WHITE DWARF · SEPTEMBER 2016
The September 2016 monthly relaunch combines nine boxed-game expansions, the Deathwatch range and designers’ notes, Grombrindal and Slaughterpriest painting, a vast Biel-Tan collection and a tense Brimfire siege.
COVER TO COVER
In printed page order
Jes Bickham introduces the return to a substantial monthly magazine and previews its collecting projects, boxed-game expansions, battle report and hobby features. He also explains the Slaughterpriest cover gift and Grombrindal’s renewed presence in both the magazine and the Mortal Realms.
Gorechosen is introduced as a four-player arena game of Khorne champions, using action cards, injury cards and a changing Wrath track. The preview explains why reach, position and initiative matter and notes that defeated players can continue influencing the fight through Fate of the Slain.
The new Kill Team box provides Space Marines, Tau and the rules for two-hundred-point skirmishes. Leaders and specialists give individual models greater importance than in a conventional battle, while six missions and guidance for campaigns and tournaments offer different ways of using a small collection.
The previously limited resin Void Shield Generator returns as a multipart plastic scenery kit. Its crowded gothic machinery, servitors and seven frames make it a substantial assembly project as well as a battlefield centrepiece, with accompanying rules and a reference to Stronghold Assault.
Digital releases range from the Space Marine fleet for Battlefleet Gothic: Armada and the turn-based Shield of Baal adaptation Leviathan to announced Bretonnian content for Total War. Other notices cover Freeblade duels, Man O’ War: Corsair’s naval exploration, an Isstvan expansion for Talisman and the persistent fighting of Eternal Crusade.
The Hive Crone’s drool cannon is presented as a living flamethrower formed from the creature’s modified mouthparts. After fulfilling its anti-aircraft role, the beast can turn its corrosive secretions on ground troops, illustrating the Tyranids’ grotesque biological approach to weaponry.
The new plastic Khârn retains the recognisable Gorechild and plasma pistol of Jes Goodwin’s original design but gives the berserker a charging pose and more recent Chaos armour details. A short background explains why his allies have as much reason to fear his rage as his enemies.
John French’s Horus Heresy novel pits the Imperial Fists’ defence of the Sol System against Alpha Legion infiltration and layers of hidden purpose. The notice emphasises successive revelations and the difficulty of understanding the enemy’s full plan as the story approaches Terra itself.
John French discusses the intertwined Imperial Fists and Alpha Legion perspectives of Praetorian of Dorn. He describes Dorn’s refusal to accept defeat, the contrasting intelligence of Andromeda-17, his admiration for other Heresy novels and the personal fear of failure reflected in Archamus.
David Annandale’s contribution to The Beast Arises follows an Imperium battered by its failure to defeat the Ork warlord. A more selective approach draws Space Marines from different Chapters into kill teams, making the formation of the Deathwatch the focus of this release preview.
Ian St Martin’s novel sends Watch Captain Artemis and his brothers into the Kurbynola System, caught between Orks from Octarius and Hive Fleet Leviathan. The short release notice frames their mission as a costly attempt to prevent either alien power carrying its victory deeper into Imperial territory.
Traitor’s Hate begins a campaign in the Diamor System, where Lord Xorphas seeks a weapon for Abaddon while Imperial forces and the Blood Angels defend it. The preview outlines new Chaos formations, a Black Crusade detachment, Renegade Knights and four psychic disciplines, together with the limited edition’s extra components.
The Deathwatch release showcase introduces the Watch Master, Terminator Watch Captain, multipart Veterans and Corvus Blackstar. Annotated models explain specialist ammunition, unusual weapons, Chapter shoulder pads and the gunship’s armament, connecting the kits’ varied equipment to their alien-hunting role.
The campaign box stages Eldrad’s forbidden ritual on Coheria against Watch Force Artemis. Its contents provide opposing Deathwatch and Harlequin forces, campaign missions and exclusive plastic character models, with close-ups identifying Artemis’s bionics and toxic flamer and the alternate assembly options for Eldrad.
The individual heroes from Deathwatch Overkill become a separate boxed release. Their Chapter-specific equipment, poses and ornamentation make them examples for personalising a Deathwatch collection and a detailed painting project as well as a ready-made battlefield formation.
A product preview describes the new Deathwatch army list, flexible formations and Mission Tactics. Companion datacards organise objectives and tactical choices, while How to Paint: Deathwatch adds black-and-silver armour recipes and Chapter shoulder-pad colours for the varied veterans in each team.
Readers discuss the magazine’s photography, accessible painting guides and the social pleasure of gaming. Guy Haley recalls his history with White Dwarf, while opposing letters about Age of Sigmar points and HeelanHammer’s experience of The General’s Handbook prompt a response supporting multiple approaches to play.
Aidan Daly turns the Unforged into Grombrindal, concentrating attention on a controlled white beard and warm, weathered skin. He describes careful recess shading to keep the pale hair clean and selective pink accents on the nose, elbows and knuckles to reinforce the character’s ruddy appearance.
Aidan Daly explains how the Kurnoth Hunters’ different textures convey both living woodland and supernatural creatures. Dark bark, pale heartwood, yellow branches and green leaves provide a natural foundation, contrasted by the icy magical glow of bows, eyes, arrows and lamentiri stones.
The collecting challenge returns with one army from each Grand Alliance, beginning with a Start Collecting box and continuing through monthly unit, monster and hero targets. Matt Hutson, Andrew King, James Karch and Phil Cowey introduce their choices, while a retrospective recalls earlier Tale of Four Gamers series.
Matt Hutson begins a Gnarlroot Sylvaneth collection with a Branchwych, adapting the reddish woody palette of his earlier models to brighter green foliage. A simple sequence of brown basecoat and warm drybrushes makes the bark quick to paint while keeping its fleshy character.
Andrew King chooses Nurgle’s mischievous Daemons but replaces familiar green flesh with leathery blue skin and bright orange boils. His short recipe uses a white spray foundation, a diluted grey-blue wash and pale highlights, balancing speed with a finish that still satisfies him as a painter.
Inspired by Black Library audio dramas, James Karch starts a Malignant force using classic dark red and black alongside luminous ghosts. A fast Spirit Host method combines a white undercoat, oxide wash, blue recesses and pale drybrushing to make an army-sized collection feasible.
Phil Cowey begins Doggrok’s Choppas after photographing the studio’s Ironjawz models. His blue armour is intended to become dirty, battered and bloodied, and a broad brown wash across the different base colours gives the growing force the oily appearance he prefers.
Martin Footitt describes the design choices behind the large Nagash model, from bone-shaping and sinister spirits to the placement of his books and iconic weapons. The project established an aesthetic for the Mortarchs and Morghasts and demonstrated new possibilities for imposing character miniatures.
Gavin Beardsmore shows the enormous Biel-Tan army that grew from borrowed older models, Apocalypse army bundles and an escalating Titan rivalry with friends. He explains airbrushed greens, softly shaded whites and freehand thorns, while annual fully painted mega-battles, Black Library fiction and new releases keep the collection expanding.
The background profile describes Biel-Tan’s militant commitment to rebuilding the Eldar empire and the cultural cost of so many inhabitants following the Warrior Path. Its Swordwind concentrates speed and Aspect Warrior expertise into decisive attacks, with the Avatar and Court of the Young King at its symbolic heart.
Five survivors of the original Ghosar Quintus expedition can replace members of Cassius’s force in Deathwatch Overkill. Their profiles add a shield-bearing combatant, an aggressive swordsman, shotgun specialist, heavy gunner and long-range marksman, all buildable from the multipart Deathwatch kit.
Ductways let Genestealers and blips bypass rooms through narrow passages inaccessible to Terminators and hidden from their line of sight. Rules cover movement, conversion and ambushes at access points, while a compensating allocation of command bonuses supports adding the tunnels to existing missions.
Two Blood Angels Terminator squads board a self-propelled space hulk to disable its navigation array and access a damaged C.A.T.’s records. Both objectives are needed for victory, making it necessary to divide attention across the ductway-filled mission map rather than simply reach one final room.
These variants change the forces in all six Betrayal at Calth scenarios, including an Ultramarines Contemptor named Venerable Justarius with its own damage locations. Battle-point costs and underdog bonuses offset replacements through extra cards, rerolls or scenario-specific advantages, encouraging replay with different squads.
A Terminator squad replaces the Scouts in Lost Patrol, trading crowding restrictions for stronger firepower and an ability to hold ground in assault. The article distinguishes assault cannon, cyclone and heavy-flamer attacks and retains the original objective of reaching the dropship before the Genestealers destroy the squad.
Assassinorum: Execution Force gains random Daemon replacements for Cultists, each with characteristic abilities instead of ordinary reaction attacks. The Temple of Shades adds champions, icons and hornblowers, and a set of achievements offers harder variants such as stronger enemies, single-god legions or a Daemon-filled starting position.
The cover-mounted Slaughterpriest receives a Silver Tower hero card with hackblade, wrath-hammer and Blood Boil actions. Sacrificial Rite turns kills into healing for a chosen hero, and Slaughterer’s Boon rewards continuing the attack after the first enemy has fallen.
Fexgor’s Gorechosen fighter card defines the Slaughterpriest’s reach and altered effectiveness once wounded. Blood Bind lets him commandeer an action from another fighter’s hand, while his Prayers of Wrath increase his fury after sufficiently damaging attacks.
Skarr Bloodwrath and Valkia join Gorechosen as unusually powerful fighters with area attacks, swooping movement and ways of surviving fatal blows. Mightiest of Champions turns their strength into a three-against-one challenge, giving the champion extra actions while allowing defeated challengers to return as other fighters.
The White Dwarf’s Silver Tower hero card combines twin-axe attacks with automatic healing chances through Living Legend. Wise Counsel shares renown with another hero, making him a helpful companion as well as a strong fighter; the introduction specifies painting the Unforged model as Grombrindal.
Grombrindal’s warscroll represents a hero who can appear unexpectedly near friend or foe, advise another character and repeatedly evade death. His twin axes become especially effective against heroes and monsters, linking the legendary duardin’s reputation to concrete battlefield abilities.
The Corvus Blackstar gains a complete Stormcloud Attack profile with manoeuvres, weapons and equipment choices. The accompanying discussion stresses its strong acceleration and flexible armament but warns that fixed firing arcs require precision flying despite the assistance of a turret-mounted hurricane bolter.
Andy Wardle explains his gold-winning Ultramarines Terminators, including blended armour, marble panels, battered metals and a carefully planned freehand banner. Other squad entries demonstrate Matt Murphy-Kane’s zenithal airbrushing, Ellis Kaye’s reflective purple, Matt Flynn’s mixed textures and Joshua Johnson’s restrained weathering.
Artists describe the visual decisions that make the Deathwatch feel specialised, threatening and outnumbered. Volcano-like lighting, confined spaces, uneasy alien specimens and Chapter-specific actions appear alongside detailed weapon drawings, showing how black armour, silver arms and controlled composition establish this force’s identity.
Matt Hutson’s Stormcast attack Dan Harden’s Khorne-held Pyrevault Redoubt to stop a summoning ritual. Though Stardrakes and Tempestors devastate the defenders and Vandus reaches the dais, he cannot destroy it until the next hero phase; Dan completes the ritual first with only two Blood Warriors left, demonstrating the primacy of scenario objectives over casualties.
Dan examines the history, technology and noble society of Imperial Knights, from the Ritual of Becoming and Throne Mechanicum to household courts and Freeblades. Annotated machines explain equipment and heraldry, while House Terryn’s hierarchy and contrasting Imperial and Mechanicus liveries show how an individual Knight fits into a much larger culture.
The retrospective revisits October 1996 and Warhammer’s fifth-edition box with Bretonnians and Lizardmen. It also recalls Ahriman’s first miniature, the original Predator Annihilator, John Blanche’s Chaos conversion sketches and a deliberately straightforward battle report, placing the issue’s free models within the magazine’s changing formats.
Joe Naber and Mick Cudworth explain how they built a vibrant Ghyran gaming table from combined Citadel scenery, resin-cast natural rocks and a bespoke tower. Jade buildings, realistic trees, buried ruins and small narrative clues establish a convincing lost civilisation, while open manoeuvring space keeps the densely detailed board playable.
John Blanche’s warband searches Cephiivytra for lost technology, combining Mechanicus kits with Cultists, Flagellants and small relics from the Grey Knights range. The close-ups identify the sources of Herrode, the twins Quintus and Quercus and their followers, illustrating how repeated motifs and sculpted additions unify disparate components.
Six collections show how Kill Team’s leaders and three specialists can be given distinct identities: Thunderwolf riders, Stormboyz, Eldar, Tyranids, Skitarii and Ork Kommandos. Named rosters accompany conversions and background, with examples of specialist abilities chosen to complement existing equipment rather than merely adding more models.
A Tau Breacher team becomes a set of recognisable individuals through bare heads, different poses and spare components from other kits. The guide demonstrates a leader’s hand swap, drilled battle damage and a dual-pistol fighter, emphasising small cuts, repeated test fitting and concealed joints for natural results.
Spare Deathwatch weapons, Chapter pads and upgrade frames convert Tactical Marines, Sternguard, Vanguard Veterans, Bikers, Terminators and Captains. The examples explain why pose and weapon handedness must work together and how a simple head or pauldron swap can make an existing kit belong convincingly to the Long Vigil.
An introductory guide distinguishes basecoating, washing, drybrushing and layering and connects each technique to the appropriate paint and brush. Sidebars explain glazes, textured basing and technical effects, providing the vocabulary needed to follow the Slaughterpriest and Grombrindal recipes that follow.
The Slaughterpriest receives a complete recipe for red armour, beaten brass, sun-bronzed flesh, bruised mutations, rusted steel, robes, leather and an ash base. Painting the trim before the panels allows rough drybrushing, while irritated piercings and differently applied blood effects reinforce the model’s brutal character.
A white undercoat supports Grombrindal’s pale beard and weathered skin, with purple trousers and a fallen grey statue providing contrast. The staged recipe also covers a ruddy nose, silver axe blades and gold details, stressing thin paint and careful recess washes to preserve smooth light surfaces.
Neil Langdown and Dale Stringer describe translating the Deathwatch from individual Overkill heroes into a coherent army range. Artemis’s earlier Inquisitor model informed armour and equipment, while new weapons, Black Shields and the compact, heavily braked Blackstar communicate a specialist organisation able to deploy rapidly with everything it needs.
Robin Cruddace and Phil Kelly explain the Deathwatch’s rules design, replacing teams specialised against particular species with formations aimed at battlefield roles. Mixed Veterans, Terminators, Bikers and Vanguard members create deliberate synergies, rewarding varied modelling and precise target selection while the background retains inter-Chapter tensions.
The codex overview connects six Kill Team formations, adaptable Mission Tactics and faction-specific objectives to a flexible but position-sensitive army. It also points to the history, watch-fortress map, Ordo Xenos relationship, heraldry and painted galleries that support building individual stories around the veterans.
The gallery presents reader-painted Deathwatch, Harlequins, Stormcast, Fyreslayers and Space Marines alongside Horus and a Contemptor. Its photography advice recommends a light background, even illumination, an informative angle and careful focus so that the miniature’s colours and details reproduce clearly.
Nikolai Fabricius’s Vior’la Ghostkeel uses an airbrushed pale foundation with brown recess shading to define the armour panels. Small brown scratches receive white lower edges to suggest chipped paint catching the light, providing controlled weathering without losing the battlesuit’s clean colour scheme.
The staff find time for painting and games while preparing the monthly relaunch and final weekly issues together. Highlights include testing Excis characters in Overkill, a newly painted Tau Ethereal and Kill Team Cassius, a Sylvaneth versus Seraphon game and a Lord of Plagues destined for Silver Tower.