WHITE DWARF · FEBRUARY 2020
Da Ironsunz, the final Warlords of Vigilus showdown, Nurgle hobby guides, Underworlds tactics and the opening instalment of Faith & Fire.
COVER TO COVER
In printed page order
The editor introduces a larger issue, explaining that serialising Faith & Fire has prompted an extra sixteen pages. The expansion sits alongside the ongoing mixture of gaming, painting and background, including a major finale for the Warlords of Vigilus challenge.
Readers show growing collections, scenic projects and finished miniatures, alongside questions and painting advice from the team. A carefully painted Screaming Bell receives Model of the Month, while the gallery includes Imperial Fists, Blood Angels, World Eaters, Seraphon and Untamed Beasts.
Phil Kelly applies different creative habits to collecting armies: meticulous planners, hobbyists who grow a force organically and scavengers who adopt neglected models. His Skrapyard Dogz illustrate how disparate gifts, repairs and acquisitions can become a coherent Ork army through shared colours and background.
Dakkbad Grotkicker’s ambition and unusual tactical intelligence turn the yellow-armoured Ironsunz into a rising power. Their history includes the Mawgate siege, the Deffstorm and the search for heroic orruk spirits in Hallost, while profiles of Da Bossfist and Moggorz’s recruits explain how the warclan gathers strength.
Three themed formations translate Dakkbad’s warclan into tabletop rules. Dakkbad’s Brawl coordinates a larger Waaagh!, Da Bossfist gives the leader and his elite supporters distinctive benefits, and Moggorz’s Rekrootin’ Krew represents aspirant Ardboys fighting to earn a place among the Ironsunz.
James Perry paints an Ironsunz Brute from the deepest layers outward, leaving the difficult yellow armour until last to avoid accidental staining. The classic guide separates Battle Ready foundations from extra Parade Ready highlights across skin, leather, metal, skulls, straps and bright yellow plates.
A second Brute demonstrates the Contrast approach over a light undercoat, followed by selected highlights to sharpen the finish. James adds small dark marks to suggest damaged yellow armour and finishes the model with textured Ghurish wasteland ground, keeping the stages useful for both quick armies and more polished figures.
A sorceress’s bounty and a supposedly dead Megaboss produce a contest of deception among orruks, grots and aelven guards. Dakkbad survives a trap involving a Dankhold Troggoth, uncovers the scheme and uses a similar-looking corpse to approach the sorceress before revealing how thoroughly he has outthought her.
Louis Aguilar builds an army around a clear overall plan, considering objectives, defensive pieces, mobility and what remains after key units die. His worked Living City list combines Alarielle, Freeguild Handgunners, Tree-Revenants and artillery to show how reserves and support choices can express an intended battlefield strategy.
Fyreslayer warbands enter the Bloodwind Spoil in search of ur-gold, glory and battle. Background and a brief scene introduce their reasons for travelling to the Eightpoints, followed by ten fighter cards and abilities for throwing axes, enduring punishment, inspiring nearby kin and unleashing runic fury.
Sam Wilson’s Sylvaneth collection uses autumnal woodland tones while giving different spirits distinct identities. Cold blue Spite-Revenants contrast with springlike Tree-Revenants, silver-birch Dryads add variety and Alarielle retains her traditional appearance; tiny punched-paper red leaves help the scenic bases unite the army.
Sam explains the recipes behind his Sylvaneth, from warm and cool spirit flesh to dark bark, silver-birch wood and luminous weapons. The guide connects the choice of green, yellow and blue spirits to their different temperaments and uses bright runes and soul pods to suggest life energy within the trees.
Salamanders Librarian Xubari follows signs of sorcery through a burning refinery settlement on Feldros. An Enforcer has become the focus of a psychic feeding operation, drawing power from captive psykers and terrified followers; the Space Marines confront an outbreak whose danger survives the destruction of any single source.
The crusade’s scale is presented through its fleets, battle groups and immense supporting institutions. This introduction argues that heroism belongs throughout the structure, from senior commanders to ordinary soldiers, establishing the context for the accompanying dossier-style portraits of individuals who shape its campaigns.
Cassandra VanLeskus becomes the first fleetmaster to launch after forcing an audience with Guilliman amid alarming reports of an approaching heretic force. Her energetic advocacy and readiness to treat a crisis as an opportunity establish the character of the commander leading Fleet Tertius.
Elysian trooper Cenna Syckava’s battlefield exploits become a potent propaganda story. Recordings, sermons and rivalry over his assignment turn the successful drop trooper into a symbol whose military value is inseparable from the morale and reputation built around his deeds.
Groupmaster Kaspar Marius Todoric Marran brings reputation and coordination skills to the crusade’s naval command. His contribution during the Battle of Luna earns Guilliman’s approval, and the account connects senior leadership with the regiments and newly liberated populations joining the crusade.
A dossier on Carcharodons commander Mannfor shows a harsher side of crusade heroism, where effective service brings fear rather than gratitude. The accompanying account of Knight Baduin’s destruction of a monstrous corrupted Warhound offers another example of victory achieved through grim determination.
Squadron Leader Thyn’s Marauder Destroyer exemplifies the complex atmospheric strike formations used by Battlegroup Dominus. A target-approach vox transcript puts readers inside the coordinated bomber attack, linking the pilot’s confirmed successes with the elaborate orchestration needed to deliver Imperial air power.
Sam Pearson finishes the Delverghouls and their Tyranid allies after a year of collecting. He reflects on the challenge, praises the army’s characters and uses a nostalgic alien colour scheme for the Hive Tyrant, while offering a practical tip for fitting slate beneath a model’s feet.
James Karch completes his Raven Guard collection with Kayvaan Shrike, more vehicles and Phobos-armoured warriors. Painting a largely black army improves his edge highlighting but also teaches him to alternate model types and remain flexible about deadlines; the finished roster records the breadth of the 3rd Company force.
Mark Bedford ends the challenge with Mortarion leading his Death Guard. White armour and green shoulder pads tie the daemon primarch to the existing force, while colour-shifting paint makes the wings a focal point; he reflects on changing projects, experimenting with techniques and the completed army’s varied textures.
James Gallagher’s final force expands beyond its initial plan to include Black Legion warriors, Chaos Knights and daemons. Abaddon and the Bringers of Despair provide the conclusion, with a roster and reflections on maintaining interest, developing characters and painting a centrepiece well enough for a first Golden Demon entry.
An exclusive four-player mission brings the Warlords of Vigilus to a final contest over an industrial command hub. Secondary objectives generate secret scheme cards and reinforcements, while control of the central objective decides victory; the cards introduce shifting alliances and disruptive opportunities throughout the battle.
Raven Guard, Death Guard, Black Legion and Genestealer Cult forces converge on the Stygian Spires in the final Vigilus battle. Sam Pearson’s cult absorbs attacks from every direction, uses arriving Tyranids and resilient Aberrants to preserve its central presence, and survives a chaotic ending involving Mortarion, Abaddon and exploding Knights to claim victory.
Robin Cruddace explains the design priorities behind the 2019 Space Marine codex. Combat doctrines encourage armies to operate without allies, expanded Chapter Tactics express distinctive styles and separate supplements create room for Chapter-specific material; the discussion also covers revised stratagems, successors and special-issue wargear.
The new Realms of Chaos series begins in Nurgle’s diseased garden, treating decay as a painting and conversion theme across both major settings. It suggests corrupted militia and other unexpected servants, explains common symbols and broadens the familiar green-brown-yellow palette into the many colours of bruising, mould and rust.
Fantasy examples show how skin, armour and conversion choices can express different diseases rather than a single standard Nurgle scheme. Blue Blightkings, a fly-drawn Warshrine and Israel Gonzalez’s swollen Freeguild militia use drowned flesh, jaundice, bruised colours and altered silhouettes to tell the story of corruption.
Death Guard and daemon examples demonstrate oily leaks, corroded armour, suffocating flesh and orange-tinted decay. Louis Aguilar supplies his daemon method, while converted Daemon Princes, a disturbing Great Unclean One, a Helbrute and a Bloat-drone-based Knight show how a few carefully chosen parts can transform familiar kits.
Cork fragments form rocks around glossy contaminated pools, with cured Green Stuff hemispheres creating bubbles. A sandy stone recipe contrasts against dark tar coated with Nurgle’s Rot, giving the base an immediately readable diseased landscape without extensive sculpting.
Textured earth, a deliberately reserved pool and painted Barbed Bracken turn a miniature’s base into corrupted woodland. Green sprays, shades and drybrushing create decomposing vegetation, while dark Contrast colour beneath gloss suggests stagnant water among the plants.
A Sector Mechanicus base becomes a corroded industrial floor by leaving metal visible beneath stippled blue panels. Edge highlights define the chips, textured corrosion and orange drybrushing create rust, and a final sepia wash concentrates the dampest-looking decay.
A lethal-hex terrain piece from Beastgrave becomes a round scenic base with grey rocks, pale bones and two-tone green liquid. Successive drybrushes establish the stone before Contrast colours fill the pool, and textured earth around the edges connects the feature to the rest of an army.
James Perry combines classic colours and Contrast paints to produce several distinct Putrid Blightking finishes. The stages cover jaundiced, pallid and damaged flesh, bone or corroded metal armour, rust, verdigris and small details; the guide emphasises contrast between soft skin and hard armour as well as between light and dark colours.
John Bracken distinguishes local play-group habits from wider tournament trends and explains how releases, past winners and popular strategies shape expectations. Rather than copying a winning list blindly, players are encouraged to identify likely opponents and add targeted counters that preserve their own deck’s central plan.
Dave Sanders builds an aggressive hunting plan around Hrothgorn’s attacks, Thrafnir’s speed and the Gnoblars’ supporting tricks. Pushes, traps and lethal hexes work together to inflict extra damage, while advice on setup, objectives and activation priorities helps concentrate the warband’s resources where they matter most.
The Wurmspat’s three resilient fighters support a flexible plan mixing combat and objective control. Individual analyses cover Fecula’s spells, Ghulgoch’s heavy attacks and Sepsimus’s reach, with card recommendations to improve movement, exploit persistent Cycle gambits and score efficiently despite the warband’s small size.
An Eversor Assassin replaces an ordinary explorer group in a solo Blackstone Fortress variant. A special event table and character card support the assassin’s extreme mobility and lethal attacks, with background explaining the temple’s shock tactics, drug conditioning and catastrophic bio-meltdown.
Imperial Navy aircraft markings communicate squadron, wing, campaign history and exceptional pilots within a vast, inconsistent bureaucracy. Annotated Marauders and Thunderbolts show colour bands, numbering, camouflage and ace insignia, providing practical inspiration for distinguishing an Aeronautica Imperialis collection without prescribing a single universal scheme.
Jay Clare explains the King of the Dead’s unusual threat: attacks that bypass conventional durability and a courage-reducing aura that helps the whole spectral army. Positioning, support from Heralds and possible cooperation with Aragorn let the king influence both duels and the wider battlefield despite his limited personal Might.
James Swallow discusses making Faith & Fire an investigative Sisters of Battle story rather than another continuous firefight. He explains the dramatic possibilities of tangible faith, the contrasting personalities of Miriya and Verity, the psychic antagonist’s role and the opportunity to build the religious world of Neva in detail.
Miriya’s squad receives the prisoner Torris Vaun, but a violent escape turns their transport duty into disgrace and pursuit. On Neva, official punishment and religious politics compound the failure; Iona’s damaged mind and decision to become a Repentia reveal the personal cost of the witch’s actions and the institution’s response.
The team’s latest projects include an Imperial desert air wing, a siege-equipped Leman Russ, a Black Legion Lord Discordant and Matt’s first Ordo Sinister Titan. Short painting explanations cover quick aircraft colours, metallic underlayers and the darker corroded finish intended to make the Warlord-Sinister look older and more ominous.