Ephryx, who tortured her and
reduced Elixia to ruins.

• Colour Scheme: Ghostly robes with a

silvery sheen to them, blue-tinted skin
and hair like strands of gold.

WHITE DWARF 111

DRAGON OGOR SHAGGOTH BY ADAM WALSH SHAGGOTH SCALES RUSTED ARMOUR
Adam: I made my Shaggoth from a Stormcast Eternals Stardrake | Basecoat: Castellan Green J Basecoat: Leadbelcher
with the torso, arms and head of a Bloodthirster; the daemon's
torso fitted incredibly well into the Stardrake's neck hole! I built it | Wash: Athenian Camoshade | Wash: Nuln Oil
with the double-handed axe but replaced the axe head with a | Wash: Agrax Earthshade
hammer made from plasticard. I sanded down the armour plates to g Drybrush: Loren Forest
remove any celestial iconography but left the lightning strikes. L Drybrush: Zandri Dust Drybrush: Stormhost Silver
H Recess Wash: Typhus Corrosion
BRONZED SKIN | Drybrush: Troll Slayer Orange
| Basecoat: Bugman's Glow
| Wash: Reikland Fleshshade
J Layer: Cadian Fleshtone

Highlight: Kislev Flesh

112 WHITE DWftRF

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SYLVANETH ARCH-REVENANT BY ANDY BARLOW LORD-COMMANDER BY ASHLEY LOWE
Andy: I used this opportunity as a chance to experiment with some of the Contrast a?

paints, with the idea being that I could make my Arch-Revenant the leader of a
warband, then develop that warband into a full army. I loved the dynamism of the
new Gossamid Archers, so I decided to use the leaping legs and spite wings to
create an Arch-Revenant who looks like he's diving into a melee.
I
Ash: My Lord-Commander is the only survivor of a battle in the depths of Ghur.
Following the battle, he spent years trekking back to civilisation, hence all his
scavenged gear. I used Bastian Carthalos as the base model with the addition of
parts from the Untamed Beasts warband, including a spear head, a bone punch
dagger and a pauldron made from the Rocktusk Prowler's head.

BLADE AND WINGS BRASS ARMOUR

Basecoat: Grey Seer n Basecoat: Leadbelcher
| Wash: Pylar Glacier
CO
| Wash: Drakenhof Nightshade
■ Recess Wash: Frostheart ] Drybrush: Ironbreaker co
Drybrush: Grey Seer m Wash: Gore-grunta Fur

Recess Wash: Nihilakh Oxide

ORANGE DETAILS
Basecoat: Grey Seer
H Wash: Magmadroth Flame
| Glaze: Gryph-hound Orange

Highlight: Fire Dragon Bright

ABHORRANT ARCHREGENT BY ASHLEY LOWE VAMPIRE LORD BY LUKE BLICK

Ash: I wanted to give my Archregent's skin a fleshy, warm undertone, while using
greenish colours such as lonrach Skin and Deepkin Flesh to hint at rot and decay. I
deliberately painted his wing membranes the same colour as the scrap of cloth that
he's wearing, as if his former finery became a part of his physical form when he
transformed into this hideous creature.
Luke: I wanted to create a terrifying-looking Vampire Lord to lead my undead host. I
started with the body of the Vampire Lord kit and replaced a few elements with
parts from the Blood Knights kit, including the head and shield. I then swapped the
mace arm for a fancy sword from the Blood Knights as well. To finish, I stood her on
a rocky base covered in snow to match the rest of my army.

SICKLY SKIN WING MEMBRANES RED ARMOUR BRONZE TRIM

Basecoat: Rakarth Flesh | Basecoat: Screamer Pink Basecoat: Khorne Red |Q Basecoat: Warplock Bronze
| Wash: Reikland Fleshshade | Wash: Druchii Violet | Wash: Nuln Oil | Wash: Agrax Earthshade
Layer: lonrach Skin | Layer: Pink Horror | Layer: Khorne Red & Dorn Yellow Q Layer: Castellax Bronze
Highlight: Deepkin Flesh Highlight: Fulgrim Pink Highlight: Dorn Yellow Highlight: Sycorax Bronze

WHITE DWARF 113

 BELLADAMMA VOLGA BY LYDIA GRANT
Lydia: The monochrome painting style came about after seeing an exhibition of Ray
Harryhausen's work. It conjured ideas in my head of dark nights, stormy skies and a
full moon rising behind Belladamma and her wolves, casting them into silhouette.
To achieve this effect, I undercoated the model with Mechanicus Standard Grey
followed by a zenithal highlight of White Scar; I then applied the colours below.
LADY OLYNDER BY JAMES GALLAGHER
James: I wanted my Nighthaunt army to have a monochrome look that echoed
classic horror films. A lot of the monochrome miniatures I've seen use blending, but
I wanted to see if I could achieve the effect using only a few stages that could then
be replicated across a whole army. I undercoated Lady Olynder with Grey Seer, then
basecoated and shaded her with lots of different greys to create a variety of tones.

WOLF FUR ROCKY BASE ROBES AND CORSETS WEAPONS

| Undercoat: Mechanicus
Standard Grey
Airbrush: White Scar
Wash: Black Templar
Highlight: White Scar
| Undercoat: Mechanicus Basecoat: Ulthuan Grey Basecoat: Administratum Grey
Standard Grey U Wash: Basilicanum Grey
Wash: Apothecary White
Airbrush: White Scar I Wash: Basilicanum Grey Highlight: White Scar
| Wash: Nuln Oil (corsets)
■ Layer: Mechanicus Standard Grey Highlight: White Scar

J
i
■

OGROID THAUMATURGE BY MATT SEYMOUR

Matt: With regards to the conversion work on my Ogroid
Thaumaturge, I carefully cut the flames from his staff, cut the staff
from his right hand, then glued the flames to his fist. I also stole a
sword from a Lord of Change to place in his left hand. The head
comes from the Fateskimmer, while the wings were scavenged
from a Frostheart Phoenix. The model was primed white, and I
used luminous paints to create some of the glowing effects.

FIERY SKIN OTHERWORLDLY BASE

| Wash: Fyreslayer Flesh I Wash: Talassar Blue
| Wash: Blood Angels Red g Wash: Volupus Pink
| Wash: Wyldwood | Drybrush: Pink Horror

Highlight: Fire Dragon Bright Drybrush: Fulgrim Pink

114 WHITEDWARF
SCINARI SKITTERSHANK BY
if
LORESEEKER ASHLEY LOWE IM
BY SANTIAGO TYLER Ash: I imagined my
Santiago: I built a Scinari assassin infiltrating a great
Loreseeker who has spent city, entering through the
time in Ulgu studying with most dilapidated and
Khainite Shadowstalkers. As derelict areas in order to
a result, he has taken to remain unseen. That's why I
carrying some of their painted the sewer pipe to
weapons and even casts
some shadow magic! The
look like it's caked in rust
and painted the sludge in CO
base of the model is the
co
the drain beneath it to look
Loreseeker, with weapons like algae growing under the
taken from the waterline.
Shadowstalkers set.

PURPLE ROBES BLACK ROBES

g Basecoat: Naggaroth Night Basecoat: Corvus Black
| Layer: Xereus Purple | Wash: Nuln Oil

| Highlight: Genestealer Purple H Layer: Eshin Grey (yes-yes!)

Highlight: Dawnstone

co
GREAT UNCLEAN ONE BY DAMIEN PEDLEY ROTTEN SKIN
Damien: I painted this model for a painting competition a few years back. The ? Basecoat: Death Guard Green
Carnival of Nurgle was the theme. I converted the model to carry a plague flail and
doomsday bell. The addition of the hair was to give it a creepy, clown vibe. It is made Airbrush: Krieg Khaki
from mohair twisted into shape around a thin piece of wire and set using some very | Wash: Seraphim Sepia & Athenian
thin super glue.
Camoshade 3:1
| Recess Wash: Athenian Camoshade

wl OPEN WOUNDS
Basecoat: Gal Vorbak Red
Wash: Shyish Purple
Highlight: Wazdakka Red
Glaze: Evil Sunz Scarlet

k f I

KJ

WHITE DWARF 115

 WOODEN SHIP EVIL SPIRITS
AWLRACH THE DROWNER BY ERIK NIEMZ
| Glaze: Rhinox Hide
Erik: I made a new ghost ship for Awlrach the Drowner! I used the
Gloomtide Shipwreck for my conversion and placed the coffin from Medium 1:1
M Stipple: Caliban Green
the Black Coach inside it. I mounted spirits from Awlrach and the f Recess Wash: Drakenhof Nightshade
Black Coach around it and used the coach’s mummified corpse as j Stipple: Moot Green
& Lahmian Medium 1:1
the figurehead. For painting, I undercoated the model Chaos Black,
then sprayed zenithal highlights of Grey Seer at 45° and Corax Drybrush: Corax White
White from directly above. I then applied the colours to the right.

yr v

116 WHITEDWARF
LADY ANNIKA BY ASHLEY LOWE
Ash: I wanted Lady Annika to have that classic vampire feel, which is why I gave
her a blood-red dress and porcelain skin. The dirt on the hem of her dress is a
device I used across all of my Soulblight Gravelords characters to make them feel
like part of a set. I imagined her walking through the dismal, grungy streets of
Ulfenkarn in search of victims, with little regard for such mundane matters as mud.
VAMPIRE LORD BY OSCAR ANJOU
Oscar: This is my conversion of the Castellan of the Winter Keep. It's based on some
classic Vampire Counts artwork. The wings are from a Drukhari Scourge with all the
future tech carefully removed. The head is from the Blood Knights kit, but I only £■
switched it because the wings were blocking the gorgeous hair of the original
model! I imagine she would look terrifying silhouetted against the full moon.

CRIMSON COAT ALABASTER SKIN RED ARMOUR

| Basecoat: Khorne Red
| Wash: Carroburg Crimson
■ Highlight: Mephiston Red
Highlight: EvilSunz Scarlet
Basecoat: Rakarth Flesh Basecoat: Runelord Brass
CO
g
| Wash: Reikland Fleshshade Drybrush: Stormhost Silver
Layer: Deepkin Flesh Wash: Flesh Tearers Red
Highlight: White Scar Highlight: Stormhost Silver

PALE SKIN
Basecoat: Rakarth Flesh & Ushabti
Bone 1:1
Wash: Baneblade Brown & Lahmian
Medium
Highlight: Rakarth Flesh & Ushabti
Bone 1:1
co
Highlight: Pallid Wych Flesh

OGOR TYRANT AND SLAUGHTERMASTER BY THOMAS ELLIOTT RED ARMOUR METALWORK

Thomas: These models were part of an ogor army I painted during lockdown. As I J Basecoat: Iron Warriors
Basecoat: Khorne Red
had plenty of time, I really indulged myself with these miniatures, adding
accessories such as the vulture, skulls and trophies (from the Thundertusk kit) to | Wash: Carroburg Crimson J Wash: Seraphim Sepia
the Slaughtermaster. I also gave the Tyrant the helmeted head from the Ironblaster
I Highlight: Wazdakka Red □ Highlight: Leadbelcher
kit; I love its imposing design where you can only see the wearer's snarling mouth.
| Highlight: Evil Sunz Scarlet Highlight: Stormhost Silver

WHITE DWARF 117

 BRANCHWRAITH BY KRYSTAL TOOKER
Krystal: I was inspired by the description of the Willowqueen of
Harvestboon - a Branchwraith whose songs are more powerful
than any other. To show her increased strength and influence, I
decided to give her a little more height and raise her off the
ground. The Warsong Revenant’s cloak and base were perfect

k-w
for this -1 just cut him a bit below the waist and stuck the
Branchwraith's torso on instead.

GREEN SKIN j
Basecoat: Gauss Blaster Green
| Wash: Kabalite Green & Lahmian Medium

y Highlight: Skarsnik Green

Layer: Yriel Yellow (eyes)

ORNAMENTAL MANTLE
| Basecoat: Kabalite Green
| Wash: Biel-Tan Green
| Layer: Warpstone Glow

Highlight: Moot Green

SEED PODS
I Basecoat: Ahriman Blue

Highlight: Gauss Blaster Green

Highlight: Corax White

DAEMON PRINCE BY MATT SEYMOUR

Matt: I took Yndrasta, removed her head and replaced it with a
large ball bearing. I then added eight small ball bearings around
her halo and painted them all as eyeballs. I replaced her spear
tip with the burning icon of Tzeentch from the Horrors of
Tzeentch kit and swapped her sword for a khopesh. I also added
a few bits to the base: a Tzaangor shield, a raven from the Corvus
Cabal and a walking fish familiar from Silver Tower.

BLUE STEEL ARMOUR

] Basecoat: Ironbreaker
| Recess Wash: Drakenhof Nightshade
| Wash: Aethermatic Blue

Highlight: Stormhost Silver

FIERY WINGS
Basecoat: Flash Gitz Yellow
| Wash: Fyreslayer Flesh
| Wash: Blood Angels Red
| Wash: Wyldwood

GREEN FLAMES
Basecoat: Flash Gitz Yellow
J Highlight: Moot Green
g Highlight: Warpstone Glow
S Highlight: Caliban Green

118 WHITE DWARF

 5:
VAMPIRE LORD ON ZOMBIE DRAGON DRAGON SKIN VAMPIRE'S ARMOUR
BYJAKEBOWLEY Basecoat: Rakarth Flesh | Basecoat: Dryad Bark
Jake: I converted Krondys into a mighty Zombie Dragon ridden by
a vampire. I hollowed out portions of the wing membrane and I Wash: Magos Purple Airbrush: Typhon Ash
body to create wounds and tears. I then sculpted an eye socket,
| Wash: Plaguebearer Flesh | Recess Wash: Cygor Brown
neck tendons and guts with modelling putty. I used a spare
vampire and his saddle from the Zombie Dragon kit to make the Drybrush: Pallid Wych Flesh Highlight: Deepkin Flesh
rider, complete with extra-long lance.
WING MEMBRANE ROCKY BASE
J| Basecoat: Screamer Pink | Basecoat: Fenrisian Grey
| Wash: Magos Purple | Wash: Coelia Greenshade

Drybrush: Rakarth Flesh Drybrush: Flayed One Flesh

Drybrush: Pallid Wych Flesh Drybrush: Pallid Wych Flesh

WHITE DUIARF 119

 VANARI LORD REGENT BY JAKE BOWLEY
Jake: My Vanari Lord Regent was a simple conversion, taking
parts from the Lord Regent and Lyrior Uthralle, and mashing
them together to create this 'come at me’ pose. I thought the
mount would look good leaping over something, so I built up the
base with cork and sand to make a fissure, then I snipped some
bristles from an old brush to create reeds. Finally, I added resin
with a drop of Aethermatic Blue in it to make the water.

TEALARMOUR
| Basecoat: Sons of Horus Green
|| Layer: Sybarite Green
| Recess Wash: Magos Purple
•\v
Highlight: Gauss Blaster Green

SUNMETAL BLADE
Basecoat: Grey Knights Steel
Layer: Flash Gitz Yellow
Wash: lyanden Yellow
Highlight: White Scar

VENGORIAN LORD BY PETE MCMULLIN

Pete: I painted this Vengorian Lord for my Soulblight Vampires
army during last year's studio campaign. Because the campaign
was set in Ghur (in Carcass Donse), I painted him with quite an
earthy coloured base. My army is from the Kastelai Dynasty and
includes lots of Blood Knights, so I painted my Vengorian Lord
with a red spot colour to match them. I painted his skin really
pale to contrast with his black leathery lower body.

BLACK LEATHERY SKIN

Undercoat: Wraithbone
H Wash: Black Templar

Glaze: Doombull Brown

■EW
| Drybrush: Eshin Grey

RED CLOTH
| Wash: Blood Angels Red
| Highlight: Evil Sunz Scarlet IF /L.>
| Highlight: Wild Rider Red 4 W

SILVER ARMOUR
Basecoat: Ironbreaker
’/.j Glaze: Black Templar

Highlight: Stormhost Silver

120 WHITE DWARF

GOBSPRAKK, THE MOUTH OF MORK GOBSPRAKK'S SKIN KILLABEAK'S WINGS

I
BY DAN ENTWISLE J Wash: Militarum Green | Glaze: Gryph-charger Grey
Dan: I decided to practise a new technique on this model -
specifically glazing. I primed the miniature using Grey Seer, then J Wash: Athenian Camoshade Drybrush: Grey Seer
used Contrast and thinned Layer paints as my basecoat colours. I
drybrushed these areas with Ushabti Bone or White Scar to Drybrush: Ushabti Bone Drybrush: Ulthuan Grey
brighten the raised areas before creating thin glazes from the <1 Glaze: Militarum Green Drybrush: White Scar
original base colours to stain the drybrushed highlights.

GOBSPRAKK'S ROBES
■ Basecoat: Incubi Darkness
KILLABEAK'S SKIN
| Wash: Guilliman Flesh
cn
Drybrush: Ushabti Bone Recess Wash: Volupus Pink co
Glaze: Incubi Darkness | Glaze: Guilliman Flesh

co

Ik

. ----M

WHITE DWARF 121


WARRIORS OF
THE DEPTHS
J \ ; cion of the seas, how much longer can
New background, you bear the cries of your people? Each
quests and rewards night they scream for their soul-
for Idoneth Deepkin withered children. But as the tide turns,
warbands. so too may your fortunes, for the whispers of
travellers speak of the Gnarlwood, where a
bounty of countless souls awaits you. The
future of your people may be secured if you
dare to brave its arboreal maw...
This article includes new background and
quests for Idoneth Deepkin warbands. The
122 WHITE DWARF
Tn
rewards for completing these quests include
faction-specific artefacts of power, heroic
traits and a new encampment location: the
Idoneth Raiding Post. You’ll also find tables
that allow you to generate names and an
origin for your fighters, as well as the
background for your leader. Will they lead
great raids under the leadership of an
Akhelian King, or does their talent lie in the
shaping of the tides? Read on, forsaken of the
deep, for it is time to rise to the surface and
reap your biggest soul-bounty yet!

THE ETHERSEA RISES
Teclis’ forgotten children build their coral palaces deep within the realms’ great seas. Shrouded by heavy fog
and bearing salt-encrusted weapons, the Idoneth Deepkin now creep from the Mawbight and venture deep
into the Gnarlwood, driven by the promise of a thousand gathered souls.
Across the Mortal Realms, a set of unspoken rules has
taken root in more than one coastal village near an
Idoneth enclave: fishing territories are clearly marked;
criminals and murderers are left as offerings to the
sea; doors are sealed before the last of Hysh’s light dies
away. Though even after years of wary coexistence,
should their aelven neighbours require fresh soul­
bounty, there is little a settlement can do. The mists
will inevitably descend over dew-slicked huts and
boats. Come morning, the sands will be strewn with
comatose bodies robbed of their life-essence. These
are the hallmarks of the Idoneth Deepkin - woeful
aelves of unearthly pallor that rove the seas in search
of mortal vitality.
The origin of the Idoneth was bright and full of
promise. Teclis crafted the first of their number,
then known as the Cythai, from souls retrieved
from Slaanesh’s gullet in the hope of recreating his
ancestral race. He attempted to teach them of the
old ways and the aelven pantheon, but they quickly
became withdrawn and resentful of their creator. The
joy of their rescue gradually gave way to despair as
Teclis realised that the first of the Cythai were tainted
beyond recovery by the years spent trapped within
the Dark Prince’s core - and with a heavy heart,
he decided that they must be destroyed. At the last
moment, Teclis’ brother Tyrion stayed the distraught
god’s hand, but the damage was done; the Cythai
had now learned to fear the wrath of their creator.
They fled in droves into the seas of Hysh, discovering
aquatic whirlways through which to spread out and
hide within the numbing abysses and trenches of the
realms. This desire to remain concealed, away from
Teclis’ betrayal, has persisted through the generations
of Idoneth. Ever since, they have created their
sprawling metropolises exclusively in the cradles of
ocean valleys and trenches or upon the backs of great
underwater fauna.
The strange curse at the heart of the Idoneth race
dooms many of their number to a premature death.
Born with withering souls, these unfortunates -
known as Namarti - must be stabilised with fresh
spirit-stuff reaped from other beings. As a result, the
many enclaves regularly rise from the ocean floor to
sweep across mortal settlements, giving rise to many
mysterious rumours and traditions. Thanks to the
Idoneth’s obliviating magics, no one is truly sure of
the threat that awaits them - only a churning feeling
of unease based on rumours and stolen glimpses of
creatures on the horizon. When the aelven war hosts
finally rise to the surface, a choking mist descends,
and moving through the air becomes as difficult and
—
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LU
slow as wading through water. This phenomenon is
known as the ethersea, and it allows the servant beasts
of the Idoneth to subsist on land, following Idoneth
warbands wherever they go. 3
LU
The Gnarlwood
Legends of the Gnarlwood have spread across
the Ghurish Heartlands with the sure speed of a
wildfire. It is possible that the Idoneth might not have
expressed interest in such a malicious den of wood
and flesh had it been left well alone, but as long as the
Gnarlwood’s man-eating trees and acidic meadows
play host to so many foolish adventurers, it also
serves as a potent lure for the soul-hungry enclaves.
Numerous expeditions wander astray within the
inescapable forest, allowing the aelves to reave to
their hearts’ content with no fear of reinforcements.
Idoneth warbands have flooded through whirlways in
the nearby Mawbight armed with wicked razorshell
spears and shields, bringing with them the brine-thick
atmosphere of the ethersea.
Whilst the Idoneth’s sub-aquatic cities are nominally
in league with Sigmar’s Pantheon, they are mercurial
allies. Many a group of Dawnbringers have stumbled
bleeding and broken from the clutches of fang-
ridged plants and choking vines straight into what
they assume are their would-be saviours, only to
be brutally skewered upon spear and sword. After
all, if a warband is not strong enough to survive the
Gnarlwood’s twisted flora, they would have been
bound to die sooner or later, anyway - it would not be
pragmatic to waste such a bounty of fresh souls. This
is not to say that the Gnarlwood is easy pickings for
the Idoneth, however - many of their warbands fail to
realise just how difficult it is to make their way back
out of the forest’s hungry grasp.
Not all Idoneth warbands have been diving into the
forest seeking souls of late, for not even the solemn
aelves of the deep can resist the stories of Taiaxis that
slip from the mouths of both their allies and their
prey. It is said that glimmering pools can be found
there that pulsate with the energy of creation, watched
over by stone idols as old as the Age of Myth. Some
Akhelian monarchs, especially those with enclaves
desperately lacking in souls, seek the water of these
wellsprings in the hope that it can cleanse and purify
the withered souls of the young, stymieing the
advancement of the Idoneth soul-curse within them.
Such claims, however, have not yet been proven; it is
entirely possible that they are chasing a myth dreamed
up by their own ancestral despair.
WHITE DWARF 123
 IDONETH DEEPKIN -
THE ETHERSEA RISES
Over the following pages, you will find optional rules for Idoneth Deepkin warbands. These are excellent
options for narrative and open play, as your Idoneth drag their victims into the briny depths in your games
of Warcry.

Before setup, if a player is using an Idoneth Deepkin warband, then that player can choose to arrive with the
phantasmal tide. If they do so, the following rules apply during that battle.

TIDAL RAID

Tidal Emergence: After deployment, 1 friendly fighter with the Idoneth Deepkin (^) faction runemark can
be removed from the battlefield and set up as if they were part of another friendly battle group, including
a battle group that is in reserve. This fighter remains part of their original battle group for all other rules
purposes. If more than 1 player is controlling an Idoneth Deepkin warband, those players roll off. The winner
chooses the order in which the players use Tidal Emergence.

Surging Tide: During the first battle round, if a friendly fighter with the Idoneth Deepkin (^) faction
runemark makes 2 move actions in the same activation, add 2 to the Move characteristic of that fighter for
that second move action.

Crashing Waves: During the second battle round, if a friendly fighter with the Idoneth Deepkin (^) faction
runemark makes 2 attack actions in the same activation, add 1 to the Strength characteristic of that fighter for
that second attack action.

Ebbing Flow: During the third battle round, if a friendly fighter with the Idoneth Deepkin (^) faction
runemark makes 2 attack actions in the same activation, subtract 1 from the Strength characteristic of that
fighter for that second attack action (to a minimum of 1).

Fading Memories: In the fourth and subsequent battle rounds, friendly fighters with the Idoneth Deepkin
(^) faction runemark cannot use abilities or reactions while they are within 3" of 2 or more enemy fighters.

’J
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124 WHITEDWARF
 —

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IDONETH DEEPKIN QUESTS o

5
Below you will find 2 quests that can be embarked upon by Idoneth Deepkin warbands.
co
Idoneth Deepkin Quest
LU
SOUL-RAID
In battle, the Idoneth take what souls they can before retreating, leaving soul-drained husks in their wake.

Pick 1 artefact of power from the Artefacts of the Deep table (see below) and note it in your quest log. You
3
LU
cannot pick an artefact of power already borne by a fighter in your warband. While embarked upon this
I quest, you must keep track of the souls your warband has taken, represented by a souls score.

Add 1 to your souls score each time:

Each time an enemy fighter is taken down by a melee attack action made by a friendly fighter with
the Idoneth Deepkin (^) faction runemark. If that enemy fighter had the Hero
(3^) runemark and/or a Wounds characteristic of 20 or more, add 3 to your souls score instead.
Each time an enemy fighter is taken down within 3" of a friendly fighter with the Hero
(^f) runemark.
For each enemy fighter within 6" of the centre of the battlefield at the end of a battle in which your
warband fought.
Each time an injury roll is made for an enemy fighter in the aftermath sequence of a battle in which
your warband fought.

You can complete this quest once your souls score is 14 or more. When you complete this quest, you 1
obtain the artefact of power that was noted in your quest log. f

ARTEFACTS OF THE DEEP

Armour of the Cythai: At the bearers behest, this suit of armour emits a blinding light, searing attackers with
the power ofHysh.
The bearer can make the following reaction:
[Reaction] Light of Hysh: A fighter can make this reaction when they are targeted by a melee attack action
but before the hit rolls are made. For each hit roll from that attack action that is a critical hit, allocate 3
damage points to the attacking fighter.
Helm of Distant Promises: The gaze of the bearer becomes a hypnotic lure, drawing luckless fighters to their
doom. However, no matter how far or how fast the victim runs, the bearer they see remains just out of reach.
Enemy fighters that end a move action within 3" of the bearer cannot target the bearer with melee attack
actions until the end of the battle round.
The Vortex Shroud: With but a simple twirl, this cloak will cause invisible currents to swirl around the bearer
at deadly speeds. Designed for underwater defence, this is equally effective at preventing arrows, bullets and
worse from finding their mark while on a soul-raid.
Subtract 2 from the damage points allocated by each critical hit (to a minimum of 1) from missile attack
actions that target the bearer.
Bell of Empty Tolls: This bell has no clapper and makes no sound when tolled. When held aloft, it emits a
variety of subsonic waves that summon all manner of creatures to the bearers aid.
Once per battle, the bearer can use this artefact as a bonus action. If they do so, pick a lesser artefact that is a
familiar. The bearer has that lesser artefact until the end of the battle.
The Waveless Lance: This barbed spear warps space around it so that, once
cast, nothing can impede its passage.
Once per battle round, the bearer can make the following attack action. In X 3? «
addition, while making that attack action, enemy fighters cannot make the r 3-8 3 H 2/5
‘Take Cover’ reaction nor can they be in cover.
Mantle of Mathlann: This cloak offlowing water was a giftfrom an Eidolon ofMathlann, and it provides a
small measure of that figure's mythical power and grace.
Add 1 to the Move characteristic of the bearer, and the bearer gains the Fly () runemark.

WHITE DWARF
___
 Idoneth Deepkin Quest
IDONETH RAIDING POST
Once the Idoneth have located an area ripe for harvesting, it is not uncommon for them to maintain a small
outpost dryside, to better collate and process stolen soul-matter. Such outposts boast powerful defences in
the form of the magical mists summoned by the Idoneth, which cause enemy fighters to forget their purpose,
become lost and then inevitably end up as soul fodderfor the Idoneth.
While embarked upon this quest, you must keep track of the progress your warband makes, represented
by a progress score. Add 2 to your progress score in step 4 of each campaign battle’s aftermath sequence
if you won the battle. In addition, in step 4 of the aftermath sequence, you can pick up to 3 fighters from
your warband that took part in the last battle and were not taken down, and send them forth to search
for supplies. To do so, roll a dice, and add the score rolled to your progress score. In addition, on a roll
of 1, the fighter being rolled for is attacked by something within the Gnarlwood. Make an injury roll for
that fighter.
While your progress score totals 20 or more, you can fight battles using the ‘Preparing the Mists’ quest
battleplan. If you do so and you win the battle, in step 4 of the aftermath sequence, you can complete this
quest. If you do so, in step 5 of the aftermath sequence, you can relocate your warband’s encampment to
an ‘Idoneth Raiding Post’ (see opposite) and do not need to spend any glory to do so. .

Quest Battleplan

PREPARING THE MISTS

The mists that protect the Idoneth Raiding Post
are as deadly as they are potent, but a great ritual
must be performed before the mists themselves
will appear. This is a draining affairfor even the
most learned or stoic Idoneth, and they must trust
theirfellows to keep them alive whilst they focus on
summoning the mists.
Attacker and Defender
In this battle, the questing player is the defender,
and the adversary player is the attacker.
Before deploying, the defender must place their
leader or a friendly fighter with the Mystic
(®) runemark and/or Priest (|y) runemark as
centrally as possible on the battlefield floor. That
fighter is the ritualist. The ritualist cannot make
move actions.
Victory
The battle ends after 5 battle rounds. At the end of
the battle, if the ritualist is on the battlefield, the
defender wins. Otherwise, the attacker wins.

Terrain
Set up terrain using the alternative terrain rules
from page 61 of the Core Book.
Deployment
Use the deployment map below. The defender is
blue and the attacker is red.
RND2
t T
T ■1 T
Twist
Mindprey Mists
The thick, enveloping mists emanatingfrom the
ritualist cause enemies to become forgetful and
sluggish, making them easy prey.
In the first battle round, fighters within 3" of the
ritualist are considered to be in the mists. Add 3"
to this distance in each subsequent battle round
(so in the third battle round, fighters within 9" of
the ritualist are considered to be in the mists).
The attacker’s fighters in the mists cannot use
abilities or make reactions. A fighter in the mists
is not visible to fighters that are not in the mists.
Fighters in the mists are not visible to each other
unless they are within 3" of each other.

The Aftermath Sequence

The adversary player receives the following bonus
in the aftermath sequence:
r<o»^
RND2 Renown to be Earned: The adversary player
adds 1 to each renown roll they make in this
aftermath sequence.

126 WHITE DWARF

 — —
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ENCAMPMENT LOCATION <
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In the aftermath sequence of a battle

Idoneth Raiding Post
This mist-shrouded outpost keeps the Idoneth
Deepkin safe whilst confounding any who
would dare try to launch a counter-raid to
retrieve a fallen comrade's soul.
in which your warband fought, each cn
time an enemy fighter suffers the LU
Killed result on the Injury table, you
gain 2 glory. In addition, in step 5 of 1150
the aftermath sequence, you can pick
1 fighter from your warband and send
them forth to plumb the ethersea. To
do so, roll on the table overleaf. UJ

WHITE DWARF 127

 IDONETH DEEPKIN LESSER ARTEFACTS (D66)
11-16 Disappointing Catch
Despite your warriors best efforts, the ethersea refuses to give up its treasures.
This result has no effect.

21-26 Full Nets

Your warrior returns with some ancient coins and a few other trinkets that the lesser races will cheerfully trade for.
[Reward] You receive D6 glory.

31-33 Brain Barnacles

These atrocious creatures burrow deep into the enemy's mind, causing immense pain.
[Consumable] The bearer can use this artefact as a bonus action. When they do so, pick 1 visible enemy fighter
within 1" of the bearer. That enemy fighter cannot use abilities or make reactions until the end of the battle round.

34-36 Reefshards
These razor sharp pieces ofcoral are kept in a small pouch, before being delicately removed and hurled with extreme
precision into the vulnerable soft spots of enemies, leaving them screaming in agony and open to assault.
[Consumable] The bearer can use this artefact as a bonus action. When they do so, pick 1 visible enemy fighter
within 8" of the bearer, and roll a dice. On a 3+, allocate 1 damage point to that enemy fighter. In addition, subtract 3
from that enemy fighter’s Toughness characteristic (to a minimum of 1) until the end of the battle round.

41-43 Grief Urchin Venom Dart

Delicately crafted from the spine of a devastatingly lethal grief urchin, the pain caused by this dart can completely
debilitate an enemy and curtail any attack.
[Consumable] The bearer can use this artefact as a bonus action. When they do so, pick 1 visible enemy fighter
within 8" of the bearer, and roll a dice. On a 3+, allocate 1 damage point to that enemy fighter. In addition, subtract 3
from the Strength characteristic of that enemy fighter’s melee attack actions (to a minimum of 1) until the end of the
battle round.
44-46 Ethermarine Reinforcements
A lone Idoneth warrior, scarred but unbowed, enters your encampment, offering their aid.
[Reward] The first time you add a fighter to your warband roster in your next Manage Your Warband step, subtract 2
from the glory point cost to do so (to a minimum of 0).

51-53 Shard of the Drowned Men

This is a splinter of the hull of the Light of Dawn, a ship cursed by the Idoneth that sank in calm waters. The bearer can
use it to direct the ethersea to some small degree, causing great discomfort and confusion to the enemy before battle.
[Consumable] If the bearer is included in your warband, at the start of the first initiative phase, you can declare that
the bearer will direct the ethersea. When they do so, roll a dice. On a 1-3, you gain 1 additional wild dice. On a 4+,
you gain 1 additional wild dice, and your opponent loses 1 wild dice.

54-56 Adolescent Shearclaw

Despite its diminutive size, once the claws of this crab-like creature latch on, it is nigh-on impossible to remove.
This lesser artefact is a familiar.
[Perishable] Once per battle, the bearer can use this artefact as a bonus action. When they do so, pick 1 visible enemy
fighter within 3" of the bearer, and roll a dice. On a 3+, that fighter cannot make move actions until the end of this
battle round.
61-62 Juvenile Spinefin
Even thralled, spinefins make poor companions. If carefully managed, however, they can be ‘milked’ of their venom,
which, when slathered generously on a blade, can cause even meagre wounds to blossom with pain.
This lesser artefact is a familiar.
[Perishable] Once per battle, the bearer can use this artefact as a bonus action. When they do so, count 1 miss from
the next attack action made by this fighter this activation as a critical hit.
63-64 Infant Voltane Eel
This tiny eel refuses to leave the 'cave' that is the bearers robe or sleeve. It emerges only to feed and nip at anyone that
would dare harm its master, with deadly results.
This lesser artefact is a familiar.
[Perishable] The bearer can use this artefact to make the following reaction:
[Reaction] Voltaic Retaliation: A fighter can make this reaction when they are targeted by a melee attack action but
before the hit rolls are made. For each hit roll from that attack action that is a critical hit, allocate 3 damage points to
the attacking fighter.

65-66 Gifts of the Ethersea

You awake to find that the tides have brought you great gifts. Mathlann smiles upon you!
[Reward] Roll twice on this table. Re-roll any further results of‘Disappointing Catch’ and ‘Gifts of the Ethersea’.

128 WHITE DUIARF

 —

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IDONETH DEEPKIN
BACKGROUND TABLES
CO
Idoneth Deepkin enclaves can be LU
found deep within oceans across DIO FIRST NAMES DIO LAST NAMES
all of the Mortal Realms. From 1 Gweirath 1 Ichthyron
abyssal Ulgu to the gleaming
waters of Ghyran, they raid 2 Maiyon 2 Namassus
coastal settlements, desperate
to bolster the lives of their 3 Rhorainn 3 Ghol-Dainn U
young and the expansion of
their territory. 4 Saoirna 4 Follanos
Despite being allies of the forces
5 Cyrelle 5 Banacynn
of Order, the Idoneth often come
into conflict with the many races
6 Taithyrr 6 Ennothon
of the realms as they harvest the
soul of anyone they can catch. No 7 Lathann 7 Viorlyonn
life-matter is wasted; their desire
for the precious resource will 8 Ithryas 8 Mal-druinn
override their loyalties if need be.
The ethersea allows them to strike 9 Vhairith 9 Selonnos
in packs above water upon their
aquatic mounts, and their strikes 10 Amhor 10 Zelthyross
are often precise, deadly and quick.

ORIGIN LEADER BACKGROUND

High King’s Emissaries: Sent by High

Fought to the Top: This warrior fought their
King Volturnos himself, this warband has
1 1 way up the ranks to become an Akhelian King
been tasked with recovering as many souls
and is used to the hardship and struggle.
as possible.

Driven by Vengeance: This warrior kills any

Slick as Elvers: This warband trained together
2 2 servants of Morathi on sight, still bitter over the
long ago and works like a well-oiled machine.
Khainites’ previous betrayal.

Driven by Despair: This warband’s enclave is

Soul-purifier: This warrior is obsessed with
3 dying out. They will use underhanded tactics 3
finding the waters of Taiaxis at any cost.
and ambushes to gain more souls quickly.

Allies of Convenience: This warband has
a tendency to ally with those they stumble
4 4
across, but they are not afraid to betray
them mercilessly.
Relic-hunter: This warrior has an interest
in the arcane relics lost in the forest and will
loot enemies to bring their possessions back
as prizes.

Swamp Stalkers: This warband prefers to fight Fish Out of Water: This warrior despises
5 near swamps and mires, seeing them as the next 5 spending so long out of water and exclusively
best thing if they cannot access bodies of water. travels routes between lakes and ponds.

Ghurish Seafarer: This warrior has

Lured by Myth: This warband heard the tales
acclimatised to Ghur’s harsh atmosphere,
6 of the distant Ravening Ruin and are driven by 6
having spent their life within the realm’s
insatiable curiosity to find the pools of Taiaxis.
fierce seas.

WHITE DWARF 129


Nemesis deck-building. But dis time for grotz!
JOHN BRACKEN
John Bracken is a games
developer in the
Warhammer Age of Sigmar
Skirmish studio. Like Dave
last month, John has been
focusing on the Nemesis
format of Warhammer
Underworlds. So there are
now two Nemesis
emissaries in the studio.
We call them
Nemesissaries.
130 WHITE DWARF
GLORY
POINTS
■ ■ ■ ith the Nemesis format in full
■ K swing following the release of
■I II Gnarlwood, I was asked to put
W W together a Nemesis deck using the
Grinkrak’s Looncourt and Fearsome Fortress
Rivals decks. This seemed like a
straightforward task; Fearsome Fortress was
designed to have some core synergy with
Grinkrak and his unlikely ladz, as the two
were planned to be released alongside one
another. In addition, the Nemesis format
suits me a great deal because of the more
focused card pool. Add to this the fact that
Grinkrak’s Looncourt are, in a word, hilarious
(both to build decks for and play with), and
this should be a lot of fun.
The output of this column is a fully functional
Nemesis deck that I’ve cheerfully dubbed
‘Dubious Defenders’ (I do love a bit of
alliteration), which you can find opposite.
However, I believe the most important thing
to take away from this is the process I used to
build the deck itself. If you aren’t sure how to
go about engaging with Nemesis deck­
building, this column is perfect for you, so go
make a nice beverage of your choice (my
personal favourite is a steaming-hot fungus
brew), get comfy and enjoy.
If you are already up to speed with the
Nemesis format and deck-building in general,
I’d love to know what you think of the
Dubious Defenders deck. What cards would
you swap out? Is there something here you
haven’t thought of? Am I completely mad?
Have I missed something blindingly, and
perhaps painfully, obvious to your veteran
eyes? Regardless of what you think, let me
know by writing to the email address given at
the end of this column.
THE PROCESS
I’ve been playing Warhammer Underworlds
since the release of Shadespire, so I’ve built a
lot of decks, with varying levels of success. As
a result, there were a lot of thoughts on how
to approach this floating around in my head.
I can’t ramble on forever in these columns, so
this time I decided it was important to have a
more scientific approach and therefore did
some quick research. Initially, I looked back
over some older articles I wrote about
deck-building and some of the Rivals decks I
put together for Nethermaze. There was some
(questionable!) wisdom to be found there,
but I needed more. Then I thought about how
I had been building Nemesis decks recently,
and I realised that I had a system of sorts
already in place. After a bit more analysis, I
noticed that what I had been doing naturally
was putting all the cards side by side and
picking the most suitable ones for the deck I
envisioned by comparing them directly to
each other. Not terribly scientific at all, really.
For the purposes of this column, I needed
something a little more refined, so I applied
some more brain power and codified my
thoughts somewhat. In the end, I developed
an incredibly complicated and
mathematically precise rating system of
green, ‘orange’ and ‘red’ for each card. Clever,
eh? I bet no one has ever done that before.
So what do the colours mean? Well, as you’d
expect, green meant I was putting that card in
my Nemesis deck, pretty much no matter
what. Orange meant that I was fairly sure the
card was a decent pick, but that I needed
some more convincing. Finally, red was a
rating for cards that I was confident didn’t gel
well with my green choices, even if the card
in question had a strong effect. Other red

DUBIOUS DEFENDERS DECK
Re^lton Plevthu after a tnendly fighterX
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or 1 hex towards the nearest Protore token
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i miJtote festurc tnka to thj«6gtae*i het
cards were ones that I felt didn’t fit into the
tournament-conquering, opponent­
obliterating Dubious Defenders deck (a small
exaggeration here, perhaps).
Once each card had a rating, I took all the
green cards as the starting point for a
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This deck needs fighters to stand on
objectives and charge the enemy.
Because grots are not very reliable,
I tried to shore up their weaknesses
so they can get where they need to
be, shank who needs shankin’ and
J
hang around long enough to score
me some glory points before dying!
Nemesis deck; then I filled in any gaps using
what I felt were the best options from the
orange card pool. If I couldn’t find an orange
card to reinforce the deck, I could dip into
the red pool, which luckily I did not have to
do this round. Easy!
WHITE DWARF 131
iMitfARHAMMEjH
ISLWUNDERW^RLDSj
I simply don’t have space here to show you
the rating for each card in both Rivals decks,
so instead, here is a nice summary of how I
looked at the objectives, gambits and
upgrades, in that order.
OBJECTIVES
Always start with your objective cards,
people. Objectives tell you what your
Nemesis deck is planning to do, so I don’t
think you can properly rate your available
gambits and upgrades until you have sorted
out your objective deck. Within that, I believe
your first starting point should be your surge
objective cards. In the Nemesis format you
have a hard limit of six of these cards, so I put
all 12 from both Rivals decks next to each
other and compared them. The first thing I
noticed was that quite a few of the Looncourt
surge objectives are ‘Quest’ objective cards.
These are important to the Looncourt as they
fuel the warband’s Inspire condition. This
meant that the cards I felt were easiest to
score from that section automatically got a
green rating - I felt that they had to go in the
deck, no matter what. After all, surges are
great, and surges that inspire your warband
are clearly a good starting point.
Next up, I looked at the other surges, and in
the end I found a total of seven green surge
objectives, which was an excellent start. I
needed to ditch one, so I removed the card I
felt would be hardest to score. I stuck to
objectives that I believed I had a good chance
of scoring in one activation. This is
sometimes referred to as stacking’ objectives.
Specifically I saw that Mob ’Em, Pick on a
Git Yer Own Size!, Run ’Em Down, Bold
Sortie and Lethal Defences are all potentially
triggered by one Charge action, which
132 WEDIUARF
seemed like a good deal and kept my plan for
my surge objectives simple: stab ’em! Not to
mention the unique Quest mechanic allows
you to potentially score up to four of them in
one go and Inspire some fighters to boot!
With a bit of effort (and no small amount of
luck) you could even score all six surge
objectives, but that relies on a pretty fearsome
setup and an upgrade card, so the odds of
doing it are longer than a grot’s nose. Still,
aim for da moon and all that.
With the surges all picked, it was time for the
remaining six objectives. This was a little
trickier as there are some great choices, but
some divergent strategies, between the
Grinkrak’s Looncourt deck and Fearsome
Fortress. I decided that, since my surge
objectives were aggro’ and involved more
stabbin’ than a Kruleboyz back-stabbing
competition, the rest of the objective deck
should avoid relying on dice rolls. Instead, I
looked for objectives that reward me for
doing what grots traditionally do best: skulk
around on some objective tokens whilst
looking as shifty as possible. Fearsome
Fortress rewards this strategy and has some
very powerful cards to back it up, so this
seemed like a very sensible choice to go with.
I applied my colour technique to the
remaining objective cards and came up with a
solid and reliable set of green and orange
objective-token-holding cards. With this, my
overall strategy became clear: make one or
two well-supported and reliable charges a
turn with Grinkrak the Great, Skolko and
Pronk and/or Gribb, da Wonky Lance, whilst
sending the rest of the Looncourt to capture
objective tokens in the right places. Again, I
wanted to stack the objectives where I could,

Kunnin' Advance
Action: Pu«h each Inspired friendly fighter up
to 2 hexes.
Grinkrai knnu-i that his Lrwnkntghis are
deluded, but he uses that to his advantage.
and Underground Fortress, Stockpile,
Conquered Domain, That’s Ours, That Is!
and Looncourt, Scrag ’Em! can each be
scored in the same end phase. Siegebreakers
is the last objective. Although I feel it is
perhaps the weakest choice, if played against
an opponent who might also be aiming at
objective’ play, it is a solid pick, and I should
be able to score it in at least half my games.
GAMBITS
I always find that gambits are the easiest cards
to pick. My automatic green gambits were
any cards that had the word push’ on them.
With so many of my objective cards relying
on positioning, having push cards is simply
essential. In fact, push cards are so important
that the only card from both Rivals decks
with the word push that I left out was
Kunnin’ Advance (1). This upgrade card
relies on fighters being Inspired to work, and
I’m just not confident that I’ll have many
Inspired fighters who will be able to take
advantage of this. However, I think once I’ve
had the opportunity to do some playtesting
with this deck, it may be a card I return to
and try to find room for. But given that I
already have a whopping SIX push gambits in
Dubious Defenders, I reckon that’s probably
plenty (maybe even be too many)!
After greedily grabbing as many push gambits
as I could lay my grubby hands on, I had four
more gambits to choose for Dubious
Defenders. Since my surge objectives rely on
making at least one successful Attack action
at some point during the game, cards that
gave me extra damage, extra accuracy and the
occasional extra Attack action were all
welcome additions to the deck.
UPGRADES
Finally, I had some upgrade cards to pick.
Upgrades are very important, as any
Warhammer Underworlds veteran will tell
you. Looking at my objectives, I needed my
upgrades to provide damage, accuracy and,
most importantly, survivability. Why? Well,
S3
It
- I;
I A friendly fighter is given a Guard token
B If. that fighter is on a feature token within 1 hex
of no one's territory.
It might not be glorious work, but it cmdd CO
my surge objectives were based around
charging, hence the need for damage and
accuracy, while my other objectives needed
my grots to hang about on objective tokens,
all shifty-like, hence my inclination towards
survivability. Perusing the cards, I found
some that were clearly and obviously green:
extra damage and Wounds characteristics, a
smattering of push prevention and Guard
token acquisition - to help score Earthworks
(2) - and I was all set. I tend to find that
upgrades fall into place very quickly once you
have your gambits and objective cards in a
comfortable place, and this time the
Grinkrak’s Looncourt and Fearsome Fortress
Rivals decks looked like they were able to
provide exactly the cards that I needed.
TVE CREATED A MONSTER!
So I was finished with the exercise, and I had
my Dubious Defenders Rivals deck at the first
draft. Now the time had come to play some
games and see how this Nemesis deck
performed. This is always the most
interesting part (which sadly can’t really be
replicated in print), and anyone familiar with
deck-building will know that after three to
four games, you start to view each card in
your deck in a new light. What works, what
doesn’t, what you thought would work really
well but definitely does not, and so on. This is
known as iterative deck-building, and it is a
fun and engaging activity to dive into
between games of Warhammer Underworlds.
In the end, I hope to have a really fun, tuned
deck that is enjoyable to play and gets me a
few wins to boot.
THE END PHASE
So now that you’ve seen how a Nemesis deck
can be built, hopefully you are inspired to
give it a go yourself, if you haven’t already. As
I mentioned earlier, deck-building is an
iterative process; you are rarely finished
MORE GLORY?
tinkering until you hand in your decklist at What topic would you like
the tournament. And few decks survive a us to explore next? Email
tournament - even if you finish in first us at: whunderworlds®
gwplc.com
place - so have fun, and good luck!
WHITE DWARF 133
 ■J I" 11. li_ J
n
I
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*
SAVAGE ASSAULT
Osgiliath is silent. sgiliath. Once the crowning jewel in
J Gondor’s mighty realm, the city has
Nothing stirs
] been reduced to ruins by the armies of
amidst the ruins. the Dark Lord Sauron. Yet Osgiliath is
Or does it? In the still of strategic importance, for it straddles
depths of the night, the River Anduin on the approach to Minas
boats cross the Tirith. The forces of Mordor must conquer it
river Anduin. if they are to win the war for Middle-earth.
Gothmog’s assault
As one of the pivotal moments in the film
has begun. trilogy, the assault on Osgiliath has now been
immortalised in the Battle of Osgiliath box
set. And we thought, what better way to
celebrate than with a Battle Report? But who
to play in it? Perhaps Lewis Collins and Ash
Hamstead-Reid are free again. Oh, they are?
Super. Over to you, you cheeky Hobbits!
Lewis: Were back for more action in
Middle-earth! Like last time (issue 470),
we’ve built and painted new armies and a
board to fight over. I painted a Gondor army
that includes Faramir, Madril and Damrod,
134 WHITE DWARF
while Ash painted a Mordor army led by
Gothmog. I also painted a battlefield to fight
over, while Ash made all the scatter terrain
and palisades.
Ash: While planning out this battle, we came
up with a few special rules to ensure the game
felt just like the story presented in the film.
The first is falling rubble, which represents
the ongoing Orc bombardment of the city.
We also included rules for Madril and his
Rangers launching an ambush. You can see
all these rules in the scenario opposite.
Lewis: We’ve fought this scenario twice
already to make sure it runs well. In our first
encounter, Ash murdered all my Heroes with
Gothmog but almost ran out of Orcs to
capture the buildings. In the second game,
things swung more in the favour of Gondor
as I made better use of my named characters.
This battle will be the decider. I hope that the
time of the Orc has not come!

SCENARIO - SKIRMISH IN OSGILIATH
The ruined streets of Osgiliath have played host to a vast number of pitched battles and backstreet skirmishes throughout the Third
Age, with the forces of Gondor and Mordor vying for control of this vital strategic location. As he prepares his assault on Minas Tirith,
Sauron turns his eye to Osgiliath once more, knowing that if he is to take the White City, he must first control this crucial position.
LAYOUT
The scenario is played on a 2' by 4' board, which represents
the ruined streets of Osgiliath. There should be six
numbered buildings set out as shown on the map, which
represent important strategic locations. The board should
be littered with plenty of rubble and debris, as well as
smaller sections of ruined walls or buildings.
<-
12"
->
r Evil
12"
->
Good o ® :LDeployment
Deployment
i■ ®
N
i
STARTING POSITIONS
The Good player deploys their force within 12" of the
western board edge. The Evil player then deploys their force
within 12" of the eastern board edge.
OBJECTIVES
• Both forces are trying to secure a number of key
strategic locations across the ruined city of Osgiliath.
• The game lasts until the end of a turn in which one
force has been reduced to a quarter (25%) of its
starting number of models, or below. The Good player
wins if they control more of the numbered buildings
than the Evil player; the Evil player wins if they control
more of the numbered buildings than the Good
player. Any other result is a draw.
SPECIAL RULES
Controlling the Buildings - Securing key locations across the
city will provide either the attackers or defenders with important
staging posts for the coming battles.
A building is considered to be controlled by a player if they
have more models in, or within 1", of the building than
their opponent. Control of a building can change multiple
times over the course of the battle.
A City Under Siege - Both forces have been launching heavy
masonry and rocks at the other's positions in an effort to soften
up their defences. As the battle lines meet, the volleys begin to
land closer and closer to the embattled forces.
At the end of each Move phase, the player with Priority
rolls a D6 and consults the Scenario map. All models in, or
within 1" of, the corresponding building suffer a Strength 3
hit as they are struck by chunks of broken building.
2
5
The Toll of Battle - As the battle rages within Osgiliath, the
casualties begin to rack up, a sight that can cause some of the
more wary warriors to turn tail and flee.
In this Scenario, both forces will break in the same way as
if it were a Matched Play game. The rules for Broken forces
can be found in the main rules manual. LU
Ambush! - Madril has defended Osgiliath for many years and
knows which of its winding streets and tight alleyways are best
to strike from.
At the beginning of the game, Madril and the Rangers of
Gondor are ambushing and do not deploy on the board as
normal. Instead, once both players have completed their
third Move phase, Madril and the Rangers must choose one
of the following options:
• Move Madril and the Rangers onto the board via the
northern, southern or western board edge using the
rules for Reinforcements.
Or
• Deploy Madril and the Rangers in, or within 1" of, any
of the numbered buildings. Models that are deployed
in this way cannot be placed within the Control Zones
of any enemy models. Models that enter the board in
this way cannot move any further that turn and count
as having moved half of their Move allowance for the
purposes of shooting.
PARTICIPANTS
Good
Faramir, Captain of Gondor with bow; Madril, Captain of
Ithilien; Cirion, Lieutenant of Amon Barad; Damrod,
Ranger of Ithilien; Anborn, Ranger of Ithilien; Mablung,
Ranger of Ithilien; Captain of Minas Tirith with shield
and bow; 12 Osgiliath Veterans: 3 with no additional
equipment, 3 with shield, 4 with spear and shield, 2 with
bow; 8 Rangers of Gondor: 3 with no additional
equipment, 5 with spear; 12 Warriors of Minas Tirith: 5
with shield, 5 with spear and shield, 1 with bow, 1 with
banner and shield; 1 Gondor Avenger Bolt Thrower.
Evil
Gothmog, Lieutenant of Sauron with shield and Warg;
Gothmog s Enforcer; Orc Captain with pick and shield; 25
Morannon Orcs: 12 with shield, 10 with shield and spear,
2 with spear, 1 with banner; 11 Mordor Orcs: 7 with
shield, 4 with Orc bow; 1 Mordor Troll with hand-and-a-
half hammer; 1 Mordor Siege Bow.
WHITE DWARF 135
Mibble-ewtt
STRATEGY BATTLE GAME

THE FORCES OF GOOD —’

MINAS TIRITH J >M

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L -

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kt

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£
2

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136 WHITE DUIARF

 3E x

TURNS1&2

DEFEND THE CITY! a:

Having disembarked from their boats, the Orcs storm into the ruins of Osgiliath. Gothmog
leads the charge personally. The Men of Gondor bravely hold their ground.

isA I LU

LU

s Orcs swarmed up from the river, the

fl Men of Gondor moved to defend the
remnants of their ruined city. Faramir
w B dived for cover as the Orcs
bombarded the city from across the river,
while Cirion issued orders for the battle line
to move forwards. To the north, Anborn and
Damrod readied their bows and took aim at
their foes, while to the south, Mablung
pointed out targets to his archers and the
Avenger Bolt Thrower crew.

Despite Faramir s swift reaction to the Orc

threat, Gothmog was faster. With his
Enforcer to his left and a ferocious Mordor
Troll to his right, he led the bellowing horde
of Orcs into the square. The foul creatures The Warriors of Minas Tirith
form ranks alongside the
quickly spread out into the nearby buildings Osgiliath Veterans (1). A
as the Men of Gondor let fly with their bows. Captain of Minas Tirith and
Several Morannon Orcs fell with arrows in Cirion stand just behind the
front rank, ready to step in and
their chests as the rest took cover in the ruins. tackle any dangerous foes (like
The Mordor Troll, looming over the Orcs, the fast-approaching Troll!).
bellowed as two arrows from the Avenger
Gothmog leads the charge (2).
Bolt Thrower pierced its thick hide, its black Ash declares a Heroic Combat
blood staining the ground. The two battle with him but has to spend a
lines clashed with a thunderous roar, swords second point of Might to win
the fight after rolling badly.
and spears thumping into shields as the two Gothmog slays three Warriors
sides vied for control of the city. Around of Minas Tirith in his rampage.
them, huge chunks of masonry fell, burying Nearby, the Troll hurls a Man at
Cirion, who survives. The Man
both Orcs and Men in the rubble. of Gondor is not so lucky.

WHITE DWARF 137

Mibblc-eARTtf
STRATEGY BATTLE GAME

TURNS

THE AGE OF MEN ISOVER...

Faramir and Cirion launch a counter-attack against the forces of Mordor, resulting in a savage encounter in the
town square. Meanwhile, Madril and the Rangers of Ithilien move into position...
eeling from the Orc assault, the
Captain of Minas Tirith tried to order
his warriors on the offensive, but , ■ I i ba
I H Gothmog anticipated the move and
slew the man before he could even raise his
blade. The Morannon Orcs slammed into the
Gondor line, pinning the already hemmed-in
fighters in place and trapping others amidst
the ruins. The city streets ran slick with the
blood of both Man and Orc. With the fight
becoming increasingly chaotic, Faramir led a
charge into the flank of the Orc assault in a
bid to reach Gothmog and end the attack.
Snarling a challenge, Gothmog s Enforcer
K
J
barred his way, but Denethor s son parried
the attack, cut down his foe and pressed on. Lewis takes Priority, but Ash
Orcs swarmed in around the heroic warrior, uses his Enforcer's special rule,
little knowing that Madril and his Rangers Gothmog's Right Hand, to allow
Gothmog to use one of his Will
had arrived to assault their rear ranks in turn.
IT* C , 1 points to declare a Heroic
Move. In the centre of the
But the most deadly fight was yet to be had. battlefield, Lewis charges
Pushing his way through the melee, Cirion J Cirion into the Troll (1). He

came face-to-face with the Mordor Troll.

Silver-armoured bodies littered the ground
4- declares a Heroic Strike,
boosting Cirion's Fight value to
10. He wins the fight, but it
takes both his remaining Might
around it, but Cirion leapt into the fight points to kill it. Nearby, Faramir
undaunted. Dodging the monsters hammer, leaps into combat with
he summoned every ounce of his strength Gothmog's Enforcer (2), who
he dispatches with ease
and thrust his blade into the Trolls heart, (remarkably, Lewis rolled
killing the monstrous creature outright! nothing but 6s in this fight!).

X-

-
138 WHITE DWARF
 TURN 4

... THE TIME OF THE ORC HAS COME

With the Orcs now controlling half of the buildings around the square, Cirion moves to fight Gothmog and end his
reign of terror, while Madril leads an assault into the invaders' rear ranks.
■■ rom their vantage points atop the ruins,
Mablung and Anborn directed the Men
■■
of Minas Tirith back into the fight. At
the same time, Madril sprung his trap
and charged into the rearmost Morannon
Orcs, preventing them from joining the fight IXI
in the square and cutting off their route back
to the river. Caught between the Warriors of
Minas Tirith and the Rangers of Ithilien, the
LU
Morannon Orcs fought back ferociously.
Those with swords and shields held the front
ranks, while those with spears stabbed at the
foe over their heads. Unable to move east or CO
west, the Orcs flowed around the flanks of the
Gondorian force, driving back Damrod and
his archers to the north and pinning down
Mablung to the south. All the while, rocks
continued to smash into the buildings as
arrows whickered across the city.

Amidst the swirling melee, Faramir and

Cirion tried to barge through the Orcs in a
bid to slay Gothmog. Faramir was held back
at spear point, but Cirion managed to reach
his target, only to be sent sprawling as the
Orc commander bludgeoned him to the
ground. Men of Gondor moved to protect Lewis wins Priority, but Ash declares a Heroic Move with his Captain. Lewis responds with Heroic Moves of
his own from Mablung and Anborn to ensure he gets the best charges in the centre of the battlefield. He
their captain, preventing Gothmog from wins the roll-off, enabling him to charge Gothmog with Cirion and a Warrior of Minas Tirith (3). Gothmog
making the kill. kills the Man of Gondor but only wounds Cirion. Nearby, Faramir fights his way through the Morannon Orcs.

Damrod and Anborn hold the north-western building,

while Orcs hold the north-eastern one (4).

Gothmog dominates the centre of the battlefield, but the

deaths of several Morannon Orcs leave him exposed (5).

Madril's Rangers emerge from the south-eastern

building to ambush the marauding Orcs (6),

The Osgiliath Veteran with bow slays a third Orc in four

turns, this time in combat (7)!

S- -K.

-.X
- —mi

-JR

Mi ’ TI *

WHITE DWARF 139

Mibbie-gARTH
STRATEGY BATTLE GAME

TURNS 5,6 & 7

MAKE OR BREAK
The Orcs take control of the northern buildings and contest those to the south, but casualties on both sides are
taking their toll. Every kill counts as the forces of Good and Evil try everything they can to break their foes.
ocks smashed into the building to the
north-west of the square, throwing
Damrod and one of his followers into
I H the rubble, where they lay unmoving.
This left the northern half of the square
undefended. The Orcs swarmed around the
Gondorian flank, ganging up on isolated
warriors as they desperately tried to reform
their line. But while the Orcs pushed
forwards, they lost ground behind them to
Madril’s Rangers. The experienced captain
directed his men to shoot the Orcs where
possible, before charging their rear ranks.

In the centre of the battlefield, Cirion was

dragged away from Gothmog by a pair of
Morannon Orcs, but he survived the attack
and held his ground long enough for Faramir
to push through the mass of heaving bodies
and reach the Castellan of Minas Morgul.
Rather than fight the armoured Orc, Faramir
stabbed Gothmog s unarmoured Warg,
slaying it outright. The Orc barely noticed the
death of his steed as he parried Faramir s next
stroke and cleaved his leather armour with a
killing blow. The Men of Gondor recoiled in
horror as their leader fell.

&

I
- *

Ash wins Priority in the fifth turn, and, after a duel of Heroic Moves,
■

charges Gothmog into Faramir (1). Both players declare Heroic

Strikes and use re-rolls from their banners, but it's Faramir who wins
the fight. He slays Gothmog's Warg, forcing the Orc to dismount (3). S’’---.-*'.'

Clearly enraged, Gothmog wins the next two rounds of combat and
finally dispatches Faramir in turn 7
-
Damrod joins Anborn to shoot into the Morannon Orcs (2) but is hit
by a falling piece of masonry and taken out of the battle!

140 WHITE DWARF

A LAST DESPERATE ASSAULT
As casualties mount and heroes become exhausted, Orcs and Men begin to slip away from the fight or else flee in
fear of their lives. A last-ditch assault could see either side victorious.
eeing Faramir fall, Cirion charged
Gothmog once more. Around them,
the Morannon Orcs continued to hold
back the Warriors of Minas Tirith, but
the battle was taking its toll on them, and
those further from the action began to skulk
away into the ruins. Madril sent his Rangers
to recapture the buildings and surround
those Orcs that were still fighting. He slew
the Orcs’ standard bearer himself, casting the
black banner to the ground. Surrounded and
outnumbered, Gothmog lashed out at Cirion
one last time before ordering the retreat. The
Warriors of Minas Tirith cheered as the Orcs
fell back from the city’s west bank. They had
successfully defended the city. For now...
FINAL SCORE - BUILDINGS HELD
GONDOR: 4 friend is not so lucky) and
MORDOR: 0 and reclaims the building for
CONTESTED: 2
THE AFTERMATH OF BATTLE
Lewis: What a nail-bitingly close game! I really wasn’t
sure I would be able to pull it off coming into those
last couple of turns. Ash did a fantastic job of holding
the line and using Gothmog aggressively. This forced
me to spread my Heroes around the board so that Ash
couldn’t use his Master of Battle ability as easily.
Gothmog is a truly intimidating Hero to face when
he’s mounted and fighting lowly Men!
I was really pleased with my shooting in this game
- my archers and Heroes neatly picked off a few Orcs,
but the star of the show was the Avenger Bolt Thrower,
which inflicted two wounds on the Troll in the first
turn. That made the monster far easier to tackle for
Cirion, who heroically charged in to finish the job
after having one of his own Men thrown at him! When
Madril and the Rangers arrived, it gave the forces of
Gondor a much-needed second wind that forced Ash
to fight on two fronts at the same time.
My model of the match was clearly Cirion, who fought
his way through a Mordor Troll and went toe-to-toe
with Gothmog at the end. However, an honourable
mention goes to an Osgliath Veteran armed with a
bow who bagged himself four kills over the nine turns!
R
LU
With so many Morannon Orcs
fleeing the battlefield, the
Warriors of Minas Tirith move
in to reclaim the northern
buildings. One Ranger of
Ithilien manages to survive an
attack from the Siege Bow (his
climbs the stairs of the
mansion. He kills the last Orc
Gondor (4). Further south, the
Orc Captain slays Mablung (5)
but can do nothing more than
contest the building as there is
another Good fighter nearby.
Ash: Being able to create our own scenario, make our
own special rules, then show them in action was really
rewarding. The battle for Osgiliath is one of my
favourite moments in the The Lord of the Rings: The
Return of the King™ and I loved recreating it.
My battle plan actually went pretty well at the start.
Gothmog and his Morannon Orcs piled up the centre
and spread out while an Orc Captain and his followers
snuck up from the south. I actually took a fair number
of buildings, and I was in a great position for victory.
Then some of my building-holding Orcs got squashed
by rocks. That rule - which was so cinematic and fun
- really caused me some mischief. When my force
broke, those Orcs holding the northernmost buildings
ran away. Cowards! I reckon they all got a bit tired,
because the Morannon Orcs in the centre really
struggled to kill anything in the last few turns, despit:e
having Strength 4 and hitting Defence 4 Rangers!
My Orc of the match has to be Gothmog. He churned
through Lewis’s Men, consistently outsmarted his
Heroes with Master of Battle and took out Faramir in
combat. I guess that’s the end of that family line, then.
If only Denethor had another son...
WHITE DWARF 141
INSIDE THE STUDIO
Painting, modelling and gaming from the very heart of the hobby

A SEASON OF SKIRMISH
The season of skirmish was a huge success here in the Warhammer studio, with over 40 people taking part in the
painting and gaming challenges. Here you can see a few of the models painted by members of the studio,
including kill teams from the top two players in the league and warbands by our very own Lyle and Matt.

ROTMIRE CREED
BY LYLE LOWERY
Lyle: I love how the
models walk around on
stilts; it's very evocative of
the environment they live
in. To emphasise that on
the models, I cut the tops
out of the bases, dropped
them down, then added
sand and clear resin to
create swampy bases.

GREEN ROBES
Undercoat: Chaos
O"
Black
Zenithal Spray: White
Scar
| Wash: Plaguebearer
Flesh
| Highlight: Nurgling
Green

HORNS OF HASHUT
BY MATT HUTSON
Matt: For my warband, I
aSw /
applied all the basecoats
first, then all the washes to
establish the tone of the
models. I used Reikland
Fleshshade on their skin to
give it a warm look and
Drakenhof Nightshade on
the armour to give it a
contrasting cooler tone.

RED LEATHER
H Basecoat: Gal Vorbak
Red
| Wash: Nuln Oil

Layer: Gal Vorbak Red

Highlight: Bugman's
Glow

142 WHITE DWARF

 w
§
CORSAIR
VOIDSCARRED BY
JOSH NOY
Josh: I painted these
Corsairs to go with the
Aeldari I've been working
on recently. They're from
Jai-Tan, a small craftworld
that's affiliated with
Biel-Tan. I'm still working
on the background story
forthem at the moment.

GREEN ARMOUR
Basecoat: Abaddon
Black
I Drybnjsh:
co
Administratum Grey LU
Drybrush: White Scar

11 Wash: Akhelian Green

i PRIMARIS
! INFILTRATORS
j BY STEVE BARRETT
I Steve: My Hound Stalkers
I kill team are the very first
I Space Marines I have ever
I painted. I liked the idea of
I a muted colour scheme
I accented with a bright
I spot colour. I also built a
I display base using an old
I picture frame.

GREY ARMOUR
11 Basecoat:
Mechanicus Standard
Grey

Ft : r: —i >

•fis
Highlight:

11
/ i Administratum Grey
rJbj
I <
kk 1MT

WHITE DWARF 143

Warhammer

HOBBY BINGO
Join us for White Dwarf Hobby Bingo 2023! Let us know
how you are doing at team@whitedwarf.co.uk or tag J
your models online: #WhiteDwarf #hobbybingo 5

IN BRIEF Scoring table: Box 10, Line 50,

Entire grid 150
SOPHIE
BOSTOCK
Recently, I've been
LYLE
LOWERY
I finished a Spartan
MATT
HUTSON
I've just finished
ADAM
BARNES
I painted a Kratos *
A Ws
working on a for my Dark Angels painting the Exiled for my Sons of

IB
10 **
A
1
couple of Praetors
for my Horus
Horus Heresy army.
It has internal
Dead so that I can
play Warhammer
Horus army and
tried out some new
t
Heresy Space lights and external Underworlds with techniques on it,
Wolves. One is transfers them. I haven't such as pin
based on the - hopefully we'll played the game in washing. As is
plastic Praetor show it off soon. a while, so it would traditional when
model from the Next up: Tactical be good to get you put a new
Age of Darkness Legionaries. I've back into it. I'll use model down on the
box set, while the also played a the Rivals deck in table, it got blown
other is converted couple of games of the set to get me up in the first turn.
from Fafnir Rann. Kill Team. starte’d.z - Typical!
50 PTS 20 PTS 70 PTS 10 PTS

BINGO SCORING THUNDERHAWK

You have options for how GUNSHIP BY
you keep score. You can ANDREW KING
score a box by Andrew: I painted this
completing either Thunderhawk in the
challenge in it, or you colours of the Sons of
can score a box by Horus (the best Legion).
completing both I basecoated it Kabalite
challenges in it. Finally, Green followed by
you can treat the Hobby drybrushes of Sybarite
Bingo card as two Green and Gauss Blaster
separate cards in one, Green. The paint chips
playing all the dark are Rhinox Hide applied
triangles as one card with a sponge, and I
and the light triangles as used streaks of oil paint
another. When playing to show grime and dirt.
this way, it means you
score lines and grids
when you complete a full
group of light or dark
triangles. This is how
we'll keep score in Inside
the Studio. Boingo!

SAGITAUR BY
BEN HUMBER
Ben: I've painted a new
model in colours I don't
normally use. I
conducted some
research into Japanese
colour theory and used
it to influence my colour
choices. The main body
of the vehicle is Eshin
Grey with markings
picked out in Barak-Nar
Burgundy and Rakarth
Flesh. The lenses are
Gauss Blaster Green.

£
o

144 WHITE DUIIIRF

 M

ZOMBIE DRAGON BY DAN HARDEN

Dan: I've finished a Zombie Dragon for my Soulblight Gravelords army. I
painted it to match my Fell Bats, with black skin that glows with magical
K
blue energy. The blue glow is simply Temple Guard Blue and Baharroth Blue
carefully washed into the recesses of the model's muscles and bones.

ay

I IT
^rrrrn? i*

W«fi
II
rasa
l|aS

lli^
illS -■K'B
Gsssitatsi!

NEXT ISSUE NEXT ISSUE

BOARDING ACTION BATTLE REPORT ON SALE 17

FEBRUARY
 WHITE DWARF
I CONTACT!
ISSUE 484
Letters, questions and pictures of miniatures
sent in by you, our readers.
4

WORLDS OF WARHAMMER 10
What does it mean to be Human in the 41st
Millennium?

WARHAMMER
40.000

ARKS OF OMEN 16
An interview with the creators of the latest
cataclysmic story arc in Warhammer 40,000.
-..
FLASHPOINT HERALD OF 22
MISERY: BITTER AMBITION
■:

Warsmith Czagra of the Iron Warriors begins

his conquest of the Herald of Misery.

F ' FLASHPOINT HERALD OF

MISERY: THE UNTAMED ARK
30
New rules and missions for fighting Boarding
Action battles on the Herald of Misery.
ECHOES FROM THE WARP 46
Duncan Waugh joins us to explain Boarding
Actions. Bring your space suit!
-
<: t TACTICA: CLOSE QUARTERS 50
Duncan returns! This time he's written a tactics
article about fighting on spaceships.

Ih
GROUND TRUTH 56
-7 Atactical look at a Boarding Action mission.

I How will you tackle this challenge?

BATTLE REPORT: 58
•J
•J
ch’- *
DEADLY HANGAR
Matt's Warpcoven and Lyle's Kommandos
J I battle to the death in a Kill Team Battle Report.
KILL TEAM ENGAGE! 76
The final part in the White Dwarf team's epic
J Kill Team campaign. But who's the winner?

- —ft*. OPERATION BRIEFING 90

What's the best way to score your Critical Ops
objectives? Elliot Hamer investigates.
i a
■■
.' •

FLASHPOINT CLASH: 96
OF FANG AND FUNGUS
New background and rules for a campaign
between Gloomspite Gitz and Skaven.
(
FLASHPOINT RONDHOL: 106
STEMMING THE TIDE
The Kraken Blades continue to harry Ka-rokk's
forces as they move into Lendu.

- ' .. ! > o FANTASTIC WAR HOSTS:

LORDS OF WAR
Beautifully painted and converted heroes and
110

villains of the Age of Sigmar.

r ^9Fft ”r
- • WARRIORS OF THE DEPTHS 122
jLU/ A tidal wave of new rules and background for
using the Idoneth Deepkin in Warcry.

/ / Or. ■ - GLORY POINTS 130

Kt
A■ iyy/ft ■ More nemeses! This time, John Bracken builds
a Nemesis deck for Grinkrak's Looncourt.

p
MIDDLE-EARTH BATTLE 134
REPORT: SAVAGE ASSAULT
Can Faramir's Men of Gondor hold back
Gothmog's Orcs amidst the ruins of Osgiliath?
Ity
INSIDE THE STUDIO 142
Check out the games we've played and the
models we've painted this month.