Warhammer Fantasy Battle Tabletop Gaming

Wood Elf Tree Walkers, Skaven Flea Jumpers & Goblin Dung Beetle Riders...

noreply@blogger.com (Sigmar) — Fri, 25 May 2012 20:19:00 +0000

Can you come up with an original and completely new and balanced Warhammer Fantasy Battle unit ?

We're hosting a competition on the Battle Reporter Forum here.

Here's one of mine from my Nautican Sea based army...

Giant Crabs !

These crabs have grown huge over 300 years in the deep. They come as a mating pair and fight for the Nauticans and for one another. They are extremely difficult to kill but pity the fool who does send one to a watery grave !

Points/model: 160 pts (for the pair)

	M	Ws	Bs	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
Giant Crab	4	3	0	3	5	3	2	3	7

Unit Size: 2* (50x50mm base size per crab), Unit Strength 6 (3 per crab).
*only one pair can be taken for each 1000pts in the army

Equipment: none

Special Rules: Mating Pair (see below), Stubborn, Causes Fear

Armour Save 3+

Crab Mating Pair rules:-

In the event that one crab should die the other will (on a roll of 3-6) gain eternal hatred (every round of combat) and eternal frenzy (every round of combat). Or on a roll of 1 or 2, the surviving crab will bury itself in the ground to die and will take no further part in the battle.

Crushing Pincers:-

The pincers of a crab take little heed for shields or even plate mail armour. Once grabbed by a pincer armour is of little help as the pincer squeezes and crushes the opponent within it's own armoured coffin.

For enemies with an armour save of:-

6, the crab gains +1 str
5, the crab gains +2 str
4, the crab gains +3 str
3 or better the crab gains +4 str

Granite Crush:-

The crabs grip is second to none in the Oceans, once the crab has seized it's quarry death is almost a certainty.

In the combat phase the crab can sacrifice it's normal attacks for a single granite crush attack in an attempt to try to squash it's enemy into a pulp. Roll to hit as normal, a granite crush attack causes a single str10 hit resulting in D3 wounds. The crush is so traumatic that the enemy cannot use a Regenerate save. The crush is only effective against single models up to Ogre Size (ie. unit strength 3 or less)

image used with the permission of Reapermini.com

Design a Warhammer Fantasy Battle Scenario Competition

noreply@blogger.com (Sigmar) — Sun, 20 May 2012 11:27:00 +0000

A new Fantasy Battle Master Tactician contest has started in the Battle Reporter forum - all entries are welcome.

Here's the lowdown...

Design an original and exciting Warhammer Fantasy Battle scenario for 2 players.

Pretend you are hosting a Warhammer Fantasy Battle and 2 friends have asked you to come up with something a bit different to the usual pitched battle, a battle as original and enjoyable as you can come up with. Assume the gamers have up to, but no more than, 2,500 pts worth of miniatures to play with; the points values per army don't have to be the same but the overall battle should be balanced with an equal opportunity of success for each gamer.

The scenario should be compelling, exciting and result in a fair, competitive contest and a memorable game. The battle should also be playable by any Warhammer Army.

Feel free to include any manner of battle background fluff, victory conditions, limitations, points bonuses, battlefield set up maps etc. but keep in mind that it should be easy to play and not overly complex - members of this forum will get to vote on their favourite scenario.

That's it guys, good luck. Please include all of the details in a single post - one battle scenario per forum member. The winner's battle scenario will be posted on the Battle Reporter Blog.

Image used with the permission of BatPadre, a valued Battle Reporter forum member.

Hobgoblins - WFB army book PDF

noreply@blogger.com (Sigmar) — Sat, 19 May 2012 17:30:00 +0000

"The Great Horde cometh, they ride from the East sweeping away all that stand in their path!" the last words of the Empire's Eastern most outpost.

Some of the more silver-haired amongst you might, like me, recall that hobgoblins were one of the first races produced by citadel all those years ago when Warhammer was in it's infancy. For some reason GW discontinued the race, maybe they were just too similar to their goblin brethren and there was just too much green on the tabletop. Whatever the cause of their demise, Mathias of Battle Reporter forum fame has kindly ressurrected the horde in all their 8th edition glory.

Before I continue I'd like to say, once again, that I'm very, very thankful for all the hard work that Mathias has put into these amazing unofficial Warhammer armies. If you enjoy them as much as I do then please join us in the forum and let Mathias know how much you appreciate his creations, his member name is M4cR1II3n.

This army is completely unofficial and is not endorsed by Games Workshop!

Here's a brief summary of what you can expect:-

The Hobgoblins Army book can be viewed online or downloaded as a PDF (it's about 12meg and is totally FREE !) It's a 55 page book covering all the usual army background, history, religion (Hashut, the same as the tainted Chaos Dwarfs), their devious, mercenary spirit and the Hobgoblin expansionist ambitions (think Genghis Khan !)

The army is weak in magic but strong in cheap horde-like troops and fast cavalry. Core foot warriors have a slightly better Weapon Skill than your average goblin and the Backstabbers special rule which gives them additional attacks against fleeing enemies. On the flip-side many units suffer from Hobgoblin Animosity which could result in a cowardly panic test or a few man-stikka blades finding purchase in the backs of their fellow troopers.

The army book is, as always from a Mathias creation, crammed full of character. Hobgoblins are devious, sneaky, hit-and-run pillagers and absolutely not to be trusted - ever ! The various special rules make this abundantly clear with rules such as "Backstabbers", "Cowardly Despoilers" (a Wolf Raider characteristic giving an extra bonus for flank or rear charges); "Burn it Down" (a Tarkan unit speciality which enables the unit to set fire to building and war machines); "Fire and Flee" (a Mangudai Wolf cavalry skill that allows a unit to sacrifice some of it's flee move to make a shoot charge reaction before running off !)

I think the Hobgoblins would make an excellent choice for the likes of a noble High Elf General, chivalrous Bretonnian Knight or honourable Dwarf Lord player who would relish the opportunity to be a bit of a sneaky git for a change

In summary, there are 7 Lord and Hero choices, 5 core units, 6 special units (including some very handy cavalry and a War Wagon), 4 rare units (including the superb and extremely deadly Death Worm that can be used like an ambusher and a frenzied (!) Rhinox Battle Fortress), a few cool mounts (like the terrifying Waki'ya flying monster for an extra 4 strength 5 attacks) and about 35 magic items - named "Da Loot" :D

Unlike most other armies Hobgoblin shamans do not practice their own specialist magic but they can use the Lores of Fire, Shadow or Beasts.

All-in-all (following a rather quick review of the rules and units) I would say the army's main strength is it's fast movement, cheap core units and ability to deploy hit and run type tactics. The principal weakness is definitely magic and also the below average profile stats (although this is offset by the points costs).

It's another excellent production and well worth a read. You can probably also find plenty of hobgoblin models out there, if not the old Citadel ones then I'm fairly confident that another miniature company will still be producing some.

Be part of the creative community and get more from your hobby.

Empire Army Book & Minis Released

noreply@blogger.com (Sigmar) — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 23:57:00 +0000

What no Wood Elves ! It seems that the Woodies and Bretonnians have finished each other off or simply had to retreat further into their own realms because... here comes Emperor Karl Franz !

Games Workshop are following in their "big is best" policy (following on from the success, I presume, of their Vampire Counts range) with the new Empire range of miniatures.

It's going to be a field day for the thousands of Empire army collectors who are into modelling and painting. I reckon that The Empire must be one of the most popular armies in the Warhammer world which, I guess, explains why they are getting a release before the poor "old" Wood Elves and noble Horse Lords.

Anyway, providing you're an Empire player I think you'll be fairly pleased with the new range. I have no idea what the army book is like so hopefully the new models will be fairly optional for those who prefer standard rank of file troopers in favour of weird and wonderful war machines and massive monsters.

Here are some of my favourite new models, you'll find the rest in the Empire section of GW's website.

First up is Volkmar the Grim on The War Altar of Sigmar.

Awesome ! One minor complaint, I'd prefer a Griffon with slightly thicker more solid looking hind legs in a static "I cannot be moved" pose. It's a minor quibble because overall it's a superb model and decent value for money as well (given it's size and modelling satisfaction!)

Second, the Warrior Priest with 2 hammers (in Finecast). They've always done a good job with Empire foot soldiers, the scale is usually good and the poses are interesting with lots of variety to suit the kind of army you're looking to field.

The Witch Hunter is brilliant and I expect to see a lot of him in painting competitions and Golden Demon awards. He just looks the part and is very charismatic.

Last but not least, check this out for something a bit different it's named the Celestial Hurricanum. It comes as a kit that you can also assemble into a Doctor Who looking machine called the Luminark of Hysh (which I'm less keen on because it looks slightly too 40k for me).

A new Fimir Army Book PDF released

noreply@blogger.com (Sigmar) — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 21:52:00 +0000

From the mists they come... another version of the Fimir Warhammer Fantasy Battle army, this time from Mathias - the masterful WFB army book designer.

Hot on the hairy heals of the amazing Halfling Army book pdf comes the fantastic Fimir Fantasy Army (Mathias, weaves time spells so he can fit a whole week's army book development into a puny "normal human day" !)

The book is, as always, completely free to download or read online (with no catches whatsoever - although a bit of feedback in the forum would be appreciated) and before we go any further...

This army is completely unofficial not endorsed by Games Workshop!

If you can't be bothered with my review below, here are the links:-

Fimir Army Book PDF (75 meg, 110 pages)

Fimir Army Book discussion forum

Sigmar's Summary

I haven't studied the army list with a fine tooth-comb so these are just my initial observations.

Prologue

The part daemon, one-eye, mace tailed, swamp and marsh dwellers (with attitude) are back - again ! Yes, this is the 2nd unofficial WFB Fimir Army (here's the other Fimir Army Book Review)

I believe that the Fimir were always designed to be a complete one-off by Games Workshop who wanted to add something apart from the normal fantasy races (that were already encased in their own mythology). GW wanted something of their own, as different and unique to the fantasy world as they could make it and they certainly achieved that. It's a shame they dropped the Fimir, I suppose people were still excited about the relative novelty of gaming with Elves, Dwarfs, Orcs and Goblins in those days - maybe the Fimir would be received with more excitement if they were brought back now ! (hint, hint)

The Fimir Army Book

From a gaming perspective, the most notable difference with the Fimir army is the relatively high strength and toughness (especially) and the lower number of core, special and rare unit choices. I would expect the army to appeal to someone looking for something completely different but not too difficult to master, an army for someone after a somewhat smaller force with an emphasis on close combat.

Despite the limited number of units the army stands out as one of the the most imaginative Warhammer forces because of the originality of the creatures themselves. The Fimir Army units are quite different, from the Demonfriend Dirach wizards right down to the lowly Shearl thralls. A rather more extreme example of the originality is The Eye Tyrant; a hovering, unbreakable, eye with tentacles capable of magical ranged attacks ! Or how about the Marsh Reavers (see pic on right)

The background is excellent, I have not read it all yet but what I've read has been superbly written and is very engaging. It's all a bit of a crazy mix, like a weird sub-culture from another planet, maybe something that the Doctor Who or Star Trek writers would come up with (read too long and you could lose your mind !)

The book is split into 4 sections after the introduction:-

From the Mists they Come

A fully realised background from subjects as diverse as The Fimir settlements, economy and technology through to their life-cycle, crime and punishment and their relationship to Daemons.

The Sons of Men and Angels

A mysterious title you might think until you read that...

"They believe their race was born when a Human witch-princess of the Waterland fell in love with and bore the sons of a Daemon she had summoned. For this crime the princess, named Maris, was eventually imprisoned whilst her Daemon lover, Fimúl the Mud God, was cruelly murdered and his body cast into the marshes by the men of the Waterland.

Driven from the Waterland for their foul appearance and their half-Daemonic souls, the sons of Maris and Fimúl fled in search of a new home for themselves and their mother. Fimir society, myths and goals resonate with the memories of that parentage, exile and the cruelty of men. Today, Fimir claim the damp, desolate places of the Old World, the closest they will ever come to the paradise of the Waterland."

This section provides a lot more detail about the Fimir themselves, their history, appearance, ageing, senses, language, favoured environments. It makes for compelling reading.

Ruinous Inheritence

A lot more detail on the origins of the race, the myths and stories and their Gods; Maris the Mother "the Witch Princess" and Fimúl the Father or "Mud God". To their religious ceremonies...

"Blood sacrifice of living Humans is a major part of Fimir life"

(watch out peasants and especially marsh wandering halflings !)

But don't think they are prejudiced against us manthing weaklings because they even, on ocassion, tie up their own kind to be burnt at the stake ! (a terrible thing for a marsh dweller apparently)

Plus a timeline and some nice short stories.

The Bestiary !

9 Lord and Hero level characters and special characters, 4 core units, 6 special units and 4 rare units, a new magic lore (suitably full of mists, quagmires, daemons and unseen lurkers) and a full range of magic items with some cunning inclusions like...

Talisman: Talon of Mother Gorne 60 pts
An extremely potent talisman, its power only grows stronger the closer to death its bearer gets.

The bearer has a Ward save equal to his number of Wounds left.

Weapon: Fimúl’s Arms 45 pts
The Axe and the Mace known as Fimúl’s Arms are two of the most priced relics kept by the Fimir. They are the very same weapons Fimúl the Mud God used to protect his beloved Maris. When Fimúl was killed, the weapons where sold by the human merchants. One Fimir clann was lucky enough to raid a certain caravan transporting the weapons centuries later. They were probably on their way to a rich noble who bought them as collector items. Since that time, the axe and the mace are passed on from clan to clan each year.

Paired hand weapons. The Axe gives the wielder +1 Weapon Skill and Armour Piercing Attacks. The Mace reduces the Weapon Skill, Strength and Attack value of enemies hit by it by

Armour: Armour of Sacrifice 20 pts
This leather armour made from the skin of those sacrificed to Fimúl is filled with malign power, protecting the wearer while taking the life of someone nearby instead.

Light armour. The first wound suffered by the
wearer can be transferred to a friendly model within

Once again, I can't thank Mathias enough for all the hard work he has put into these unofficial armies. If you enjoy them as well, please join the forum and let him know, his member name is M4cR1II3n.

Be part of the creative community and get more from your hobby.

some of the 17 FREE unofficial Warhammer Fantasy Battle Army books

A new Halfling Army Book for Warhammer Fantasy Battle

noreply@blogger.com (Sigmar) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 22:15:00 +0000

The Warhammer Halflings PDF army book is ready for download or viewing online - the Hungry Horde are coming for dinner !

Another masterpiece from Mathias - he's probably contributed more to the unofficial World of Warhammer than anybody else - ever !!

(see the foot of this post for all the other unofficial army books that Mathias has developed or contributed to, plus some unofficial armies developed by other Battle Reporter Community members).

Halfling Warhammer Army Book PDF

Halfling Army Book Discussion

Right, that's enough hero-worshiping, let's take a look inside the book. I'm excited about spreading the news so am writing this as I go along so please bear in mind I haven't used this army in battle or even read the whole book properly - yet. These are my first impressions.

(this army book is completely unofficial and is not endorsed by Games Workshop)

The book is a pdf document, 80 pages long (about 32 meg) and split into 4 main sections;

The Hungry Horde
The Land of the Moot
History of the Moot and
Bestiary

and of course the Introduction and how could you not be charmed by this army...

"The Halflings of the Moot are a peaceful and pastoral people, but their bravery in defence of their homeland should not be doubted. Their armies are primarily made up of Halfling Militia fighting with whatever weapons the can come up with, but they also bring their dangerous farm yard animals, hot soup and angry wives with them, making them a small but dangerous foe to face!"

The Hungry Horde spans about 9 pages and details the appearance, behaviour and general Halfling culture (with mentions of their predilection towards adventuring and thievery and their resistance to magic and a short story about, what else... the famous Halfling Hotpot). As always, it is extremely well written (unlike my blog) and engaging and you soon begin to get that familiar "this is an army I could really love" feeling creeping up from your hairy toes.

The Land of the Moot as you would expect is all about the geography and position of The Moot in the Olde World, it covers 9 pages and ends with a handy map of the Mootland.

The History of the Moot is superb and really brings the Halfling people to life, it contains a couple of short stories and finishes with a Timeline Chronicle - things really did look so good for them, especially with the discovery of a new type of potato in 1162, until Gorbad !

Bestiary ! this really is a work of brilliance, Mathias has let his imagination run amok and we're all the better off for it because the end result is a classic army book full of fantastic, original ideas and units.

Some of my favourite moments browsing the Bestiary...

Both Special Army Wide rules
- "Unquenchable Appetite" which uses the "Before Battle Meal" table. A good meal can mean anything from a stubborn unit, +1 strength or a psychology re-roll whereas stale biscuits (!!!!) can lead to a leadership breakdown although suffering units do become subject to hatred - yes Halflings really do like their grub :)
- Short and Stout - making the shorties difficult to hit.

Moot Magic with the spell names of Hearth, Home, Kith, Kin, Feast and Famine - inspired!
(The magic is nearly all augment in nature, which is quite appropriate; halflings aren't actually that great at magic and are better at dispelling than casting)

The Special Rules for the Master Chef (which all depend on the stew that he simmers, the spices he adds and a roll of the scatter dice to see which direction the wind carries the aroma across the battlefield - once again inspired !)

The Master Thief who can steal magic items from enemy characters - yes, at last enemies will now spend 100 pts on their death star unit-supporting magic items at their peril :)

Hobilar "Fast Cavalry" pony riders - who are prone to falling off !

Housewives who go into a frenzy if their male-folk are hurt - now that probably is very scary.

and, wait for it....

Swan Riders and Ram Riders !

Swans count as flying cavalry with archer riders (with a handy ballistic skill of 5) and Rams deliver impact hits (up strength 5 per ram in base contact).

Reaper and Shearer with their "Get Off My Land!" stubborn rule - yet again, inspired !

The Beekeeper with his Beeswarms !

The Pantry Guard - LOL, honestly, I feel like crying this is so great :) Pantry Guard is the name of the fellows who protect the grub in the "Chuck Wagon" which acts a bit like a BSB. Awesome.

Dawg Riders :)

With their "Go Get 'Em Boy!" rule :-

"Dawgs are especially eager
when moving in on their prey as it usually means
food (or at least the promise of food!). Whenever a
unit of Dawg Riders charges, pursues or overrun,
they may re-roll the dice to see how far they move."

The Halflings benefit from some slightly tougher support in the shape of Moot Ogres and the Half-Tank and the Hot pot should prove useful against highly armoured opposition.

The Magic Item list is called "Hand-Me-Downs and Bric-A-Brac" - ROFLMAO - brilliant.

There are about 40 items, which are probably a bit weaker than those you're used to. Most of them are "augment-like" items and fit the theme perfectly.

Sigmar's Summary

This is my favourite unofficial army list to date - it's brilliant !

Packed full of inspiring ideas and with so much character it makes you want to drink some Alice in Wonderland potion to half your height. This book presents you with an army you'll want to cherish, one where you'll put a name tag on the underside of each miniature base. I suspect anyone collecting this army will spend as much time working on ways to theme their army with portable soup kitchens, hot dog stands and banners adorned with culinary sayings as they do on the army list itself.

I don't expect you to collect this army but do yourself a favour, download it, print it off and have a great time reading it !

Anyway, for a quick round up, click on the Bestiary Summary below for a bigger pic:-

I can't thank Mathias enough for all the hard work he has put into these unofficial armies. If you enjoy them as well, please join the forum and let him know, his member name is M4cR1II3n.

Be part of the creative community and get more from your hobby.

some of the 16 FREE unofficial Warhammer Fantasy Battle Army books

Killing Blow - a new forum game

noreply@blogger.com (Sigmar) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 00:03:00 +0000

There can be only one !

We've just started a new Hurt or Heal forum thread game in the Battle Reporter forum for anybody interested. Just post your actions up to once per day. Here are the contestants :-

Arachnarok
Bat Swarm
Black Guard
Chaos Warriors
Dwarf Warriors
Flagellants
Forsaken
Giant
Inner Circle Knights
Knights of the Realm
Leopold's Pikemen
Maneaters
Outriders
Saurus Warriors
Squig Hoppers
Temple Guard
Treekin
Varghulf
Warsphinx
Zombies

FAQ for Warhammer Beginners - can you help us complete it ?

noreply@blogger.com (Sigmar) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 23:20:00 +0000

New starters to Warhammer Fantasy Battle usually have a lot of questions and we'd like your help trying to answer them :- Fantasy Battle Beginner FAQs.

Below are the initial questions :-

1) Armies with the Most "Character"
2) Army you most enjoy taking into Battle
3) Armies with the "Best" Miniatures
4) Easiest Armies to Paint
5) Easiest Armies to use in Battle
6) Enemy you least enjoy fighting against
7) Most Collected Armies
8) Most Enjoyable Armies to Collect

We're also completing a template for every single Warhammer Army book which is going to give a current overview of the army, a summary of it's characteristics, it's general strengths and weaknesses and thus who the army might appeal to.

If you'd like to get involved please complete the above polls and, if you want to get more involved, check out the Warhammer Army Comparison Template here, and volunteer to help with one or more of the armies.

Thanks folks,
Sigmar

Image is Necrosphinx vs Shaggoth by Gregory Rossetto from the Battle Reporter Facebook Group (album)

The most essential WFB Rare Units - Voting has Begun

noreply@blogger.com (Sigmar) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 19:13:00 +0000

From some old time favourites like the Steam Tank and Bretonnian Trebuchet through to the new kids on the block like the Ogre Ironblaster and Necrosphinx - which will you choose ?

Here's the list folks, now get debating and voting :-)

Note: you can change your vote at any point during the debate if, for instance, someone successfully manages to bribe, blackmail, threaten or even persuade you with the strength of their argument!

the Essential Rare Fantasy Battle Units debate

Ancient Stegadon
Blood Knights
Bretonnian Trebuchet
Casket of Souls
Chaos Warshrine
Dark Elf Hydra
Dwarf Organ Gun
Eagles
Empire Flagellants
Ghorgon
Goblin Doom Diver
Gyrocopter
Hellpit Abomination
Necrosphinx
Ogre Ironblaster
Salamanders
Skaven Doomwheel
Snotling Pump Wagon
Steam Tank

Best Magic Item is a Dispel Scroll

noreply@blogger.com (Sigmar) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 22:06:00 +0000

Dispel scrolls were viewed by some as essential in 7th edition tournaments and even though 8th edition Warhammer rules limit you to one, it seems that the humble scroll hasn't lost it's appeal in Fantasy Battles.

Here are the magic items* ranked in descending order of % of members voting for that item.

* from the 8th edition Rulebook only, not the magic items in the army books

The best Magic Items in the 8th Edition WFB Rulebook

14% ¦ Dispel Scroll - MrSeb
10% ¦ Crown of Command - pippin_nl
8% ¦ Fozzrik's Folding Fortress- Eternal Knight
8% ¦ Ironcurse Icon - Painted by G
7% ¦ The Terrifying Mask of Eee! - Mosk
6% ¦ Talisman of Preservation - whitewolf14
6% ¦ Dragonbane Gem - Telepfenion
5% ¦ Sivejir's Hex Scroll - Coinsmith1
5% ¦ Banner of Eternal Flame - teclis
4% ¦ Arabyan Carpet - Tomsche
4% ¦ Sword of Swift Slaying - strigoi
3% ¦ Potion of Foolhardiness - Kefka
3% ¦ Earthing Rod - Grim Squeaker
3% ¦ Standard of Discipline - Nithavela
3% ¦ Forbidden Rod - Drummyralf
3% ¦ Wailing Banner - Baelspar
3% ¦ Tormentor Sword - aaron88
2% ¦ Armour of Destiny - Noble Korhedron

Miniature is an old Talisman Wizard painted by Mr Saturday, one of the Battle Reporter forum members.

Essential Rare Warhammer Units

noreply@blogger.com (Sigmar) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 14:04:00 +0000

Another day, another Fantasy Battle tactica debate :)
Nominate the most important rare unit in Warhammer fantasy battle - simple heh?!

* when I say "most important" or (heaven forbid...) "best" I mean the most influential from the point of view of it's own army. So for instance, is a Steam Tank more important for the Empire army or the Casket of Souls more important for Tomb Kings.

Lot's of reputation on offer to the winners and every entry gets +1 rep and of course our respect and a pleasant "thanks fr entering" message :)

The entries so far:-

Steam Tank
Casket of Souls
Great Eagles
Dark Elf Hydra
Dwarf Organ Gun
Ogre Ironblaster
Ancient Stegadon
Snotling PUmp Wagon
Gyrocopter
Skaven Doomwheel
Chaos Warshrine
Necrosphinx
Salamanders
Bretonnian Trebuchet

Image is © Games Workshop. All rights reserved. Used without permission.

Fozzrik's Folding Fortress to the Tormentor Sword

noreply@blogger.com (Sigmar) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 21:15:00 +0000

Vote for your favourite Warhammer Magic Items from the 8th edition Fantasy Battle rulebook.

Here are the entries and forum members :-

Fozzrik's Folding Fortress- Eternal Knight
Arabyan Carpet - Tomsche
The Terrifying Mask of Eee! - Mosk
Sword of Swift Slaying - strigoi
Ironcurse Icon - Painted by G
Potion of Foolhardiness - Kefka
Earthing Rod - Grim Squeaker
Talisman of Preservation - whitewolf14
Armour of Destiny - Noble Korhedron
Dispel Scroll - MrSeb
Dragonbane Gem - Telepfenion
Sivejir's Hex Scroll - Coinsmith1
Standard of Discipline - Nithavela
Crown of Command - pippin_nl
Forbidden Rod - Drummyralf
Wailing Banner - Baelspar
Banner of Eternal Flame - teclis
Tormentor Sword - aaron88

And the photo of Death Knell Watch, the new GW scenery piece is about as close as I could get to Fozzrik's Folding Fortress and it also constitutes GW news so here you go :) It's a new release in their terrain and scenery collection and a fine tower it is too (with very useful ledges !)

Image is © Games Workshop. All rights reserved. Used without permission.

Outstanding Warhammer Promise

noreply@blogger.com (Sigmar) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 12:26:00 +0000

These guys have never lost a battle, they win all the painting tournaments they enter (which is all of them) and when they enter the prison canteen even the Chaos Gods shuffle to the side !

These are... the Battle Reporters and we're inviting the minions (that's you !) to join us. If you have the million dollar entry fee and have a win record of at least 1000-0 then you might be accepted into the new apprenticeship scheme by the Council of Gaming Titans.

Apply within and live your Warhammer dream - if you dare !

You will need a real email address to register (just set up a fake gmail/hotmail account if you want). We have to send you an "activate your account" email otherwise advertising spambots attack our forum and even though we're rock hard we cannot always find the time to travel to the respective countries to beat them up ! :(

A Friendly Fantasy Battle forum with no trolls - we have troll slayers instead ;-), no flame wars (the Nautican's extinguish them) and no nonsense that you find on larger forums.

We're seeking new members to try to boost our activity and hammering fun.

We only have one important rule... to be friendly.

If you're a friendly kind of Ogre, Orc, Elf, Daemon, Vampire, Skaven, Human or even Dwarf (!) and you're looking for a friendly WFB forum, we might be what you're after.

We:-

Cover all Warhammer Armies
Host 15 unofficial Warhammer Army Book PDFs that are free to download or view online
Have a dedicated Painting forum, painting contests and award winning painters
Host tactical competitions and debate
Have many veteran and tournament winning players
Have our very own text based Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay forum
Post the latest news for your opinions and comments
Have an awesome slideshow containing member miniature pics
Have links to hundreds of battle reports and an amazing model gallery
Cover all of the other Games Workshop products
We even have an arcade with browser games for when you're bored !
Have our own Facebook Warhammer Battle Reporter's Group

You'll need a valid email address to authenticate your account to stop the spambots posting adverts!

Be part of the creative community and get more from your hobby.

Miniature painted by our forum member and award winning painter named "Dims". Used with permission.

Ogre Rhino Cavalry -

noreply@blogger.com (Sigmar) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 09:30:00 +0000

Surely this fella should be called "Ogre on Rhinosaurus" ? He's named an "Ogre War Rhino" but I have to say that he looks a bit more "Dino" than "Rhino" to me. Still, it's a very cool mini.

The whole model is excellent and the Ogre especially so - the facial features are perfect.

Anyway, here you go... if you're in the business of Ogres on Dinosaurs.... He'd make a brilliant Ogre Tribe "King" - watch your back Greasus !

Mantic, Avatars of War Undead Deal

noreply@blogger.com (Sigmar) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 20:27:00 +0000

Look what just appeared in my inbox ! A superb miniature deal by Mantic Games in association with - one of the all time best miniature makers - Avatars of War.

Ok, you only get one Avatar Vampiress but nonetheless, look at the price (£75 GBP) for all those miniatures (121 including 10 Knights !)

There are 110 troopers (or should I say "shamblers") plus 10 mounted Knights (or is that "rusty buckets") ;-) Anyway, as I've reported before, the Mantic miniatures are of a very good standard and they represent great value for money (although I wish they would improve some of the photos on their site to show them off in a better light - literally!)

http://www.manticgames.com/Shop-Home/Kings-of-War/Special-Army-Deals/Product/Court-of-the-Vampire-Countess-Army-Deal-121-Figures.html

(please paste the above link into your browser, so I don't have to come back and sort out the broken link if Mantic take their special army deal down one day)

BTW, the Vampire Countess alone usually costs about £10 GBP, they also ship for free a you get a Kings of War rulebook - an outstanding bargain that is to be applauded (hence this post).

Well done to Mantic Games.

The Vampiress is a real work of art and comes with 4 excellent variations for her (or should that be "it's") left army either holding out a staff, extending a sword, extending her arm or retracting her hand.

Images are © Avatars of War. All rights reserved. Used without permission.

A bit of an after thought but here's a decent YouTube of the Skeleton Regiment sprues...

Troublesome Warhammer Enemies !

noreply@blogger.com (Sigmar) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:29:00 +0000

A debate on how to counter the most problematic Fantasy Battle enemy units. I'm hoping we can build this one into a bit of a general Warhammer Tactica FAQ.

If you think you have good tactical advice to offer then please feel free to join the discussion, earn some forum reputation, the respect of the guys (and girls!) and you might even have fun :-)

Just choose an enemy unit that causes you grief, explain why and then provide advice on how people can deal with that unit in their battles - easy heh !

Dealing with "Problem" Units in an Enemy's WFB Army

Image is © Games Workshop. All rights reserved. Used without permission.

The Best Fantasy Battle Magic Item

noreply@blogger.com (Sigmar) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 23:10:00 +0000

The latest Warhammer debate focuses on the best magic weapons, armour, talismans, standards, enchanted and arcane items in the 8th edition WFB rulebook.

If you think you know which is the most essential, must-have magic item which beats all others hands down (on a point-for-point basis) then you should join the debate.

Become part of our community, earn forum reputation points, gain the respect of our members and most importantly... join in the fun :)

As soon as we have plenty of entries we'll kick off a poll for your votes.

Debate and vote for the best WFB magic items

Warhammer Special Characters Ranked

noreply@blogger.com (Sigmar) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 11:35:00 +0000

The results are in, the "best" to the "worst" Fantasy Battle characters.

Obviously, it's all very subjective and dependent on game conditions, your army selection, your enemy and how you use the units but in a general point-for-point competition, here is what our forum members thought :-

WFB Special Character rankings & strengths & weaknesses discussion

(the forum thread is still open so feel free to add to the debate).

% of all voters who chose these units in their top 10.

11% ¦ The Green Knight
7% ¦ Teclis
7% ¦ Thorgrim Grudgebearer
6% ¦ Mannfred von Carstein
6% ¦ Skarsnik & Gobbla
6% ¦ Grand Theogonist Volkmar
5% ¦ Karl Franz
5% ¦ Nagash
5% ¦ Grombrindal
4% ¦ Krell
4% ¦ Kairos Fateweaver
4% ¦ Chakax
4% ¦ Ikit Claw
4% ¦ Settra, Tomb King of Khemri
3% ¦ Alith Anar
3% ¦ Wulfrik
3% ¦ Greasus Goldtooth
3% ¦ Eltharion the Grim
3% ¦ Crone Hellebron
3% ¦ Drycha
2% ¦ Khazrak
2% ¦ Vilitch the Cursling

176 votes cast.

the best WFB Special Character - voting has started

noreply@blogger.com (Sigmar) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 18:50:00 +0000

A debate to find the most powerful and influential (on a point for point basis) Special Warhammer Fantasy Battle characters.

You have a week to debate and vote and then change your mind and re-vote ! I thought it could be tough deciding so you can vote for up to 10 of them (by Saturday 4th Feb 6pm GMT).

We have 22 entries covering most of the armies, I just can't believe everyone's favourite Everchosen, Archaon and the mighty head-butter himself Grimgor didn't get nominated !

Karl Franz
Teclis
The Green Knight
Wulfrik
Khazrak
Skarsnik & Gobbla
Krell
Kairos Fateweaver
Chakax
Grombrindal
Mannfred
Thorgrim
Drycha
Greasus
Eltharion
Volkmar
Vilitch
Nagash
Alith Anar
Ikit Claw
Settra and
Crone Hellebron

Image of Emperor Karl Franz is © Games Workshop. All rights reserved. Used without permission.

Warhammer Painting & Modeling Motivation

noreply@blogger.com (Sigmar) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 23:52:00 +0000

A free-for-all fantasy miniature painting / conversion competition which might help to get you to finish your army ! Look no further because we're even accepting 40k, LoTR and others - booo !

Everyone's invited, we're just looking for some more forum members to "Hammer" with :)

It's dead simple, post pics of the minis (up to 3) that you plan to paint here :-

Warhammer (and other Fantasy mini) painting & conversion comp

You have until March 11th to post pics of the finished article(s).

We don't have much to offer other than a friendly atmosphere, some good debate and a place you might enjoy returning to. Lots of the guys have been around for years now and we're very appreciative of new members.

Here are the previous winners:

Images used with the permission of the respective painters, thanks guys,

Warhammer Special Character tactica debate

noreply@blogger.com (Sigmar) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 22:22:00 +0000

So, which is the best Fantasy Battle character in the Warhammer world ?

It might sound a bit of an impossible question to answer because, of course, it relies on so many factors but we're going to have a crack at it :)

This is one of the Battle Reporter Master Tactician debates and it's very simple :-

name the best Special Character and explain why.

After we have a few entries and have enjoyed plenty of friendly debate, we vote on it.

Easy heh ?! Errr... probably not, I expect blood, sweat and tears to be shed in the forum over this one at some point - ok maybe not but possibly a bit of perspiration ;)

Image of Tyrion miniature is © Games Workshop. All rights reserved. Used without permission.

Join the best Warhammer forum?

noreply@blogger.com (Sigmar) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 20:17:00 +0000

A Friendly Fantasy Battle forum with no trolls - we have troll slayers instead ;-), no flame wars (the Nautican's extinguish them) and no nonsense that you find on larger forums.

Cover all Warhammer Armies
Host 15 unofficial Warhammer Army Book PDFs that are free to download or view online
Have a dedicated Painting forum, painting contests and award winning painters
Host tactical competitions and debate
Have many veteran and tournament winning players
Have our very own text based Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay forum
Post the latest news for your opinions and comments
Have an awesome slideshow containing member miniature pics
Have links to hundreds of battle reports and an amazing model gallery
Cover all of the other Games Workshop products
We even have an arcade with browser games for when you're bored !
Have our own Facebook Warhammer Battle Reporter's Group

You'll need a valid email address to authenticate your account to stop the spambots posting adverts!

Be part of the creative community and get more from your hobby.

Miniature painted by our forum member and award winning painter named "Dims". Used with permission.

Best and Worst 8th Edition Armies

noreply@blogger.com (Sigmar) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:10:00 +0000

The strongest Warhammer Fantasy Battle Armies under the 8th edition rulebook - poll results. We had over 500 people voting and here's the outcome.

Note that: new Orcs & Goblins, Tomb Kings, Ogre Kingdoms and Vampire Count army books were released during the vote (so some people will have voted before seeing the new armies).

Voters were asked to choose the 5 best and worst WHFB armies.

Which armies are the most powerful under the 8th edition rules ?

% of all voters / army

46% High Elves
45% Skaven
40% Warriors of Chaos
32% Dark Elves
29% Chaos Daemons
28% The Empire
20% Lizardmen
20% Dwarfs
19% Vampire Counts
16% Orcs and Goblins
10% Ogre Kingdoms
9% Tomb Kings
7% Bretonnia
6% Wood Elves
4% Beastmen

Which are the weakest fantasy battle armies under the WFB 8th ed. rulebook ?

% of all voters / army

65% Wood Elves
45% Bretonnia
40% Beastmen
37% Tomb Kings
27% Ogre Kingdoms
24% Vampire Counts
16% Orcs and Goblins
14% Dwarfs
11% The Empire
10% Lizardmen
8% High Elves
7% Chaos Daemons
5% Dark Elves
3% Warriors of Chaos
2% Skaven

and if you rank both lists (from best to worst) and add the ranks up and then sort them in order of best 8th edition army to worst 8th edition army then this is what you get...

The overall best to worst Warhammer Fantasy Battle army...
(ranked in order of best + least worst)

1st / Skaven / 3 pts
2nd / Warriors of Chaos / 5 pts
3rd / High Elves / 6 pts
4th / Dark Elves / 7 pts
5th / Chaos Daemons / 9 pts
6th / Lizardmen / 13 pts
7th / The Empire / 13 pts
8th / Dwarfs / 16 pts
9th / Orcs and Goblins / 19 pts
10th / Vampire Counts / 19 pts
11th / Ogre Kingdoms / 22 pts
12th / Tomb Kings / 24 pts
13th / Bretonnia / 27 pts
14th / Beastmen / 28 pts
15th / Wood Elves / 29 pts

I'm sure you'll want to draw your own conclusions, I'm just sorry for the poor old Beastmen because their army book wasn't released that long ago and yet they still come in second bottom in the ranking.

I think anyone who has played against the top 5 know they are disgustingly good, especially Warriors of Chaos (in my opinion).

A note to Games Workshop: I think it's time to bring on those Bretonnian and Wood Elf army books.

Images are © Games Workshop. All rights reserved. Used without permission.

The best Warhammer Allies - time to debate & vote

noreply@blogger.com (Sigmar) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 21:14:00 +0000

Master Tactica #6 is underway - time to vote for your favourite allied commander combinations (most importantly, those Warhammer Allies you think would be strongest on the battlefield). Feel free to join in the debate and support or argue against the entries.

Part I of the Grand Alliances competition; the entrants:-

Thorsten Carbide leading an army of Dwarfs with Luthor Huss leading the Empire allies.
Zec'Lot the Lizardmen Lord accompanied by the High Elf Ensekeos and his allied force.
The Dark Elf Lord Malus Coldheart in a fragile alliance with Sir Joseph Blackbeard's cannons.
Infamous Golgfag Maneater in a suspicious alliance with an Empire Sigmartie Warrior Priest.
General Max Paiment (a Dogs of War commander) allied with Gak Marrowslurp an Ogre Butcher.
Beautiful Camilla (Empire Engineer) and Magnar Copperglove the health & safety Dwarf inspector !
The Union of Ancients; Tomb King Liche Priest Sakhotep & Scar Veteran Zepotek
The enchanting Lady Skyla Deepwater and rune clad Dwarf Runesmith Thane Red Stockleg or
Newklia Fishon the Dark Elf assassin trained Chaos Lord and his gobbo mate Khips.

Pistoliers are the best WFB Cavalry unit

noreply@blogger.com (Sigmar) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 00:17:00 +0000

It's official (as far as the Warhammer Battle Reporter community is concerned) - Pistoliers are the best cavalry, closely followed by the Kislev Griffon Legion and Chaos Knights.

We had a good turnout with almost 100 votes, thanks to everyone who took part and contributed to an excellent debate. The next Master Tactician Warhammer Alliances debate will begin soon.

The results...

% of votes / Army / Forum Member

11% Pistoliers - WhiteWolf14
9% Kislev Griffon Legion - Coinsmith1
9% Chaos Knights - Fingolfin
8% Knights of the Realm - Telepfenion
8% Black Knights - Lord Bob
7% Bretonnian Grail Knights - Dalara
7% Blood Knights - Lawrence1981
6% Marauder Horsemen - tubelcain
6% Empire Knights - Big Gav
5% Empire Outriders - MrSeb
5% Dark Riders - Sigmar
5% 30 Inner Circle Knights - Noble Korhedron
4% Cold One Knights - pippin_nl
3% Goblin Wolfriders - teclis
3% Boar Boyz Big Uns - jaggedjaw

Images are © Games Workshop. All rights reserved. Used without permission.

Warhammer Fantasy Battle Tabletop Gaming

Wood Elf Tree Walkers, Skaven Flea Jumpers & Goblin Dung Beetle Riders...

Can you come up with an original and completely new and balanced Warhammer Fantasy Battle unit ?

Design a Warhammer Fantasy Battle Scenario Competition

A new Fantasy Battle Master Tactician contest has started in the Battle Reporter forum - all entries are welcome.

Hobgoblins - WFB army book PDF

"The Great Horde cometh, they ride from the East sweeping away all that stand in their path!" the last words of the Empire's Eastern most outpost.

Empire Army Book & Minis Released

What no Wood Elves ! It seems that the Woodies and Bretonnians have finished each other off or simply had to retreat further into their own realms because... here comes Emperor Karl Franz !

A new Fimir Army Book PDF released

From the mists they come... another version of the Fimir Warhammer Fantasy Battle army, this time from Mathias - the masterful WFB army book designer.

A new Halfling Army Book for Warhammer Fantasy Battle

The Warhammer Halflings PDF army book is ready for download or viewing online - the Hungry Horde are coming for dinner !

Killing Blow - a new forum game

There can be only one !

FAQ for Warhammer Beginners - can you help us complete it ?

New starters to Warhammer Fantasy Battle usually have a lot of questions and we'd like your help trying to answer them :- Fantasy Battle Beginner FAQs.

The most essential WFB Rare Units - Voting has Begun

From some old time favourites like the Steam Tank and Bretonnian Trebuchet through to the new kids on the block like the Ogre Ironblaster and Necrosphinx - which will you choose ?

Best Magic Item is a Dispel Scroll

Dispel scrolls were viewed by some as essential in 7th edition tournaments and even though 8th edition Warhammer rules limit you to one, it seems that the humble scroll hasn't lost it's appeal in Fantasy Battles.

Essential Rare Warhammer Units

Another day, another Fantasy Battle tactica debate :) Nominate the most important rare unit in Warhammer fantasy battle - simple heh?!

Fozzrik's Folding Fortress to the Tormentor Sword

Vote for your favourite Warhammer Magic Items from the 8th edition Fantasy Battle rulebook.

Outstanding Warhammer Promise

These guys have never lost a battle, they win all the painting tournaments they enter (which is all of them) and when they enter the prison canteen even the Chaos Gods shuffle to the side !

Ogre Rhino Cavalry -

Surely this fella should be called "Ogre on Rhinosaurus" ? He's named an "Ogre War Rhino" but I have to say that he looks a bit more "Dino" than "Rhino" to me. Still, it's a very cool mini.

Mantic, Avatars of War Undead Deal

Look what just appeared in my inbox ! A superb miniature deal by Mantic Games in association with - one of the all time best miniature makers - Avatars of War.

Troublesome Warhammer Enemies !

A debate on how to counter the most problematic Fantasy Battle enemy units. I'm hoping we can build this one into a bit of a general Warhammer Tactica FAQ.

The Best Fantasy Battle Magic Item

The latest Warhammer debate focuses on the best magic weapons, armour, talismans, standards, enchanted and arcane items in the 8th edition WFB rulebook.

Warhammer Special Characters Ranked

The results are in, the "best" to the "worst" Fantasy Battle characters.

the best WFB Special Character - voting has started

A debate to find the most powerful and influential (on a point for point basis) Special Warhammer Fantasy Battle characters.

Warhammer Painting & Modeling Motivation

A free-for-all fantasy miniature painting / conversion competition which might help to get you to finish your army ! Look no further because we're even accepting 40k, LoTR and others - booo !

Warhammer Special Character tactica debate

So, which is the best Fantasy Battle character in the Warhammer world ?

Join the best Warhammer forum?

A Friendly Fantasy Battle forum with no trolls - we have troll slayers instead ;-), no flame wars (the Nautican's extinguish them) and no nonsense that you find on larger forums.

Best and Worst 8th Edition Armies

The strongest Warhammer Fantasy Battle Armies under the 8th edition rulebook - poll results. We had over 500 people voting and here's the outcome.

The best Warhammer Allies - time to debate & vote

Master Tactica #6 is underway - time to vote for your favourite allied commander combinations (most importantly, those Warhammer Allies you think would be strongest on the battlefield). Feel free to join in the debate and support or argue against the entries.

Pistoliers are the best WFB Cavalry unit

It's official (as far as the Warhammer Battle Reporter community is concerned) - Pistoliers are the best cavalry, closely followed by the Kislev Griffon Legion and Chaos Knights.

Another day, another Fantasy Battle tactica debate :)
Nominate the most important rare unit in Warhammer fantasy battle - simple heh?!