Miniature news from the W/E 02/08/2024
It's a Friday and that means it is time for the first in a (hopefully) regular run of articles here on Death by D6: This week in wardollies!
Here we go - four quickfire highlights from the last week in the worlds of warhammer and tabletop gaming. Enjoy!
Ballgags and spine-axes
There’s new Blood Angels on the way! On a Monday!* And they look fine! Astorath is an absolute maniac, in the best way (spine axe yes please), but Lemartes seems a bit off to me. His mouth grille looks a little bit like he enjoys… certain… nocturnal activities. No shame here, of course. Whatever floats ya boat chief.
Otherwise, the brand new army box features some standard intercessors and a standard dreadnought with a very nice upgrade sprue. Given the naming of the Death Company Marines and the picture on their datacard, I suspect that it could be so long and adieu to teeny tiny Death Company packin’ all the melta pistols. My tears are limited.
"[Lemartes] mouth grille looks a little bit like he enjoys… certain… nocturnal activities. No shame here, of course."
Pivot! PIVOT!
And in “oh god what is it now” news: there has been another sneak update to the core and faction rules for 40k. These are of course unannounced, otherwise hidden away on the WarCom downloads page. Simplified, not… well, you know the rest. There’s good tweaks in here, but it also means we’re onto the third (fourth?) iteration of the pivot rules since they were introduced a month ago.**
If you’re (justifiably) confused about what this means for competitive 40k, then don’t worry, YouTube is here to try and help explain. Art of War have put out a good primer to try and make heads and tails of it all - find that below.
Who says wargames can’t be cute?
Stepping away from GW, I’d just like to point out the Para Bellum continues to churn out fantastic miniatures for Conquest: Last Argument of Kings - including the adorable Mini Rajah, a special model for GenCon but available on their site.
He has a tiny elephant and a tiny turban and comes with a little in-world mini-game for him to be played with. Adorable.
There is also a pair of angry chickens. Find both on the Parabellum site.
This week I’ve watched: Barnyard Wargaming!
This week my (rather limited) hobby time has, as always, been sound-tracked by a variety of wargaming and geek-related content - including devouring everything I can find on The Stormlight Archive***.
But to keep it 40k, I've really enjoyed catching up on games with Jack and co over at Barnyard Wargaming. They're just some Aussie guys playing tournament-style 40k in a barn (maybe), but the rapport and easy manner, as well as soon good tactical play, makes for a fun watch.
Most recently this has included the above game - a very, very bloody encounter between eternal frenemies Slaanesh and Khorne. Its competitive, but, you know, fun. Just how I like it. Give it a watch.
That's it! I'll be back next week with more news and views, but until next time may your pivot measurements be generous and your elephants tiny.
Alex
*A Monday release for an endearingly popular faction? Do I spy panic over that terrible Cortez miniature from last week....? Surely not....
**These are all good changes for competitive balance. But oh my god is trying to keep up with it all a right chore.
***Taln could batter a Primarch. Fight me. I really, really need to reread these books as oh boy is there a lot going on.