Tag Archives: Age of Sigmar

Age of Sigmar, Fantasy, Games Workshop, Peter Holland, Sci-Fi, Warhammer 40k

A Tale of Painters – August 21′

September 19, 2021 Peter Holland Leave a comment

On our YouTube channel we had a series known as A Tale of Painters. However, since life has got in the way a little recently and my time for filming and editing videos is very limited o thought it would be best to continue the series in the blog.

So I’ve included (most) of the Woehammer team below and what they’ve been working on since our last episode.

40k Ben

Since the last episode, Ben has been busy on a number of projects. But perhaps his most impressive in this time is his Bel’akor. Ben has even done some on source lighting to great effect!

Ben even had his first few games of Age of Sigmar against AoS Ben and Declan.

As well as this Ben set himself the challenge of painting all this:

For September! As you can see he’s already well on target.

Dave

Dave has started a new Ossiarch Bone Repears army, and has given himself a deadline of 3rd October to have them done. His entire army is around 50 models and so far he’s painted one……

AoS Ben

As always Ben has been extremely busy, as well as finishing his Seraphon army and attending a few tournaments he’s now decided to build another Kharadron Overlord army, the Ghostlords 2.0!

All of his models are always painted to a very high standard and his basing is, in my opinion world class.

Ben recently completed Spiderman using just contrast paints:

Ben also painted the Kruleboy half of the Dominion boxed set:

Declan

Declan has been busy painting some more units for his Goblin Warmaster army:

He’s also recently gotten into Kill Team and has painted up some scenery for his games.

Liam

Liam hasn’t had as much time as he would like to paint. But saying that he’s now down to fifteen models in his pile of shame. He did manage to paint Ghazghkull:

Paul

As always Paul has probably painted around 15 armies in the time since our last episode.

Paul has recently painted a lot of stormcast in order to play Path to Glory in his local gaming club.

He’s also been cracking on with his historicals backlog…..

Sarah

Our plastic crack dealer from SCN Hobby World has been continuing her amazing work on her Orks. With an amazingly grubby looking dreadnought.

Ed

Ed has been cracking on with his Lumineth to make sure that they’re ready for his first tournament.

Ed was so keen on getting these ready he even had a roadmap for their painting schedule..

As you can see his models are coming on nicely…..

Guests

Jack

This time around we have a guest on our episode. Jack has submitted his Trogg via email to thewoehammer@gmail.com.

The skin on this Troggoth is awesome and you can really get a sense of the icy effect that Jack was after. I’d love to see an entire army of these boys.

If you’d like to submit models for us to look at and include then please either email us at thewoehammer@gmail.comor use #woehammer on Twitter or Instagram.

Don’t forget that we’re doing our first painting competition sponsored by SCN Hobby World where you can win your choice of a Start Collecting or Combat Patrol box for painting any single miniature on a 50mm base. For details see our post on the competition here.

To follow any of the guys above on social media simply click the links below.

40k Ben – Instagram

AoS Ben – Twitter

Dave – Twitter

Ed – Instagram

Sarah – Instagram

Declan – Twitter

Jack – Instagram

The Woeful Brush Painting Competition Sponsored by SCN Hobby World

Closing date for entries 30th November. £1 entry, win your choice of a Start Collecting or Combat Patrol box set!

LINK

Games Workshop, Peter Holland

The Woeful Brush – Painting Competition Sponsored by SCN Hobby World

Image September 16, 2021 Peter Holland 3 Comments

This winter we’re holding our first painting competition “Woeful Brush”. The first online painting competition open to everyone.

To enter you’ll need to paint a single miniature to the best of your abilities and submit its pictures to our email address. The maximum base size for a miniature in the competition is 50mm. For example you can paint a single primaris intercessor and place them on any base that is equal to or under 50mm.

Your miniature can be from any game system you wish, even non Games Workshop systems or games.

The Prize, your choice of Start Collecting or Combat Patrol box for either Age of Sigmar or Warhammer 40k

The grand prize is a Start Collecting box or Combat Patrol box of your choice. The prize is being provided by SCN Hobby World who are our sponsor for this event. By signing up to their newsletter on their website you can benefit from up to 25% off the recommended retail price of Games Workshop products.

All submissions to the competition must be made via email to thewoehammer@gmail.com before midnight on 30th November 2021. The picture of your model should be on a plain background and your email address must be included on a piece of paper included in the photograph. We will only be able to accept one submission per person.

We’re also asking for a small entry fee of £1 per entry which will cover postage costs as well as fund future competition prizes, the fee must be paid via PayPal to thewoehammer@gmail.com.

The wider community will then vote for their favourite submission via a series of polls each lasting 24 hours. These polls will take place on this website and on our Twitter and Facebook accounts.

The overall winner will then be announced on 1st January 2022 and will be contacted for their choice of prize.

How to Enter

1) There is a £1 entry fee which should be paid by PayPal to thewoehammer@gmail.com. Proceeds will be used for postage, future events and competitions only.

2) paint a single miniature from any games system you like (yes, non GW games systems are allowed). The miniature must be able to fit on a 50mm base.

3) Take some photos of your miniature and make sue that the email address that you’re submitting the pictures from is shown on a note inside the photo.

4) email your submission to thewoehammer@gmail.com

Rules

1) the competition is open to everyone (apart from Woehammer members).

2) The winner will be determined by community voting on Twitter, Facebook and here on the Woehammer website.

3) Your entry must be a single miniature on a maximum base size of 50mm.

4) Non-Games Workshop miniatures are allowed, but must be limited to the earlier specified base size.

5) bases can be scenic in nature and does not have to be that models specified base (i.e. 32mm for a Space Marine Intercessors)

6) only one submission per person and to be made via email to thewoehammer@gmail.com

7) submissions must be sent to the above address by midnight on 30th November 2021.

8) voting will commence on 1st December in blocks of four entries. All references to the artist of the submission will be removed for voting and to remove popularity influencing.

9) the winning artist will be named upon the final vote on 1st January 2022.

10) Your entry must be your own work and not that of a commission painter.

Age of Sigmar, Fantasy, Games Workshop, Peter Holland

Warhammer Age of Sigmar App

September 15, 2021 Peter Holland Leave a comment

Today saw the release of the new Age of Sigmar App.

To those who have used the 40k app the two work in the same way as each other, with a code on your Battletome unlocking the special rules, battalions and subfaction rules of on the app.

There are three main areas on the app itself, those being reference, storm forge and core rules.

REFERENCE

Reference are all of the faction and subfaction specific rules, warscrolls traits and everything else you can think of. There is an easy to use search engine included which allows you to quickly navigate to what you’re looking for.

STORM FORGE

Under Stormforge you are able to create your army lists quickly with simple choice clicks along the way. I was able to create a Kruleboyz list in under a minute. Granted it’s not a tournament winning list, but it’s great to just play around with and put lists together on.

CORE RULES

The core rules does exactly as it suggests and provides the essentials for game play. You’ll also find the FAQ’s and designers notes under this section as they’re released as well. The only thing you will miss and that I would love to see is the Path to Glory rules included.

CONCLUSION

Yes it’s Beta version, but I found the last app much too cumbersome and battery draining than the newer app. Give this another month and whatever kinks it currently has will be ironed out.

It’s extremely well laid out, easy to read and isn’t a massive drain on your battery.

My only criticism is the missing path to Glory rules. But I understand why GW would only release the free rules inside the app.

As an inclusion as part of the Warhammer+ group of offerings this is fantastic and gives the Age of Sigmar fans something to get their teeth into.

A Life in Wargames, Peter Holland

Interview with a Wargamer – Woehammer Dave

September 14, 2021 Peter Holland 1 Comment

Last week I interviewed Woehammer Ben from the channel, which you can read here. This week we’re moving onto Woehammer Dave, also known as our very own Chaos Dave.

When did you first get into wargaming?

My first year of senior school.

And what game was it that first drew you in?

A friend had been given the Epic Space Marine starter box for their birthday. We played a few games together and I got hooked.

But you hate Space Marines!

I don’t hate space marines, I dislike Primaris. Also, back then it was Space Marines or nothing as that was all that you got in the box.

So your first game was epic? What games do you play now?

Currently AoS, 40K and Kill Team are the ones I’m actively working on. With a bit of interest in a few others but not the time. Historically, I played Epic, Adeptus Titanicus, Necromunda, Battletech, Warhammer Fantasy and 40K.

I’d consider non-GW games but there aren’t active gaming communities I’m aware of.

You’re big chaos player, has that always been the way?

Not really. I started out in Epic with Salamanders, I painted my marines dark green because that’s the paint I had. I flitted around with armies in fantasy for a while, between orcs and goblins and high elves (good starter set) before settling on Undead for a long time. When I started 40k my first army was Orks, then I collected Space Wolves.I had a break from the hobby and when I started again I collected Dark Eldar (from the starter set) and then later Word Bearers. In Fantasy I collected Skaven and Empire and in 8th edition Beastmen and mixed chaos.

I started playing Ultramarines later on after another hobby hiatus.

No! Not the Smurfs!

That was one of the reasons I started them. They’re cool and don’t deserve the hate.

When I started Epic the poster boy armies were Ultramarines and Thousand Sons. I would have done ultramarines then if I a. Had the paint and b. My mate hadn’t got dibs

I prefer the twilight marines….. So what was your last game and against who?

Age of Sigmar against @dreadmund (Ed). Slaves to Darkness versus Lumineth.

How did that go?

My take a bit of everything list did not do too well against Ed’s tournament list.

What are you working on at the minute, and do you have any pictures?

Ossiarch Bonereapers for Age of Sigmar. I got an eBay ‘rescue’ army for cheap. I’m aiming to have them finished for end of 3rd October.

This is the one I’ve finished. No pressure!

What’s happening on the 3rd?

Nothing. It’s just the deadline I’ve set myself.

Love that paint job.

Thank you. I might add some pigments to the base because it feels a little bit flat.

What’s your most memorable gaming moment?

The first Warhammer Fantasy campaign I took part in ended in a big four way battle, which was another first for me. My High Elves and my friend’s Imperial Dwarves versus a combined Wood Elf and Empire army. It was the first time I’d used Wardancers and I remember charging them into a unit of trash human infantry and just blending them. They just kept blending and blending these infantry units which kind of suited our opponents but I was having a wonderful time. It kind of defined how I tended to like to play the game from then on. Sometimes I’ll charge even if it’s a bad idea, just for the blood and glory!

So what do find you get out of the hobby?

I find the painting to be relaxing and a good stress reducer. Also enjoy the banter. Playing the game is obviously challenging to some extent at the moment but I enjoy the spectacle of the games.

Quiz time! Name five GW games that aren’t AoS or 40k.

Warhammer Fantasy Battles. Horus Heresy. Dark Future. Trolls in the Pantry. Gorkamorka.

Magnus did nothing wrong! Yes or No?

Everybody has ‘done things wrong’, especially in 40k. I think his initial motivations and intentions were largely good but also self-serving and hubristic.

If you were to fall to chaos which power would you devote yourself to?

The Lore Nerd answer is all Gods are Chaos Gods. So my answer would probably be Tyrion for AoS as he doesn’t seem, unusually, to be actively shit to his followers. Cegorach for 40k for similar (though less strong) reasons.

If you’re going to hold me to the ‘big four’ though…. my answer is Tzeentch. Or is it?

Ultramarines are…..?

A Legion or Chapter of loyalist Space Marines.

You can follow Dave on Twitter here.

I’ve included some shots of other models below that Dave has painted since I’ve had the pleasure of knowing him.

Age of Sigmar, Fantasy, Games Workshop, Peter Holland

Path to Glory – August Results

September 12, 2021 Peter Holland Leave a comment

So with August over its time to review the Path to Glory campaign.

Three games took place this month. Two between Ben and Declan which you can read here, and another between Aron and his friend Rick.

Declan managed to take two wins against the forces of Chaos and he advanced further north-east on the map, building a small settlement around a realmgate. To the south-east of his settlement he discovered Wild Lands which are currently under the control of the Undead (Aron).

Meanwhile Aron’s forces led by the Vengorian Lord Shana, the Flame of the Heavens successfully repelled a chaos incursion into their lands, utterly defeating the force leaving no one alive to tell the tale.

After the battle his scouts returned advising him of a Troggoth settlement that had sprang up to the north just beyond the wild lands around what they had assumed to be a ruined realmgate.

Shana had to plan their next steps carefully.

Aron’s Undead Forces

We haven’t yet covered Aron’s forces in the campaign. Aron has 2,000 points of Soul light Gravelords.

Led by Shana, Flame of the Heavens a Vengorian Lord the forces include two heroes Wilhelmina Carmel a vampire lord in the thrall of Shana and Machtrohl the Unbroken, Shana’s iron fist.

Aron’s forces includes the following units;

Deathrattle Skeletons (Bone Legion)
Dire Wolves (Alpha)
Zombie Dragon (Deadarire, Bringer of the Dead)
Vargheist (Primus)
Blood Knights (Lord Vahl’s Riders)
Deathrattle Skeletons (Ossius Legion)
Grave Guard (Order of Merihim)
Black Knights (Knights Noir)

As Aron has a 2,000 point list he was able to claim three territories at the start of the campaign. He chose a Settlement, Arcane Waypoint and some Wild Lands.

No games for Rhys, Dave, Ed or myself yet. But watch this space. I have a feeling Nurgle and Chaos may be rumbling soon…..

Age of Sigmar, Declan Waters, Fantasy, Games Workshop

Orruk Warclans – New Book

September 10, 2021 Declan and Eeyore 2 Comments

Wish Listing for the Weekend

Note – this was written for AOS3 – we are now in AOS4, so some of the comments below may no longer be valid

Welcome to Woehammer – have you noticed the lovely feeling of no adverts (ads), no pop-ups and no auto-playing videos? Well, that’s the norm here at Woehammer.

But this is only possible because of our wonderful Patreons. So, some articles over 1 year old will now display our Patreon request at the top of the article… like this one! Don’t worry, we are not adding ads – but if you can afford to donate to the site, we would definitely appreciate it. Membership is available from just £1/month (plus taxes!!)

I am at heart a Destruction player, having played them at most of the tournaments I’ve been to since AOS was launched. My main army is definitely the Gloomspite Gitz, but they have been in a bad place for some time and so I switched to Orruk Warclans at the end of AOS2. This wasn’t my first time with them as I did play with a lot of Ardboyz in AOS1 under ‘MoComp’ before points were released by GW.

So, as I’ve got a little experience with them I’ve decided to do a bit of wishlisting for the new release of the Orruk Warclan book which goes on pre-order this weekend (11th & 12th September 2021). I don’t have any insider knowledge, so all this is bound to be wrong, but it’ll be interesting (to me at least!) to see how wrong.

Overall Book

We already know that the book includes the new forces of the Kruleboyz and that it still includes the Ironjawz and Bonesplitters. There have also been releases about the Kruleboyz with the Dominion box and over on Warhammer Community in the last few months. So I’ll try to incorporate what we’ve learnt below.

Allegiances

I hope we keep the allegiances with Ironjaws, Bonesplitters and Kruleboyz and that we retain a Big Waaagh! version.

I’d like to mostly retain the Waaagh points, especially the extra ‘+’ to cast. It would be good if it were a true allegiance with their own artefacts, magic etc… but I don’t see that happening as it could get too confusing.

Hopefully we’ll also keep some of the sub-allegiances although now would be a great time to remove the Realmgate requirement for the Bloodtoofs!

Ironjawz

The Ironjawz are good, and doing reasonably well in AOS3 with the Maw Krushas doing a lot of the heavy lifting, so I don’t think much needs to be changed. However if I’m wish listing the following could do with attention:

Gordrakk to be on a level with some of the other God characters, and at least as good as the Megaboss on MawKrusha. Ability to take mount trait for BigTeef (his MawKrusha); or a significant point reduction
Megaboss on MawKrusha looks like they may lose their 3+ armour save which if there isn’t a way to get back to 3+ will need a points reduction. Command Ability needs to be replaced as it another +1 to hit. Charge mortal wounds back to 4+
Megaboss – new command ability
Warchanter – Magic Items & PRIEST keyword
Shaman – Green Puke to be 5+ to cast
Orruk Brutes – simplify weapons, 2″ reach for everything, fewer points. Bravery increase
Orruk Ardboyz – they currently have same function as the Brutes. Turn them into Brutes light, with worse attacks and lower bravery. To be used for objective holding whilst Brutes go forward.
Gore-Gruntas – 2″ reach

Bonesplitters

Bonesplitters did well at Nashcon with two army lists, but haven’t shown up in many other tournaments. Perhaps the old list of ‘Kunning Rukk’ which shot people off left a bad taste in the mouth, but with LRL now on the board and lots of Sons of Behemat there may be play with the Bonesplitters now.

Wurrgog Prophet – A good scroll
Savage Big Boss – Command Ability to work with shooting as well
Maniak Weirdnob – Spell replicates above command ability. Would be good to have a difference
Wardokk – A scroll prayer
Savage Orruks / Savage Orruk Moarboyz – combine these warscrolls
Savage Boarboyz / Savage Boarboy Maniaks – combine these warscrolls
Savage Big Stabbas – help with survivability (maybe -1 to hit with shooting if near Savage Orruks, not closest to enemy)
Savage Orruk Arrowboyz – Swap the Loadsa Arrows ability for something that doesn’t add dice (more low quality shots!!)

Kruleboyz

We only know what we’ve been told about these so I’m bound to miss some units. They rely on poison to do their damage, and unlike the other Orruks have ranged attacks.

Allegiance abilities to help with the poison (ie double down!)
Hobgrots Battleline if and get Orruk benefits for a build or Allegiance
Monsters to be playable to fairly pointed
Shooting to be able to affect the meta, by outdistancing LRL, and being able to hurt monsters
Some of the fun traps which were written about in the Dominion novel.

Kragnos

The elephant in the room. Hopefully he’ll be good enough to see play in some competitive builds, and will be given a mortal wound after save. Whilst he is a 2+ save there is so much that can avoid this at times he feels like he’s wearing paper… which to be fair, he’s not wearing a lot.

I would also like to see GW giving a different point value for Kragnos with the other Destruction forces (particularly Gloomspite Gitz)

Summary

Orruk Warclans are a Destruction book that definitely has options and can compete for 4-1 in the hands of an experienced player, so my primary hope is that the book doesn’t become bad with the new release. All the parts are there, and hopefully the Kruleboyz won’t be a third wheel and break the book.

And I suppose another one – hopefully the Kruleboyz are playable on their own without the other Warclans Orruks being necessary.

What do you think? What are you hoping for? How wrong am I?

Let us know in the comments below!

A Life in Wargames, Age of Sigmar, Army Lists, Fantasy, Games Workshop, Peter Holland, Tournaments

Tournament Preparation – Facehammer 2021

September 9, 2021 Peter Holland Leave a comment

Orange Ben and @rightangle79 (Declan) are both off to the Facehammer Grand Tournament this weekend (11th & 12th September 2021). I thought it would be a great time to interview them about their tournament lists and their past glories…..

Ok. So you’ve both been to tournaments before, what do you enjoy the most about them?

Ben: For me it’s mainly seeing friends and looking at cool armies. But mainly this:

Declan: Seeing friends, having a beer and chatting about Warhammer. It also means I have a deadline for painting toys… which I almost always need. For most tournaments I include something new to paint.

So which armies are you taking to Facehammer this year? Care to share your lists?

Declan’s List

Loonboss – Clammy Hand
Fungoid Cave Shaman – Hand of Gork
Madcap Shaman – Hand of Gork & Moonface Mommet
Webspinner on Arachnarok Spider – Curse of da Spider God & Amulet of Destiny
60 Shootas
20 Shootas
40 Stabbas
2 x 20 Stabbas
2 x Sneaky Snufflers
Rippa’s Snarlfangs
Scuttletide
Scrapskuttle’s Arachacauldron
Emerald Lifeswarm
2120 points; 214 wounds; Warlord; Hunters of the Heartlands; Vanguard

This is my favourite at the moment. Other option is full squigs.

Do you have battle plans or tactics in mind for when you make it to the tournaments?

Ben: To a certain extent, you know you need to claim objectives so you need units that can do that.

Declan: Gloomspite outside Troggs can struggle to kill things so I need to play like Gargants – get on objectives early and start scoring. Hand of Gork (movement spell) is critical in the list as it means people can’t leave objectives unguarded. I have the Spider to get Monstrous Takeover early and get the option of broken ranks with him. Although I need to protect him or lose him on my turn to prevent him giving 1 point away. 2nd turn is normally Ferocious Advance with Loonboss and both Fungoids (who spend most of their time hiding behind the Loonshrine). Finally I don’t mind losing units because I want as many opportunities as possible to get them back – hence Clammy Hand (Roll twice for reinforcements from Loonshrine).

Ben, I notice you have the dreaded Gotrek! Facehammer have slightly adjusted rules for him now, how do you think he’ll do?

Ben: He is still super smashy, he is there to kill gargants!

Declan, Sounds like a thorough plan. I love the Arachnarok unit, I’ve seen people include more than one, you weren’t tempted to do this?

Declan: I want to try a horde army because its my normal playstyle and is against the meta with reinforcement points and no horde discount. Unfortunately points are too high normally, but with an extra 150 it’s worth a go. I also want GW to see that people will take armies which are rubbish if they get small boosts. GG effectively have c8% reaction in points at facehammer which is what they need before the book. Unfortunately 60 Grots went from 360 to 450 which is criminal for a low power level book.

Have you ever crossed swords with each other in a tournament, if so how did that go?

Declan: I think we played Ogor v GG didn’t we? On the way in people were complaining about your list being too good and I said it was fine… then gummed you up with Grots?

Ben: Yeah it was the cows Throwing snowball list, I told everybody it was rubbish but no one believed me and then I got grotted!

Declan: Ah yes… you forgot the Stonehorns!! I did have 180 Grots in your defense.

Ben: 2+ I do six mortal wounds, cool, there are 54 left.

Declan: Yeah… no where near enough damage.

Whats your most memorable moment at a tournament?

Ben: Played a chap called Laurie who Declan will know, with a shooty stormcast list, and turn one took off his archaon off turn one, was crazy good.

Declan: I was playing GG with allied Gitmob grots at Sheffield Slaughter against Nurgle with their first book. It was against a GW employee who I won’t name as they get enough grief! His Great Unclean One had a -1 to hit within 12″ bubble. My shaman cast a spell on 60 Gitmob archers, who walked into the 12″ range, fired at the GUO and took it off! He was a little shocked but took it very well!

For someone looking to go to their first tournament, what advice would you give?

Declan: Definitely take the plunge. Let the TO and your opponents know it’s your first tournament. Take an army you know (don’t go for LRL net-list). Limit your warscrolls where possible. If you can bring 6 or fewer it gives you a chance of remembering the rules. Play the objectives!

Ben: Agreed

Looking at each others list, how would you try and defeat them?

Ben: You can’t ask us that we might play each other! But the short answer is throw Gotrek at him and shoot him a lot.

Declan: I think I probably have the advantage due to numbers here. If I can get on the objectives early it’s difficult to get me off them. Especially as Ben’s units flying in the boats don’t count as on the objective. I also just played Will with his KO and the grots can actually damage the units with shooting, and in combat. That said no doubt we’ll play now and Ben will rightly beat me!

Thanks for your time, good luck at Facehammer!

Fantasy, Peter Holland

The Best Fantasy Wargames (50th – 46th)

September 8, 2021 Peter Holland 1 Comment

Following my article last week on five alternatives to Age of Sigmar, I thought I would do some research and find out what the 50 greatest Fantasy games (skirmish & Massed Battles) of all time are.

This will come with some caveats; the ratings are taken from BoardGameGeek.com and I have only included games which have more than 50 votes against their name. This may mean that some of the more recent rules are missed off the list (Conquest: The Last Argument of Kings, being one).

The listed is sorted by the highest rated to the lowest, with games of equal ratings being split by the number of votes (the more votes, the higher their placing).

Some of the popular games you know and loved also didn’t quite make it into the top 50. These include Warhammer Fantasy Battles (1st Edition) 1983 (Ranked 52nd), Battle Masters 1992 (Ranked 61st) and Cadwallon: City of Thieves 2010 (Ranked 62nd).

So without further ado, let’s jump into numbers 50-46:

50. Warhammer Age of Sigmar (1st Edition) (2015) – Games Workshop

This was Games Workshops’ attempt to reignite the passion for Fantasy in their fan base. However the initial release saw a lot of backlash from the loyal Fantasy fans who had been playing Warhammer Fantasy since the 80’s. This included videos of some fans burning their Warhammer Fantasy army. A lot of outrage was due to the change in base sizes and the “squatting” of many factions such as Tomb Kings and Bretonnia.

The move to Age of sigmar, also saw many rules pop up for “Rank and Flank” games as a result. Games such as Kings of War and the Ninth Age came about mainly because of the removal of Warhammer Fantasy Battles.

6.7
BoardGameGeek.com rating (603 Votes)

49. Rise of the Kage (2015) – GCT Studios

Rise of the Kage started life as a Kickstarter on 6th September 2014 and was funded only five days later. It also met all of its stretch goals by the 5th of October after raising £105,000.

The boxed set is all you need to play and all the miniatures are included with no further purchases necessary.

“Rise of the Kage is a fast paced, tense and thrilling board game for two to four players. The game is set in the world of the Jwar Isles, and requires one or more players to control the stealthy ninja, and one player to control the stalwart guards.“
GCT Studios

6.8
BoardGameGeek.com rating (131 Votes)

48. Elder Scrolls: A Call to Arms (2019) – Modiphius

“Let me guess, someone stole your sweetroll?”

The Elder Scrolls: Call to Arms is a skirmish level wargame that has two modes, either solo utilising the rules for ‘Delve Mode’, or you can go head to head with other players in ‘Battle Mode’. Both play styles can quickly be picked up from the scenarios listed within the quest book, although you are able to easily create your own.

“It is the time of the Dragonborn. Battle rages across the forests, plains and mountains of Skyrim as Imperials and Stormcloaks fight for supremacy. In ancient barrows, the restless dead rise from their sleep. Skeletons and fearsome Draugr jealously guard their treasures from bands of delving adventures. The Elder Scrolls: A Call to Arms is an adventure wargame set in the world of Tamriel. Gather your heroes and venture into Draugr haunted tombs and ruins, searching for treasure and glory. Or, fight the Civil War as the Stormcloaks and Imperials battle for the future of Skyrim.”
Modiphius

7.0
BoardGameGeek.com rating (74 Votes)

47. Battle of Five Armies (2005) – Games Workshop

The contents of the Battle of Five Armies

In 2005 Games Workshop released a boxed game called Great Battles of Middle Earth: The Battle of Five Armies based on the battle from the book “The Hobbit”. The rules are heavily based on the Warmaster ruleset, and it uses the same miniature scale. The boxed set contains rules, 10 mm plastic miniatures, and scenery (plastic hills, ruins and a cardboard river).

Additional miniatures for this game were cast in white metal. While detailed in the box set rule book, these extra miniatures were sold separately. They were discontinued shortly after being released. The box set remained in print for a long while before being removed shortly before the launch of the 28 mm line based on the movie “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”.

7.0
BoardGameGeek.com rating (122 Votes)

46. Battleground (2005) – Your Move Games

It looks like a dodgy 90’s computer game

Battleground is advertised as a miniatures game without the miniatures. Players are given cards representing the bases of the various units with the artwork on top. However, there is nothing stopping you substituting these for actual miniatures from your favourite manufacturer.

Battleground is still for sale today through Your Move Games‘ website.

“Armies of stalwart Men defend their homelands against the Undead tide. Battle tested strike forces of High Elves ambush the Orc horde. Regiments of indomitable Dwarves fend off Dark Elven raids. Marshal your forces and command them to victory, but take caution: you cannot be everywhere on the battlefield at once. Your troops will follow your orders completely, and the general who triumphs is the one not just with the best strategy but who can also adapt to changing circumstances.”
Your Move Games

7.0
BoardGameGeek.com rating (909 Votes)

A Life in Wargames, Peter Holland

Interview with a Wargamer – Woehammer Ben

September 7, 2021 Peter Holland 3 Comments

Ben is one of the founding members of the Woehammer crew and also plays the character Grymar on the Curse of Strahd D&D playthrough.

I talked to him about how he got into the hobby and why he loves the Raptors so much.

Ben, top right as Grymar in Dunces & Dragons

Ok first question, when did you first get into wargaming?

I first got into wargaming when I was 12/13, so around 1998. It was after visiting the GW store on Oxford Street (London) for a friends birthday.

Did you get your parents to buy your first army while you were there then?

No, my first model was a Leman Russ tank for my birthday that year. After that it was Imperial Guard all the way.

Leman Russ tank! That’s an awesome first model! Do you still have the Guard army?

Unfortunately my older brother like Abaddon decided that Cadia must fall. He burnt all my minis and gaming board.

Wow! You never went back to them after that. Is that when you moved on to Marines? Also I hope your brother made up for that!

I had started to move away from warhammer at that point and wouldn’t return until 2019. He has since made up for destroying my minis by buying me copious amounts of paint so I’d call it even.

Good man! We all have that gap away from the hobby at some point. What brought you back?

My wife started to sell GW products in her shop around 2018. I was helping her with learning about the 40K side of things. After really getting into all the new lore I had missed I decided to start painting up a Deathwatch army so I could play again.

And what made you interested in the raptors?

My Deathwatch army was made entirely of non primaris units. I wanted to keep the feel of the Deathwatch being an elite veteran chapter. While I was building and painting my Deathwatch army I would watch lore videos. That’s where I came across the Raptors, or as they’re also known, the Reasonable Marines.

I began to read more into the Raptors. They’re a successor chapter of the Raven Guard. The Raptors are know for being stealthy, using geurilla warfare and hit and run tactics. They are also prized marksmen. I felt this fit well into Phobos primaris units like infiltrators and Eliminators.

What was the last game you played and against who?

The last game I played was a path to glory game of AoS against fellow Woehammerer Declan Waters. You can read his excellent write up on here.

What’s your most memorable gaming moment?

Haha, that has to be when my Chaos Lord on Karkadrak was down to his last wound and ended up killing my opponents Lord Kroak in one turn.

Was this against Orange Ben?

Yes it was. I should probably stop bringing it up…

No! You need to make the most of these memories.

Makes up for the battering I took from Declan.

The baby faced assassin!

Will be interesting to see what happens if him and orange Ben have a game.

What do you find the hobby gives you?

It’s surprised me how much I get out of the hobby. I really enjoy building and kit bashing models. I’ve found the painting to be massively therapeutic and has kept me reasonably sane through long stints of lockdown. It’s also an amazingly social hobby too. Not just the gaming element, but also chats over zoom while hobbying and meeting up for days out.

So apart from 40k what other games do you play?

During the first lockdown I started to build and paint a Slaves to Darkness army for AoS. Coming out of lockdown AoS has been the predominant game I’ve been playing.
Ive also got into playing Dungeons and Dragons recently.

And hopefully we’ll be adventuring together again in the future! Ok time for a bit of a quiz. Name five GW games that aren’t AoS or 40k.

Necromunda, killteam, warcry, blood bowl, and trolling customers.

Magnus did nothing wrong. Yes or no?

It’s all his fault…

If you were to fall to chaos which power would you devote yourself to?

Blood for the blood god!!! Khorne all the way.

And the last one…. Ultramarines are…..?

Blue

Thanks to Ben for agreeing to be my first ‘subject’ in this series.

You can find Ben on Instagram here. Next week I’ll be talking to our very own Chaos Dave…

A Life in Wargames, Games Workshop, Peter Holland, Warlord Games

Jervis Johnson – A Life in Wargames

September 6, 2021 Peter Holland 7 Comments

Welcome to Woehammer – have you noticed the lovely feeling of no adverts (ads), no pop-ups and no auto-playing videos? Well, that’s the norm here at Woehammer.

But this is only possible because of our wonderful Patreons. So, some articles over 1 year old will now display our Patreon request at the top of the article… like this one! Don’t worry, we are not adding ads – but if you can afford to donate to the site, we would definitely appreciate it. Membership is available from just £1/month (plus taxes!!)

Jervis Johnson officially retired from Games Workshop in July. As such I thought it was a great time to cover his career as a games designer, from his first game to his last and the impact he’s had on the hobby.

If you don’t know who Jervis Johnson is then this will introduce you to a man who has created many of the great games you know and love today.

Jervis joined Games Workshop as a trade sales assistant in 1982. During this time he started writing rules for Games Workshops’ own games in his spare time (them being the seller for dungeons and dragons in Europe.and not producing their own game of Warhammer Fantasy until 1983). What would become the first edition of Blood Bowl was produced in 1986, followed closely by Rogue Trader (the 1st edition of Warhammer 40k) in 1988.

During his time Jervis has designed or has been involved in the design of over 93 games and add-ons. Both for Games Workshop and other companies.

These include;

Blood Bowl (1st, 2nd & 3rd Editions) – 1986, 1988, 1994
Adeptus Titanicus (1st Edition) – 1988
Advanced HeroQuest – 1989
Advanced Space Crusade – 1990
Armies of the Imperium – 1991
Battle for Armageddon – 1992
Black Powder (2nd Edition) (Warlord Games) – 2019
Blood Bowl (2016 Edition) – 2016
Epic Armageddon – 2003
La Haye Saint (Warlord Games) – 2014
Necromunda – 1995
Space Hulk (2nd Edition) – 1996
Space Marine – 1989
Warhammer 40,000 (3rd Edition) – 1998
Warhammer 40,000 (4th Edition) – 2004
Warhammer Ancient battles – 1998
Warhammer Fantasy (8th Edition) – 2010
Warmaster – 1993

Many other companies have taken inspiration from some of Jervis Johnson’s games. Whether you know it or not, your favourite game has probably been worked on or has used inspiration from one of Johnson’s game.

Some of the games Mr Johnson has worked on

His retirement is well deserved, but the wargaming community is losing a true giant of the industry. Goodbye Jervis, and enjoy your retirement.

Why don’t you let us know in the comments below which of Jervis’ games was your favourite?

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Next Week

Alessio Cavatore