WHITE DWARF · AUGUST–SEPTEMBER 2020
The Indomitus edition, new marine and Necron designs, Silver Templars, Hammerhal Warcry rules and the Carngrad campaign finale.
COVER TO COVER
In printed page order
The editor introduces a deep look at the new Warhammer 40,000 edition, linking miniature design, rules development and background writing. An introductory battle, a Pariah Nexus diorama and the Silver Templars provide practical examples of the new era taking shape.
Readers show a newly invented Stormhost, Nurgle artwork and finished models while asking practical hobby questions. Paul Claridge supplies his Black Legion armour and trim recipe, and the replies help a young Gloomspite collector locate rules for the large Forge World squigs seen in an earlier issue.
Phil Kelly explains the design of Hysh’s Ten Paradises from a symbolic wheel, mirrored geography and deliberately meaningful names. Collaboration with the map’s artist turns a rough conceptual sketch into a setting whose symmetry, Chaos scars and runic geography can inspire campaigns and personal collections.
The Indomitus designers push Primaris Marines towards a more overtly Gothic crusading identity, using robes, relics and older armour references. Character and unit commentary explains shields, helmets, equipment and motion, showing how Bladeguard, Eradicators, Outriders and Assault Intercessors express different battlefield roles through their silhouettes.
The Necron design team explores degradation, madness and repair as ways to individualise an apparently uniform metal race. Undamaged nobles contrast with ruined Warriors, altered Destroyers and unsettling Canoptek servants, while visible internal construction and damaged faces suggest what sixty million years of decline have done to their bodies and minds.
Nathan Trolley paints the new studio Necron scheme with warm brass armour, darker mechanisms and bright green energy details. Metallic glazing refines the broad plates beyond a simple wash-and-highlight approach, while individual recipes cover copper, blades, cables and luminous components from Battle Ready foundations to Parade Ready finishing touches.
Robin Cruddace describes building on eighth edition while improving mission structure, terrain and dynamic play. Defined battle sizes, selectable secondaries, Crusade, optional Overwatch and changes to vehicles in combat all serve a more active battlefield, while the Command phase creates room for future rules development.
Sophie commands the Indomitus Ultramarines against James Gallagher’s Szarekhan Necrons in the new edition’s first White Dwarf battle. Early Necron objective control and the death of the marine Captain build a lead, and despite a strong close-combat recovery around the records, the Ultramarines finish narrowly behind at 60–70.
An Incursion Crusade mission pits Ultramarines seeking astropathic records against Necrons defending their gate. Extracting information competes with progressive objective control and a Necron bonus for killing the enemy warlord; bespoke Agendas and the Eye of the Astronomican relic extend the result into campaign advancement.
Andy Clark explains rewriting the core background from the ground up while preserving the setting’s foundations. The focus shifts towards the consequences of the Great Rift and the varied experiences of Imperial institutions, supported by extensive research and collaboration rather than an assumption that any writer remembers every established detail.
Scripto-savant Zax Gadnar flees Necron Destroyers through the Basilica of Saint Tassimus, finding terrified survivors whose refuge is soon breached. Bladeguard Veterans arrive to save them, but their intervention also gives Zax a task of his own: lead the civilians towards evacuation while the wounded Space Marines continue the fight.
An Imperial historitor assembles accounts of the war’s costly advances and disasters, including Ephrael Stern’s influence and the terrible Death March of Paradyce II. Official analysis and a progressively desperate officer’s diary reveal how faith can resist the Stilling without removing hunger, confusion or the enormous human cost of campaigning.
The Warhammer World team stages an Ultramarine defence against emerging Necrons across a mining colony and the tunnels beneath it. Foam cliffs, scratch-built structures and pinned Scarabs convey the ambush, while modular boards, hairspray weathering and simple rock recipes show how the team built and painted the large display.
The Ultima Founding Chapter’s duelling culture and intense bond with weapons grow from Novaris’s feudal society and smithing traditions. Recruitment, Codex organisation and campaign accounts show admirable precision alongside inflexibility, including the costly Talasa Secundus dispute with Novamarines and the solemn obligation of a Sword Oath.
A compact supplement adds the Bond Martial Chapter Tactic, two relics, three warlord traits and two stratagems to the Ultramarines successor rules. The abilities emphasise weapon mastery, decisive attacks against characters and efficient fighting while outnumbered, with a thematic recommendation to build the Chapter from Primaris units.
Nathan Trolley demonstrates the Chapter’s silver armour, yellow shoulders and dark details through a staged Intercessor guide. Mixed matte and gloss black washes define the metal before successive highlights sharpen the plates, with separate recipes for red, skin, parchment, gold and other smaller materials.
The studio’s Silver Templars 3rd Company illustrates heraldry, squad roles and named characters across a growing Primaris collection. Chris Kelley’s reader army adds further examples, including converted characters and contrasting rusty desert bases that set the clean metallic armour apart from its surroundings.
Louis Aguilar offers ways to complete games efficiently without overlooking important abilities. Prepared battlefield setup, sorted dice, agreed shortcuts and gracious handling of small mistakes accompany a printable phase-by-phase cheat sheet, helping players focus on decisions rather than repeatedly searching books or forgetting distant units.
Hammerhal sends selected companies into the Eightpoints for rescue, recovery and spell-hunting missions that larger armies cannot easily undertake. The introduction presents the mixed human, duardin and aelven force as both experienced and expendable, leading into fighter rules and a dangerous campaign quest.
A dwindling Hammerhal expedition tries to recover an Azyrite noble from the Krowl’s ritual site. The mixed company fights its way inside only to discover that the promised rescue has already become something much darker, leaving the survivors with the consequences of following orders in a land where Sigmar’s protection feels distant.
Hammerhal’s fighters combine Freeguild troops, heavily armoured duardin and specialist aelves in one Warcry roster. Shared abilities support reclaiming objectives and coordinated melee attacks, while the full cards provide weapon, durability and points differences for building a force suited to the city’s particular mission.
A Hammerhal warband must capture the wandering Burning Head called Cinder Johann using an eccentric wizard’s prism trap. Three convergences follow its destructive trail and deliberately provoke enough violence to attract it, with thematic traits, artefacts and post-campaign rewards for surviving the spell’s arrival.
The campaigns reach their conclusions through narrow wins, lasting injuries and increasingly potent fighters. Lyle’s Venomborn finish first, followed by the Jade Eye and Joyous Amputation, while Matt’s Penumbral Hunters end on an encouraging run; final sheets preserve the recruits, artefacts and scars earned along the way.
Dan reflects on the Jade Eye’s difficult beginnings and the mobility tricks that eventually carry the Cypher Lords to success. Favourite fighters acquire lasting reputations, a replacement Luminate takes over and plans for Cold Vengeance and a wider Chaos army carry the collection beyond this first campaign.
Jonathan’s small Unmade force benefits from the addition of a Slaughterpriest and the deadly follow-up attacks of its Joyous Ones. He reviews the models and abilities that shaped the campaign, then looks ahead to expanding the warband while preserving the sinister identity developed through its games.
Matt celebrates a late run of victories and fighters whose destiny levels and artefacts have made them into recognisable campaign heroes. The Corvus Cabal’s success also prompts new hobby plans, including further allied models and a possible War Hydra hunt beyond the original quest.
Lyle reviews the poison-themed Splintered Fang campaign, including the strength of massed serpent attacks and the memorable setback that delayed its conclusion. Future plans range from finishing terrain to developing a full Age of Sigmar force, showing how the small warband has generated several larger projects.
A practical guide explains how to photograph miniatures clearly with either a dedicated camera or a phone. Neutral soft lighting, an uncluttered white background, the model’s most informative angle and sufficient depth of field lead into aperture, shutter and ISO examples, followed by advice on sending usable unedited images to the magazine.
Dave Sanders continues the flexible-play discussion with a worked Godsworn Hunt deck. Reliable objectives determine which fighters need early upgrades, while movement, guard and extra-attack cards support both combat and control; the sample list is presented as a starting point to test and refine through actual games.
An enforcer pursues a low-level criminal through Varangantua’s sewers and eliminates his small operation. The apparent exercise in law enforcement gives way to a private meeting that reveals a far less impartial arrangement, introducing Warhammer Crime through the overlap between official violence, corruption and personal profit.
Sherring’s defeat leads Miriya into a dangerous confrontation aboard Vaun’s escaping aircraft. After the crash, the captured psyker describes the hidden purpose behind his return and offers to expose LaHayn’s crimes; divided loyalties force the Sisters to follow him towards an isolated citadel instead of simply delivering him for execution.
The studio’s army challenge produces more finished projects, including red-armoured Chaos conversions, special-release heroes and an altered Ambot. Short updates combine painting techniques, new family hobby beginnings and future collections, with Peter’s Valerian, Aleya and Sergeant Jackson receiving particular attention.
Ben Johnson builds a Seraphon collection around the question of how many monsters he can field. His Stegadon-heavy force follows the Thunder Lizard appearance through separate scale and skin drybrushing recipes, with Primal Lair scenery giving the creatures a suitably imposing set of bases.