WHITE DWARF · DECEMBER 2018
Blackstone Fortress exploration, Jervis Johnson, Cities of Death, Middle-earth magic and exclusive game expansions.
COVER TO COVER
In printed page order
Blackstone Fortress introduces an eclectic band of explorers and strange enemies, while Marneus Calgar returns to the war for Vigilus. Delaque gangs, undead footballers, new Titan weapons and Middle-earth characters accompany the releases, with hobby storage and digital games rounding out the month’s news.
Steve Buddle translates familiar adventuring roles into Warhammer 40,000 through a Rogue Trader, Navigator, priest and deserter Ratlings. Individual equipment and poses carry their stories, while imperfect Traitor Guard and incomprehensible Spindle Drones establish very different kinds of opposition.
A caged Skeletal Homunculus makes passing harder and bounces unpredictably when left on the ground. An unlucky touchdown celebration can even leave its scorer with injured fingers for the rest of the game, giving undead coaches an optional but disruptive once-per-match ball.
Andrew McKerrow explains an expedition into awakening Necron tombs, with rival Tech-Priests advocating destruction or study of the alien technology. Customised mechanical bodies, carefully ordered tactical actions and a Noosphere map put the player in the role of a commander balancing discovery against an escalating threat.
Readers share completed projects, questions about Idoneth and seasonal hobby ideas. A practical snow discussion and comments on painting technique connect the festive issue to work at the painting desk, while correspondence keeps the community’s own models visible beside the latest releases.
The magazine revisits a December cover starring the White Dwarf and a period of large armoured forces. A Tale of Four Gamers finale and cleverly reassigned Space Marine heraldry show how earlier collectors combined campaigns, economical construction and ambitious shared games.
The guide offers routes into Middle-earth through favourite characters, small collections and the consolidated rules and army books. Familiar stories provide natural first projects, with both the Free Peoples and their enemies offering manageable starting forces before a player expands toward larger battles.
Four studio explorers learn an expedition’s rhythm through battles, challenges and discoveries under James Gallagher’s guidance. Activation dice and initiative choices create tense decisions, with covering fire, booby traps and a rescued robot helping the party escape to Precipice and trade its hard-won archeotech.
Jervis Johnson traces his path from childhood wargaming to Blood Bowl, Titan battles and decades of rules writing. Clear communication, a model’s character and the pleasure of shared stories underpin his approach, with worldwide campaigns and personal narratives showing how a game’s meaning extends beyond its mechanics.
Green experiments developed for Death Guard inform a carefully textured Pusgoyle Blightlord. Non-metallic armour provides contrast against decayed surfaces, while smoothly blended wing membranes and satin varnish create a translucent waxy finish distinct from the rider and fly’s heavier materials.
A favourite old illustration inspires a Fellwater Troggoth lumbering through a swamp. Brighter turquoise scales and carefully differentiated textures update the classic palette, with the pose and base suggesting the instant before the monster strikes.
A dark Morathi embodies vengeance through controlled reds that deepen toward almost black wing tips and tail. The extended colour range frames the important features, giving the immense figure the unified atmosphere of an illustration while preserving the sculpt’s depth.
A complete human team becomes a realistic competition project of roughly a dozen highly finished miniatures. Cool bright armour contrasts with earthy uniforms, while the Ogre offers a mid-project opportunity to practise striped cloth, textured leather and a sweaty translucent shirt.
An all-female Dark Elf team combines football and aelf components to distinguish agile players from reinforced scrimmagers. Gold helmets, pale skin and vivid pink details contrast with pastel armour and snow, making both the conversions and the different player roles readable.
Yellow and purple take the painter beyond his usual colours while white dags bind the Orc team together. Fine scratches, grime and varied surface textures preserve the impression of rough players, with a Troll, Goblin and Star Player adding welcome diversity to the finished roster.
The new Cities of Death rules make elevation, cover and restricted sight lines central tactical concerns. Infantry that can occupy upper floors, short-ranged weapons and unexpected approaches gain new importance, while choosing unsuitable vehicles or clinging too long to a defensive position can squander an army’s strengths.
Writers, designers and project leads explain how illustrations shape their own work. A Blackstone discovery establishes scale and unease, Stormcast images reveal personality, and Nagash’s impossible power inspires background, while the Soul Wars cover’s central diamond becomes part of the new core book’s design language.
Jay Clare explores the positioning and priorities that make magic effective. Transfix, Sorcerous Blast and forced movement can decide fights or objectives without directly killing their targets, while line of sight, mounted movement and timely charges provide both opportunities for wizards and practical ways to counter them.
A wandering Realmgate carried by a Chaos beast draws four armies into a battle for Ghyran. Matt and Jonathan’s Sylvaneth and Kharadron struggle to reach the moving prize, while Dan and Simon’s Skaven and Khorne build a decisive lead, kill Alarielle and win fifteen points to one.
Helge Wilhelm Dahl makes recently infected facility workers by reducing the more developed mutations of existing Poxwalkers. Orange jumpsuits tie the victims to Lesotho 212, while the Crimson Queen and elaborate flesh-machine creations give the outbreak its own disturbing masters.
The survivors deliberately share base miniatures with the plague victims to suggest a former life together. Chief-Scientist Meredith and his altered assistants combine laboratory clothing, servitor machinery and makeshift weapons, with their possible responsibility for the outbreak complicating their attempt to escape.
Jake Ozga imagines specimens left underwater for decades after biological research goes wrong. Skull swaps, pale pastel colours and conspicuous gloss make the victims look as though their skin has sloughed away, with glue and varnish supplying a deliberately unpleasant wet surface.
Jeremy Lueth’s Rogue Trader crew enters Lesotho 212 to retrieve an artefact coveted by the Feroe Dynasty. Shield specialists and a heavily equipped Ogryn support their crew-chief, while cultist and Mechanicus components turn the team into a practical boarding force rather than a random retinue.
Neil Reed translates a small corner of John Blanche’s imagery into an anchorite’s golden pillar and a nest of troublesome cherubim. Wire, sculpted texture and converted bird familiars create non-player inhabitants that obstruct objectives, turning a scenic curiosity into an active part of the game.
Taddeus and Pious Vorne undertake a short expedition to destroy a heretical temple before returning to Precipice. The access route leads to Traitor’s Fane, where burning forbidden discoveries replaces ordinary searching and cooperation between the two zealots helps them survive the concentrated defenders.
Rival warbands temporarily face a rampaging Chaos Gargant trapped in Shadespire. The monster occupies two hexes, acts through a special sequence and grows harder to hurt, demanding coordinated positioning and adapted decks while still leaving players to compete over who benefits most from its defeat.
Fast Cerastus Knights can slip inside a Titan’s shields and strike its vulnerable rear. Tactical advice explains their dangerous charges and role in clearing smaller enemies, while a complete banner terminal and weapon choices add Lancers, Castigators and Acherons to the game.
Stage labels, brush shapes and painting techniques introduce the month’s recipes. Explanations of undercoats, washing, layering and glazing give painters a shared reference before tackling either a shadowy Delaque ganger or the subtle variations in Gandalf’s pale clothing.
Pedro Wieglus stipples highlights onto dark brown leather to suggest a heavy reflective stormcoat. Pale skin, orange metal and coloured canisters supply restrained focal points, with separate recipes distinguishing black leather from armour and a removable base allowing fast painting of the industrial flooring.
Borja Garcia distinguishes Gandalf’s white materials through grey, yellowish and reddish off-white foundations before tying them together with pale highlights. Painting Pippin separately preserves access to the wizard, while softer thin layers give Shadowfax a coat texture different from the surrounding robes and cloak.
A Knight, Orlock gang and varied heroes share the gallery with unusual mounted Tallarn troops and Underworlds fighters. The selection highlights both individual models and complete gaming groups, with clear photography helping different scales and styles remain equally visible.
Seyni N’diaye builds a Freebooter pirate with a Black Ark Corsair emblem and a distinctly nautical identity. Stippled pink and white texture develops the purple clothing, giving the converted Ork and his small companion a finish that rewards close inspection without losing its bold colours.
The team rounds off the year with new warbands, an old gaming rivalry and further Imperial projects. Discussions of the year’s favourite releases connect the painted work to a broad hobby season, while Gargant hunting and Titans give the finished models immediate reasons to reach the table.
Dan begins infantry suited to dense urban fighting after expanding his armoured force. A regiment built around the new Cities of Death setting provides a different collecting direction, connecting practical battlefield roles with a fresh identity for his Astra Militarum.
Matt, Jonathan and Dan form a short-lived alliance against the issue’s Gargant scenario. Resurrected skeletons and charging duardin race to inflict damage before the monster falls, with Dan’s Sepulchral Guard narrowly outscoring the Fyreslayers by a single wound.
Matt Hutson varies the colours of a second Legio Ignatum Warlord so it belongs to the legion without duplicating its companion. Yellow-and-black markings and thoughts of future lightning or flame patterns show how a growing maniple can balance collective heraldry with individual engines.