REVIEW: UK White Dwarf issue 331

This issue comes with two free Mighty Empire tiles. They are bigger than I imagined and come with some 'special' markers representing a Dwarf brewery, a Wizard's tower and an Ork idol. These freebies fit Games Workshop's strategy with White Dwarf in their effort to make it an essential purchase.

As you might expect, a large portion of the mag (12 pages) is given over to promoting Mighty Empires. The first part of the article looks at the box contents and ways to paint them. There are some good ideas here, although the Empire and Bretonnia paint schemes look so similar it's pointless to include both. Perhaps a Lustrian or Norscan paintjob would have been more useful. The second part of the article examines a GW run example campaign. This is very lightly covered. Maybe this is just a taster for the later turns as only the first three turns are described.

The other new releases are the Warhammer Chapel and Watchtower. Forgeworld also shows off it's own Warhammer terrain but it is inferior to the new Games Workshop stuff. The Empire gets much love, with the Wizard boxed set, flagellants and Helblaster and Helstorm prominent. The kits are dissected later in the mag.

This Might of the Empire article is basically a big advert for the new models with army lists, tactics and painting tips.

The battle report is another advert for the Empire and pits them against the Beastmen led by Morghur in a Nemesis Crown scenario. It's mildly diverting and an improvement over previous reports as it has lengthy turn by turn descriptions of the action.

The Lord of the Rings is barely covered, with only one piece on Dragons. Again, basic tactics army lists and paint schemes are shown.

The main 'meat' of the issue is part two of the Blood Angels codex. While this is a welcome addition to White Dwarf it is a shame that it has been overshadowed by controversy. First the list was leaked on the web, so many people saw it early. Then there have been the discrepancies between each country's magazine and the mistakes in the list itself (incomplete drop pod and psychic hood rules for example). So we'll have to wait for the PDF on the Games Workshop website for the definitive list. All in all a bit of a damp squib.

Jervis' Standard Bearer column talks about painting and how far more people just paint the models than actually game with them. This will be quite a surprise to the 'GW cynically improves the rules to sell more models' crowd; for the majority of collectors this is utterly irrelevant.

The modelling workshop article is on desert gaming boards. It shows you how to build the table and then adapt it for each of the major game systems - by buying GW terrain. Useful for beginners I guess.

The final article of note is on tournaments. There is an explanation of the new scoring system, an interview with the Flame on! club and a look at Andrew Taylor's stunning Chaos Space Marine army.

I think White Dwarf is steadily improving but has some way to go before it matches it's previous heights.

I'd give this a score of 6 out of 10.

Scores

All of my reviews end in a score out of ten for the product. The table below explains what that score means.

• 10/10 Perfect, absolutely nothing better
• 9/10 Excellent, highly recommended
• 8/10 Very good, recommended
• 7/10 Good
• 6/10 Above average, some problems
• 5/10 Average, some good points some bad points
• 4/10 Below average, some redeeming features
• 3/10 Poor, major flaws
• 2/10 Very poor, avoid if possible
• 1/10 Absolutely appalling

A mixed bag

This is going to be a bit of a catch-up post. I've had loads of things going on which have impacted upon my gaming time.

I worked a six day week this week and I couldn't make my regular Tuesday night gaming session. In and around work I spent some of my spare time playing Football Manager on my Playstation Portable. This is a highly addictive game and I find it difficult to put down; I always have to play the next match. I whizzed through three seasons in as many days and took Huddersfield from potential relegation to the second division all the way to the Premiership. Now I just need to tear myself away...

I'm off to the Lake District shortly for a bit of a walking holiday, so I've been out hiking to get back into shape. The last couple of weekends I've been tramping around Blanchland, getting blisters and toughening up my feet. Here's a pic I took today.

It's a beautiful part of the country. We really do have it all up here.

During a lunch hour I wrote up some of my thoughts about the responsibilities both players have during a game. This was sparked by a couple of games I played recently (and wrote battle reports about on this website). Once I've knocked it into shape I'll post it up here and on the Warhammer Forum and try and generate some discussion.

I've also been re-reading The Battle for Armageddon. I'm halfway through chapter five of five. When I finish it I'll post up a review.

My wallet has taken a real hammering. First, my White Dwarf subscription ended so I had to renew it. Since I was on the Games Workshop store site I picked up a set of the new foundation paints too. Second, I got a heads up that the Black Library, Games Workshop's publishing wing, were having a sale. I took a gander round the site and found some real bargains. Third, I got my latest Forgeworld newsletter which announced the pre-orders for the Siege of Vraks were available. Since I had already bought a batch of the renegade militia models I just had to buy the book. That relieved me of £40+.

Finally, I have managed to get in a wee bit of painting. I put together my five Marauder Horsemen (converting them to carry flails). I also constructed my four War hounds. I drybrushed all the bases and then concentrated on the hounds to try and get them finished first.


I painted them up in slightly different colours from my last batch, the idea being I don't want them all to be uniform in appearance. This lot I overbrushed Scorched Brown, then drybrushed them Bestial Brown with another drybrush of Bubonic Brown. A mix of Flesh wash and Brown Ink tied all the layers together. I'm hoping to have these doggies finished before my next game on Tuesday night so I'll be able to field two units of five.

Thanks for reading.

Bringing the White Dwarf to heel.

I'm sitting here with a cuppa, listening to the Editors, feeling slightly guilty because I'm not at work. I finished early today because I eventually got my physio appointment (after a three month wait). Predictably, the problem I initially had has largely cleared up, while I have acquired another. It started last summer when my heel seized up overnight and I nearly hit the ceiling when I tried to walk on it. The doctor thought it was a tweaked Achilles heel and reckoned it would fix itself over time. She gave me some anti inflammatories to dull the pain. Four months later it was worse so she referred me to the physiotherapy department.

It isn't an Achilles problem at all - it is because I waalk funny (try saying that in a Geordie accent and you'll get the pronunciation). I roll over on my right heel and because I have been on my feet more with my job, and going to the gym more often, it has become a problem. My calf has stiffened and it has even affected my hip. The cure is to try and correct my gait by doing some exercises and if that doesn't work I'll need some inserts in my shoes. Fortunately I don't need the special shoe just yet!

So I trundled in from the hospital to find the latest issue of White Dwarf on my doormat (UK 326). I, like many other readers, have been dissatisfied with WD recently as it has ditched new rules, chapter approved and other such content as the focus of the magazine has shifted. As I mentioned in a previous post, it is going for a younger market of new gamers. To many people this is simply dumbing down. I thought I'd run a small review of WD and maybe do another in 6 months time so I can compare and contrast it over time.

The magazine is 130 pages long and has a Lord of the Rings cover, advertising The Ruin of Arnor supplement. The soldier on the front looks worryingly like Zinedane Zidane. The models accompanying the release look good - I especially love the Rangers models (who doesn't like Strider?). The Gulavhar and Troll Chieftain both look mean and moody but the Warriors of Arnor are pants. The best thing about the LOTR models is the price. £15 for 24 Rangers? Sweet. WD proper has design notes on the Arnor supplement and a large battle report.

Next up is the Dark Angels army set. I'm not entirely convinced by these power armoured Marines in dresses but the Company Master looks like a surly bastard and I may have to steal some of those hooded heads for my Blood Angels.

Warmaster gets some love in the form of an Araby army. I've always fancied a Warmaster army and if I ever do, this will be the one. Camels, elephants and flying carpets in the same list? Count me in.

The Harlequins are trailed, too. Jes Goodwin has sculpted these beauties but it is unlikely I'll buy any as I have 30 of the originals. Despite being 20 years old they still stand up to the new models.

The Warhammer section explores the Empire, with painting guides for the provinces. My own preference is for Ostland - Black and white, you see. There is also some weird and wacky scenery including a chapel built from a ship!

Jervis explains the thinking behind allowing special characters into games and tournaments (apparently they are all tested and balanced now. Yeah? So what about Thorek, than?). He also clarifies the Rules As Written philosophy introduced a few issues ago. I guess his thinking is that ultra competitive players won't exploit this approach. I hope he is right.

Phil Kelly has written a tactica on using reserves. Although this is clearly aimed at newer players I still thought it was worthwhile. At six pages it was more in depth than previous efforts and may halt some of the whinging about escalation (one of the best things about 4th edition in my opinion).

The article on modelling the Leman Russ tank was also useful to me. Some of it was obvious - I am a veteran after all - but there was still enough in it to make it worth reading. The organisational insignia makes me want to revisit my vehicles straight away.

Painting is covered in four separate articles and a free booklet. The first is a showcase of Empire models, while the second is on painting the Arnor Rangers. The Masterclass is on Mike Anderson and his stunning 'character portraits.' And finally there are some Bloodbowl figures (what a classic game that was).

The booklet is packed with sumptuous pictures of the Golden Daemon winners from 2006.

Overall, I'd say this was a fairly decent issue of the Dwarf and an improvement over previous months. I hope the trend continues.

The ideas behind the game

I have been browsing Dakka Dakka over the last couple of days and become involved in a discussion about the 40k codex release schedule. As discussions on web forums are prone to do, the conversation has roamed far and wide to include codex design, the value of sub-lists, Marine-centric focus and a multitude of other subjects.

The whole confab reminded me of the seminar that Jervis Johnson gave at the Warhammer 40k Grand Tournament last November. Jervis had three main points.

The first was design philosophy. Discipline is the new buzzword in the design team. The idea is that the codex is the core list; a tournament list, a list for a player to play a 1500 point game with with confidence. Previously the focus was more broad. A codex had to encompass campaign play, army background, introduce new units, tournament play and allow themed lists. Not any more. To this end they will be more disciplined in writing the books. They have a text editor, Graham Davey, who will be responsible for sorting out rules conflicts before the book goes to print. The Eldar codex is the first of a new breed.

His second point was RAW - Rules As Written. They provide an answer (even if it feels wrong) to move past the issue and stop in-game arguments. Then you can talk about it afterwards without the passion. If you still can't agree, or the rules are ambiguous, then D6 it. The result usually isn't as important as you think at the time. Most games do not depend on a single D6 roll.

The third and final point was concerning FAQ's and errata. The Frequently Asked Questions answers GW provides will not be used to revise or re-imagine rules. They are there to change obviously broken or contradictory rules like conflicting profiles in the main list and summary or an Ogre Kingdoms magic item which makes magic harder to cast.

It is also to clarify - not change - unclear rules. Rules that are clear, but just feel wrong (like Space Wolf Scouts sergeants in Terminator armour) will be left until a new edition of the codex or main rulebook.

Alessio Cavatore is responsible for FAQ's after the book is published. There will be no more reprinting rules changes within the same edition of the codex (like the Chaos codex 4 printings).

During the questions at the end, the subject of White Dwarf came up. Jervis confirmed it was a catalogue first (to showcase the models) and content second. The content still needs to be good but WD needs to refocus on current releases and it's core audience - young and/or inexperienced gamers. Jervis used the example of Robin Dews, former WD editor. He is into sailing and subscribes to a sailing magazine. Every 12 months it re-prints an article about painting and preparing your new boat. WD needs to do the equivalent. There will still be some articles for veteran gamers but perhaps a resurrected Citadel Journal or some other outlet would be better suited to veterans.

I've fed a lot of this information into the discussion, which has lasted nineteen pages so far, and it doesn't look like slowing down any time soon.