WHITE DWARF · SEPTEMBER 2004
Fourth-edition 40K launches with designer guidance and six missions, Middenheim faces a siege, and Battle Companies brings experience campaigns to Middle-earth.
COVER TO COVER
In printed page order
Paul Sawyer reassures Warhammer readers that the new 40K release will not displace their game. Bugman’s Lament, Lizardmen material, a Bretonnian campaign and the return of A Tale of Four Gamers are among the planned features. He recommends the General’s Compendium for campaigns and less conventional battles. The approaching three-hundredth issue supplies a further reason to look ahead.
A large Warhammer world map at Warhammer World reveals previously less-detailed regions and landmarks. The Old West introduces a forthcoming historical skirmish game, while Forge World previews Knarloc Riders and the Aquila Lander. Primarch prints, a new Gaming Room and continued website redevelopment add further notices. Staff project reports connect upcoming magazine articles to the models being prepared behind the scenes.
The US team stages Middenheim’s first assault as a linked infiltration game and large siege. Jeff Leong’s last surviving Flayerkin damages the inner gate, giving the Chaos attackers a useful advantage in the main battle. Jason Buyaki and Drew Will nevertheless hold the walls through determined infantry, artillery and boiling oil. The defenders win narrowly when the remaining Chaos units cannot muster enough strength inside the city.
Ten Flayerkin try to climb into Middenheim before an eight-turn deadline. Tired sentries move unpredictably until the infiltrators are detected, and the attackers’ speed affects the chance of raising the alarm. A single successful escape over the walls weakens the inner gate for the subsequent siege. If the sentries stop them, the defence instead receives a preliminary artillery volley in the larger battle.
Attackers with twice the defenders’ points advance along a causeway or scale the surrounding cliffs. Defeated attacking units can return, making the assault a sustained test of the fortress rather than a finite skirmish. The double gatehouse, magical wards and boiling oil complicate entry. The attackers must overwhelm the defence or establish sufficiently strong units inside Middenheim before the ten-turn battle ends.
Matt Keefe recreates the campaign’s climactic field battle with three factions. The defenders begin outnumbered by Chaos, while unexpected allies wait to intervene after a secretly nominated defending army breaks. Separate armies retain their own commanders and withdrawal limits, creating the feel of a vast and imperfect alliance. Orcs or Vampires can become unlikely saviours in a battle fought until one main faction is destroyed.
Nick Cristofoli’s Nurgle host grows around the miniatures and conversions he enjoys most. Plague Cart imagery inspires chariots, Ogre bodies diversify the Minotaurs, and Zombie components distress the Marauders. An elaborate Grail Reliquae-based Sorcerer becomes a collaborative modelling project and an opportunity to learn sculpting. The interview connects these choices to Nick’s interpretation of Nurgle and his preference for preserving the recognisable character of donor models.
Mike Walker uses a severe Cult of Ulric defeat to examine recurring mistakes. Ignoring threats, hesitating, forgetting parts of the turn sequence and making emotionally driven decisions can undo an otherwise workable army. Examples cover diverting frenzied enemies, leaving important units badly placed and exposing vulnerable characters. His gaming-group stories and open-list preference frame defeat as something to analyse without losing the enjoyment of the evening.
Jeff Leong concludes by connecting theme and available models to a practical selection process. Movement control, protection from magic, combat effectiveness and redundancy form a capabilities matrix rather than a search for one dominant unit. A Dark Elf example assigns several jobs to mobile troops and backs ranked Corsairs with chariots and shooting. The resulting army is intended to remain adaptable when an opponent or failed plan removes its preferred options.
Matt Keefe closes the introductory series with a survey of planned support. Fanatic and the online Vault provide resources and playtest material, including Araby, revised army lists and the proposed Mighty Empires supplement. New miniatures extend existing ranges. Examples of experimental rules and established collectors’ armies show both future directions and what players are already doing; announced projects are described as plans at the time of publication.
The early Araby selector previews a new army beyond the usual parallels with Warhammer. Spearmen, bowmen and Corsairs provide infantry, with several cavalry forms and elephants expanding its mounted strength. Sorcerers, flying carpets and Djinn supply a fantastical element alongside ordinary commanders. The table gives readers the developing army’s outline and points structure, directing them to the Vault for the fuller trial rules.
A trial rule lets Tomb Kings defend their own land by raising much of their army during the battle. Suitable spellcasting characters issue orders to summon units at chosen points, with the command roll also determining the troop type. Distance and nearby enemies still affect success, and newly raised troops immediately use the successful order. The mechanism makes the battlefield itself feel populated by dormant loyal servants.
Laurie Stewart’s Khemrian Undead, Mark Unitt’s large greenskin collection and Paul Stewart’s Lizardmen demonstrate different approaches to Warmaster. Chariots and massed infantry support the Undead, Goblin conversions explore a trial list, and reptilian cavalry combine with larger creatures. Painting advice concentrates on coherent units, visible focal points and manageable batches. The collectors also describe how command uncertainty and the game’s strategic scale influence their enjoyment.
Pete Haines explains the new edition’s balance between preserving familiar mechanics and opening fresh tactical choices. Clearer rules, unit categories and an index consolidate material that previously required several publications. Changes to terrain, targeting, rapid fire and assault discourage static habits and expendable screens. Army-specific comments show how Space Marines, Eldar, Dark Eldar and Imperial Guard adapt without replacing their existing codexes.
The US White Dwarf team walks through the revised assault sequence using tabletop examples. Weapon choice affects whether a unit may charge, engaged models contribute more attacks, and independent characters must reach the fight to matter. Outnumbering, Fearless casualties and sweeping advances make results more decisive. Sidebars explain how Chaos and Witch Hunter players adjust equipment and tactics to the new edition.
Ross Watson and Evan J Lougheed compare vehicles by battlefield role: heavy fire platforms, assault walkers, mobile flankers and transports. Firing on the move creates opportunities, while altered damage, obscured targets and passenger rules make careless exposure costly. Worked examples explain why walkers must consider enemy numbers and why transported infantry need a new assault plan. Army sidebars cover Tau, Tyranids, Necrons and Orks.
The new rulebook offers more than standard matched encounters. Alpha, Gamma and Omega mission levels change complexity, while raids and breakthroughs create asymmetric tasks. Combat Patrol gives the former 40K in 40 Minutes format a new name, and Kill Team supports small cinematic operations. Campaign guidance and modelling ideas connect those modes, before the article introduces six additional missions written specifically for White Dwarf.
Psychoreactive contamination turns an ordinary victory-points battle into a test of control. Each unit checks whether it can act normally or must advance towards the closest enemy and attempt an assault. Even troops normally insulated from Leadership effects can be caught by the atmosphere. Players must account for their own army’s unreliable behaviour as well as exploit the opponent’s loss of restraint.
Stranded armies on Soldana V fight for food after their supplies have failed. Killing models in melee earns food counters, but the unit carrying them must survive to retain their bonus value. Ordinary casualties still count towards victory points. The added incentive rewards close combat and the preservation of successful fighters rather than simply destroying the enemy at a distance.
An exhausted defending force holds a chosen terrain objective without being able to fire its deployed weapons. The attackers advance from their board edge while the defenders rely on position and combat to remain close to the vital ground. Victory counts the wounds represented by models near the objective after eight turns. The source mentions possible reserves but leaves contradictory reserve instructions, so that detail needs agreement before play.
Armoured forces race to find experimental technology scattered from a crashed Mechanicus vessel. A small infantry contingent must inspect possible locations, which can reveal the prize, nothing useful or an explosive trap. The rest of each force consists of vehicles without the usual organisation chart. Surviving armour near the discovered objective and additional rewards for destroyed tanks shape the final result.
Goarmall III’s underground rail tunnels allow vehicles to appear unexpectedly across the battlefield. Both armies consist entirely of selections with Armour Values, freeing them from the usual force-organisation limits. Any chosen vehicles may use Deep Strike to represent emerging from the Ork tunnel network. The six-turn victory-points battle tests how commanders exploit that unusual mobility without dependable arrival positions.
A vehicle convoy must escape an ambush by infantry approaching from both ends of the battlefield. The defending force divides into two groups and prepares minefields or hidden explosive traps, while the tanks deploy centrally. The attacker wins by getting at least half the vehicles off a short edge. Contrasting force restrictions and limited escape routes make preserving mobility more important than simply trading casualties.
Pete Haines commands Black Templars against Alessio Cavatore’s Biel-tan in the new edition’s first magazine battle report. The armies test transport changes, rapid fire, assaults and sweeping advances through a close early contest. Pete keeps applying pressure while poor Eldar morale and failed saves erode the Aspect Warriors. The Black Templars finish with a Victorious Slaughter, and both designers discuss tactical mistakes as well as how smoothly the revised rules handle complicated fights.
A northern European competition invites hobbyists to design a loyal Space Marine chapter through three representative miniatures. Chris Birks’s Sons of Pertinax and Thomas Kyrsting’s Sons of Ares demonstrate how shields, heraldry, conversions and background create a chapter’s identity. Their examples combine distinctive history with recognisable Imperial imagery. The feature records the 2004 competition and uses the sample chapters as practical inspiration for personal armies.
The Golden Demon event guide explains how competitors register, display and retrieve their entries at the 2004 UK competition. Entry cards, receipts and the marking of second-round models help painters follow the process. Guidance also covers repairs, display conventions and the eventual awards presentation. The feature is indexed as a historical competition guide whose practical details belonged to that specific event.
The feature describes the contemporary Direct service as both a source of miniatures and a route to hobby advice. Components, classic models, subscriptions and advance orders are presented alongside help with painting, collecting and rules. Collectors’ Guides offer a way to identify parts and explore older ranges. An example rules query about Imperial characters illustrates the advisory role, with contact and ordering arrangements recorded as publication-era information.
A rules answer distinguishes Karl Franz’s position as Emperor from the ordinary Elector Count rule. His titles do not permit a state-troop regiment to take the count’s magic banner allowance. Boris Todbringer and other named counts retain that entitlement. The clarification prevents a title in a character’s background being treated as an extra army-selection rule.
Adam Troke builds a flexible Haradrim collection led by a Hâsharin and supported by foot and mounted chieftains. Numerous spear-armed warriors and poisoned bows form the core, with Raiders supplying speed. Two printed forces contrast a conventional 500-point warband with a 491-point Mûmak-led gamble. His wider collecting plan accommodates scenarios first, then offers options for points matches and future allied contingents.
Adam Troke explains how to keep a Mûmak moving through profitable targets while avoiding terrain, resilient heroes and dangerous stampedes. Crew archery and carefully timed heroic actions support the beast’s trample attacks. The opposing advice ranges from ignoring it when the mission allows to pinning it, concentrating attacks or threatening the howdah with a trebuchet. Both approaches require a clear plan for the monster’s unusual movement and vulnerabilities.
Mark Renye’s 1,200-point Rohan collection provides more choices than he normally fields at once. Mounted troops support a hit-and-run approach, with infantry available when riders lose their horses. Character pairings reflect both the story and his preferred tactics, including keeping Théoden with Gamling. The photographs show how a broad collection can supply different themed forces rather than serve only as one large army.
Adam Troke, Alessio Cavatore and Matthew Ward introduce a developing campaign system for small groups of individually named warriors. Injuries, experience, promotions and Influence turn repeated skirmishes into the history of a growing company. Ordinary warriors may become heroes, while ratings help compensate for unequal forces. A roster sheet supports the bookkeeping, and the authors explicitly invite playtest feedback on this early version.
Mordor begins with a varied group of Orcs carrying bows, spears, shields and heavy weapons. Influence brings reinforcements or equipment, while promotions can turn suitable warriors into Warg Riders or Morannon Orcs. A separate advance table develops the leader’s capabilities. The list gives a small patrol room to acquire stronger and more specialised followers as its reputation grows.
Gondor’s company starts from the ordinary soldiers of Minas Tirith. Reinforcements and equipment expand the group, while promotions can produce Citadel Guard or Guard of the Fountain Court with Bodyguard. Hero advances offer a separate path for its developing leader. The framework can represent scouts, a local garrison or a small expedition without requiring a famous character to command it.
Rohan’s young warriors prove themselves through a company before joining the more prestigious ranks of the Mark. The starting group mixes bows, shields and throwing spears, with reinforcements and promotions opening mounted or Royal Guard options. Expert Rider applies when models acquire horses. Hero advances reinforce the mounted culture, including a way to protect a steed with its rider’s Fate.
An Isengard company represents one of Saruman’s roaming raiding bands. Uruk-hai form its starting core, while Influence can attract Orcs and Dunlendings as well as stronger recruits. Bow-armed Uruks can gain crossbows and shield-bearing warriors can become Berserkers. The list distinguishes those promotions from the more limited advancement of Orcs and Wild Men, giving the mixed force several paths without treating all followers alike.
The company combines a Foot-knight with ordinary soldiers seeking to prove their worth. The Path of the Knight upgrades an eligible warrior who becomes a hero, while later promotions can supply mounted knighthood. Fiefdom reinforcements widen the contingent and refer back to previously printed profiles when available. The structure makes the company’s progress reflect training and service within Dol Amroth’s military tradition.
A chieftain’s heir leads Haradrim warriors while trying to build the reputation needed for future command. Raiders provide an eventual route to greater mobility. The Gaze of the Hâsharii permits paid interference before a battle, but defeats also reduce the company’s rewards under its overseers’ scrutiny. Poison-related hero abilities reinforce the army’s existing character within the campaign framework.
An isolated hero and a small escort must survive until the rest of the company arrives. The attackers retain priority and try to kill that hero before suffering too many losses. Rescuing companions enter from the opposite edge, forcing a race between concentrated violence and relief. A surviving target receives extra experience for enduring the unequal fight.
Both companies search for an important central objective, but their scattered members arrive unpredictably from several edges. Casualties eventually trigger rolls for the battle to end. Winning requires a clear numerical advantage near the objective when that happens. The scenario rewards gathering a coherent local force while adapting to arrivals that may be chosen by the opponent.
Two travelling companies meet across the wilderness and seek a quick result without excessive losses. Their forces deploy from opposite edges, with play ending when one reaches a quarter of its starting number. The accompanying victory wording is internally inconsistent, so the intended casualty objective must be clarified before use. The mission otherwise supplies a simple encounter for testing developing companies.
Rivals search for an item wanted by their patrons and must carry it off the opposite table edge. The burden slows its carrier and prevents a mounted escape, making an escort useful once it is obtained. Successful recovery also accelerates that model’s personal advancement. Hidden numbered markers represent possible locations, although the supplied page does not fully explain how they are inspected.
A company guards a road or pass against enemies trying to break through. The defending warriors start near the middle while the attackers arrive along the route. Victory depends on whether a sufficient proportion escapes off the far edge, excluding models that merely flee. Play continues until all models are incapacitated or have departed, making the final passage of the surviving attackers decisive.
Adrian Wood and Steve Cumiskey construct a modular fortress for their concluding siege games. Foamboard replaces ceiling tiles, and matching wall templates allow a bastion to hold Steve’s Battlecry Trebuchet. Converted crew personalise the artillery, including a bare-headed commander made with Théoden’s head. The account balances realistic battlements, strength, storage and the space required by the actual models.
Adrian Wood assembles and paints armoured Mordor Trolls after being inspired by their film appearance. Careful filing reduces gaps before assembly, and successive warm flesh drybrushes emphasise different scale textures. Ink-shaded armour matches his Orcs, while pale claws and teeth add contrast. An Orc on the base gives scale and context, and swapped components create further loader and drummer variants.
Adrian Wood combines parts from several Nazgûl kits to build a living Fell Beast, a dead creature beside the Witch-king and another airborne scene. Repositioned limbs, reconstructed wing membranes and carefully planned bases turn interchangeable pieces into distinct models. A shared warm-grey and ink treatment ties the beasts together, with metallic head armour matching the army. The final conversion carries a horse while a rider lies beneath it.
Imprint confirms September 2004, issue297. All main features, six new40K missions, the Battle Companies campaign, six company lists and five scenarios are indexed. Early Battle Companies contradictions and missing procedures are recorded in edition notes. Advertisements, product catalogues, store/event listings and art-only pages are excluded.