Classic Warhammer Fantasy Miniatures: Grombrindal, Gotrek and Felix (and a Dark Elf Assassin)

I recently finished painting up some old classic Warhammer Fantasy Battle miniatures.

The original White Dwarf ("Grombrindal") miniature was sculpted by Colin Dixon and released back in 1996. It was the sole remaining miniature from my old WHFB Dwarf army that I played (unpainted) in the late 1990s and sold off in the early 2000s. For some reason I kept the old chap around on the off chance I had an urge to paint him up one day. It took almost 25 years, but finally got around to him....

Michael Perry sculpted the classic Gotrek and Felix miniatures, which were released way back in June 1993. I owned them back in the mid-1990s, sold them off (unpainted), then picked up another set a few years ago.

I tried to go for the old classic 1990s look. I didn't dip these models and didn't use my usual painting shortcuts this time, (no Sharpie pens). Felix's colors changed a few times during my painting endeavor, but his color scheme ended up fairly close to the pictures from the time of their release. For basing them I decided on going with a homage to the 1990s Goblin Green style....

In addition, I found an old Dark Elf Assassin in the same bits box with my other classic models. I forget why I bought him, but he was primed and partially painted (perhaps for use in a failed attempt at a Warhammer Quest redux during the mid-2000s). I decided to finish him up along with the other models, and I worked on him intermittently when I needed to wait for the other models to dry before proceeding.

These were fun to paint up and can join a few other classic models I had painted and kept around, (mostly from the late 1990s).  I prefer these older models to the newer plastic models that Games Workshop has released lately - they are easier to paint and I think they often have more charm and character.  However, next I may try to paint up the latest plastic Gotrek model as a comparison.

Games Workshop Announces "Blitz Bowl Season 2"

At the New York Toy Fair today, Games Workshop announced Blitz Bowl Season 2, (along with a number of other games).

According to Games Workshop, Blitz Bowl Season 2 "gives you even more content for the fast-paced game of fantasy football, compacting the thrills and spills of a game of Blood Bowl into a nifty little package."

On close examination of the picture, it is hard to make out the main changes to the game, other than the color of the plastic, a few new cards, and the fact that the Human Catcher now has Speed 7!  It appears that Humans and Dwarfs will be the two included teams in the box.

Based on prior releases that were first shown at the New York Toy Fair, we can expect Blitz Bowl Season 2 (and the other games previewed) to be released this fall.  The first Blitz Bowl was previewed at the New York Toy Fair on March 1, 2018.  It was first available for purchase at Gen Con 2018 (in August of that year).  It later was available for purchase (from Barnes and Noble stores) in early September 2018.

Halfing Player Cards from Blitz Bowl Halfing Expansion

In addition to the Undead team, Games Workshop has also released an expansion bringing the hungry and plucky Halfling team to the game to Blitz Bowl (now exclusively available at Barnes & Noble).

These two previously unreleased Blitz Bowl teams provide hope that Nurgle, Lizardmen, or other unreleased teams may show up within the next few years....

The Halfing team comes with six Halfing players: one Hefty, three Hopefuls, and two Runners:

 

 

Undead Player Cards from Blitz Bowl Undead Expansion

Just in time for Halloween, Games Workshop has officially released an expansion bringing in the slow but durable Undead team to Blitz Bowl (now exclusively available at Barnes & Noble).  Undead were the team I originally played in Blood Bowl back in the 1990s, but I never expected for there to be a Blitz Bowl expansion released for them; I'm excited to get them painted up and try them out....

The Undead team comes with seven Undead players: one Ghoul, one Mummy, two Skeletons, one Wight Blitzer, and two Zombies:

Blitz Bowl - Five Player Dungeon Bowl

After successfully trying out a four player 'Crossroads' game for Blitz Bowl a few months back, we decided next to use some old Warhammer Quest tiles and some Frostgrave chests to play a five player Dungeon Bowl game.

Dungeon Bowl is a variant of Blood Bowl that uses chests which either explode or contain a ball.  There are also twelve teleporters that can be used to randomly teleport players around the dungeon (using a roll of a D12).  As you can imagine, Dungeon Bowl using Blitz Bowl rules is even more chaotic and random than a normal game of Blitz Bowl....

The first part of the game was each team searching for the ball hidden in one of the trapped chests scattered throughout the dungeon.  Unfortunately, we quickly realized that the game wasn't working well.  The high number of players we had selected and the small width of the corridors made movement difficult, even with the teleporters.

So Dungeon Bowl using Blitz Bowl rules was a bust, but I'm still glad we tried it out.  It makes me more excited for future regular games of Blitz Bowl, as well as curious to try out other multiplayer variants.  I'm considering making a custom three player mat in the near future.

Blitz Bowl - Four Player Crossroads

I completed a custom four player "Crossroads" pitch for Blitz Bowl games before the holidays.  It was made from some felt from JOANN Fabrics and Crafts and a black Sharpie pen, (I tried to use a white fabric marker, but it went dry much too easily and had to switch to the Sharpie early on).

Over the holidays we played a few four-player games on it and have had a great time each time we have played.

The rules are a little different - the first team to score ten points wins....  You get five points for a touchdown and one point for causing an injury.  We use two balls at all times and the only rule we changed (in addition to no cards) is that if a player starts your turn prone, you can attempt to injure that player by using a Block action; if you roll a result that forces an armor roll, there is a -2 penalty to the armor roll. It is a benefit to crunchy teams....

In the center, we placed a single statue of Nuffle, which also throws out the balls at the start of the game (and whenever a touchdown is scored).

Our first game was Skaven vs. Chaos vs. Orcs vs. Dwarfs. The Skaven scored on the second turn (due to their 9 Move), but in the end the Chaos pulled off two touchdowns with some smash and grabs.  Scoring is hard, but if you are opportunistic, can happen fast, just like in the standard game.  All teams scored at least one TD, except for the Orcs, (they were too busy smashing, and rolled terribly most of the game).

For our second game, we played Elves vs. Orcs vs. Chaos vs. Goblins.  This game was fast - just 30 minutes. The Goblins won this time, and again, all teams but one scored at least one touchdown.

We are looking forward to additional games, and perhaps using some Warhammer Quest tiles to play a version of Dungeon Bowl using the Blitz Bowl mechanics.

Warhammer 40,000: Kill Team - Session Report

Over the recent break we had a chance to play a small, three-player, fifty-point game of Warhammer 40,000: Kill Team.  There was a Nurgle force, a Chaos Space Marine force, and I played a Necron force.  The Nurgle force was comprised of all Nurgle Marines, the Chaos Space Marines included three Chaos Marines and two cultists (one with a Heavy Stubber who stayed back all game), and the Necrons included just three Immortals.

The game featured a high-elevation objective, which awarded ten points per turn that it was held unchallenged. 

There were a number of avenues to approach the objective, and Nurgle made a mad dash to the objective, while the Necrons and Chaos Marines tried to shoot them from afar (with little effect).

By mid-game, every force had all assembled near the center objective, and the game turned into a massive, multi-team melee.

In the end, the massive melee turned into a boring roll-fest.  The three forces were so strong on defense and so weak on offense that the rolling went on several turns without one casualty.

The Nurgle force eventually dominated close combat (thanks to their extreme durability and plague weapons) and won the game by defeating a few Chaos Marines, thereby reaching fifty points to achieve victory.

Although a fun learning game, we decided that next game we would likely change the objective placement and win conditions.  We also decided that each team would have benefited from bringing a few more special and heavy weapons into the battle.

We look forward to future battles using our Kill Team forces!

Games Workshop's Blitz Bowl - A Review

Over the last few weeks we have been been painting up models for Blitz Bowl, while also getting more than a few plays of it in.  We have all found Blitz Bowl to be a great two-player game - very different from Blood Bowl, but enjoyable in a very unique way.

It is fast to play, provides a ton of strategy and choices, and the game provides additional team cards (apart from the Humans and Orcs) that allow you to use additional teams.  This was a great choice by Games Workshop and makes the game extensible with additional models, providing much more variety in match-ups.

The Challenge Cards are what make the game shine; they provide randomness and enhance the flavor of the game by taking some of the focus off of just scoring touchdowns.

We have models for most of the teams now and it seems that they are all mostly balanced for our style of play.  If we had to pick a weaker team, it would appear to be the Elves.  Although good at passing, they have a really poor armor stat and are not as fast as the Skaven.  This could just be our own experience because we haven't seen a lot of passing in our games.  All of the other teams seem to have useful benefits that make them more or less competitive.

I've only fully painted up one full team so far (my female Dwarfs), but I'm hoping to paint up the Humans soon.  We are also hoping to get a few more games in, (including some four-player games using a custom pitch I created).

If you are interested, there is additional information about the game on the Warhammer Community website, including a Watch It Played video explaining the rules.

Blitz Bowl is available only from Barnes and Noble and is well worth its price of $44.95.

Games Workshop Announces "Blackstone Fortress" - 40K Warhammer Quest!

Games Workshop recently announced Warhammer Quest: Blackstone Fortress - a 40K version of Warhammer Quest. The game will come with eight different explorers for players to choose from, including a robot, a Kroot warrior, a Ratling, and an Eldar warrior, (the others appear to be additional members of the Imperium).

Each session of Blackstone Fortress will take two to three hours, and it is played on a hex-based board instead of the squares familiar to the original Warhammer Quest. It will also include D8s, D12s, and D20s in addition to the ubiquitous D6.

I've wanted a 40K version of Warhammer Quest since the mid-1990s (even failing miserably at creating my own version many years ago), so I'm very excited to find out more about the release....

Dark Elf Player Cards for Blitz Bowl in September 2018 White Dwarf

In the September issue of White Dwarf Magazine, Games Workshop has included a free gift - Dark Elf Player Cards for Blitz Bowl:

 

This is a great move by Games Workshop that will both encourage people to buy the Blitz Bowl game (available now at Barnes & Noble) while offering another reason for current owners to expand into another team.

This release also provides hope that Blitz Bowl player cards for Nurgle will show up soon....

Blitz Bowl Contains Cards (But Not Figures) for Five Additional Teams

Blitz Bowl releases on August 24th and with all the videos being released about the game, we now know that the game also includes cards (but not figures) for additional teams (other than Humans and Orcs that come in the box):

• Dward Giants (Dwarfs)
• Elven Union (High Elves)
• Doom Lords (Chaos)
• Skavenblight Scramblers (Skaven)
• The Scarcrag Snivellers (Goblins)

This is a great move by Games Workshop that will encourage players to purchase additional Blood Bowl team sets and makes the game more extensible.

Games Workshop's "Blitz Bowl" Releases at Gen Con 2018 (and at Barnes & Noble on August 24th)

"Blitz Bowl - The Game of Gladatorial Sports Mayhem" is now available for pre-order from Barnes and Noble.  Its price is $44.95 and it releases on August 24th.  On the Warhammer Community website there is additional information about the game, including a Watch It Played video explaining the rules.

Blitz Bowl will also be available for purchase at Gen Con 2018, so I expect to see unboxing videos and further information about the game as early as tomorrow.

Games Workshop Announces "Kill Team"

Today Games Workshop officially announced Kill Team, a skirmish game similar to the recent Shadow War: Armageddon and past iterations of Kill Team.  This new Kill Team game is for two to four players and plays on a tight 22" by 30" board.

Each player leads a squad of warriors, consisting of about five to ten individuals.  The Kill Team box set will contain two factions - a Genestealer Cult and Skitarii (the military forces of the Adeptus Mechanicus).  Games Workshop also announced that additional, smaller Starter Sets for specific factions will be released, as well as new "Killzones" terrain set expansions.  It appears that Games Workshop is taking the Shadespire expansion approach to Kill Team and it will have a number of future releases and support.

There was mention of the Rogue Trader book in today's Kill Team Q&A.  It appears now that Kill Team: Rogue Trader will be a supplement to Kill Team that introduces Rogue Traders into the game, along with some RPG-type elements.

New Games Workshop "Rogue Trader" Pictures

Some leaked pictures have appeared for the Rogue Trader rulebook cover.  This helps expand upon the Rogue Trader teaser video that Games Workshop released back in May.

Kill Team was originally designed as an asymmetrical game where one player took on the role of the Kill Team and the other controlled a much larger group of weaker enemies.  The Kill Team player would move and achieve an objective while attempting to not alert a sentry or trigger an alarm. 

Later, Games Workshop used Kill Team for the "skirmish" rules for 40K.  Without specifics, it's difficult to know what this version will be closer to.  It may be entirely different from all prior uses of the Kill Team name.

However, the upcoming Rogue Trader box set will likely contain the Nurgle and Rogue Trader models from the May video.  Along with that, perhaps the Kill Team: Rogue Trader supplement.

New Games Workshop "Blitz Bowl" Pictures

Back in March, Games Workshop announced an introductory game named Blitz Bowl, using many of the Blood Bowl rules and models.  Recently, additional pictures have been spoiled, providing a view into the rules, the dice, and some of the gameplay.

Based on the new photos, it appears that the game is more than just Blood Bowl on a smaller scale.  The actions are different and the block dice results are slightly different as well.  There are Challenge cards and Bonus Play cards which appear to bring in objective-type goals into the game.

I'm excited to see what additional photos and previews are shown as the game gets closer to release.

Games Workshop Announces "Blitz Bowl"

At the New York Toy Fair, Games Workshop announced another introductory game last weekend called Blitz Bowl.  Like Space Marine Adventures: Labyrinth of the Necrons, this game looks to be targeted more toward new-comers to the hobby.

On close examination of the picture, one can make out what looks to be a Skaven card.  This makes me excited for the possibility that different teams will be released for the game.  I would love a faster-playing version of Blood Bowl for game night tournaments and one-off games, with a variety of different teams to play.

Blitz Bowl is a new way to play Blood Bowl. The teams are smaller, the games are faster but the action is just as intense, as each player seeks to distinguish themselves in the eyes of Nuffle in the infamous Crush recruitment rituals in fast-paced skirmish games.

Games Workshop Announces "Space Marine Adventures: Labyrinth of the Necrons"

Games Workshop announced an introductory game called Space Marine Adventures: Labyrinth of the Necrons at the New York Toy Fair over the weekend.  Like the Battle for Vedros set, this game is targeted more toward new-comers to the hobby.

The Space Marines miniatures are from the Japanese Hero Figurine sets, and they include some of the more common Space Marine chapters - Ultramarines (blue), Space Wolves (grey), Salamanders (green), Blood Angels (red), and Imperial Fists (yellow).

The Necron figures are cardboard and the game looks to be fairly simple.  However, based on a close examination of the picture, one can make out "Do Not Open" on three packs of cards.  Might this indicate a more complicated campaign approach, or even a legacy-style game mechanic?

Space Marine Adventures allows 1-4 players to join forces and attempt to break into a Necron labyrinth. Choose your hero and use each character’s unique skills to battle various deadly hazards, not least of which are the Necron guardians themselves. The easy-build nature of the kits and intuitive game make it suitable for players aged 8 and over – good for anything from family games nights to a quick adventure for a regular gaming club. While this set is a great introduction to the 41st Millennium, each Space Marine in the set is also a unique and dynamic sculpt, making them great additions to an existing collection, too.