Update: Apocalypse Mission #4

Hello all, Slick here again. The update for the upcoming mission 4 in our Apocalypse campaign is located here:

http://angelssanguine.blogspot.com/2010/09/apocalypse-assault-on-darius-ix-mission_21.html

News: GW Newsletter - Dark Eldar Incoming

Hello all, Slick here. GW's most recent newsletter features previews of several of the new Dark Eldar which will make their triumphant return after over a decade of neglect! These minis are amazing and I would equate this update with what GW did for the Wood Elves not too long ago. This is a major facelift for the Dark Eldar and I'm seriously tempted to collect a small force. It will be interesting to see what impact they will have on the current mech-heavy 40K environment. What do you guys think?

Incoming! Dark Eldar Today at UK Games Day we announced the re-launch of the Dark Eldar and unveiled a wicked host of new Dark Eldar miniatures. Jes Goodwin, lead Dark Eldar designer, was there to answer questions about his latest creations and show off the cover art from the new Codex. As newsletter subscribers we felt that you should be the first to hear the news and catch a glimpse of Jes and his team's stunning work. Make sure you check out the 'What's New Today' section on games-workshop.com every day next week, as we'll be showing more of the Dark Eldar, including some of Jes' concept sketches and early design work. The new Dark Eldar will be available to advance order from Tuesday 5th October. Brace yourself, gaming in the 41st Millennium is about to become a lot more frightening.

News: Gamesday UK Coverage - 40K & Forgeworld

Hello all, Slick here. Here is another Warseer thread covering Gamesday - this one focusing on 40K and Forgeworld. More awesomeness is on the way!

http://www.warseer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=277048

http://www.warseer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=277006

News: Gamesday UK Coverage - Warhammer Forge

Hello all, Slick here! Check out the thread below from Warseer which has pics from Gamesday UK, specifically Warhammer Forge! THIS IS SIMPLY EPIC!

http://www.warseer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=277009

News: Forgeworld Reveals WARHAMMER FORGE!

Hello all, Slick here! Forgeworld have just dropped a bombshell, revealing Warhammer Forge in their latest newsletter!!! This marks their foray into producing a range of miniatures and expansions for Warhammer Fantasy. This will do for Fantasy what Forgeworld has done for 40k. Get ready for all kinds of cool upgrade kits and perhaps even the fantasy equivalent of superheavies! Perhaps the rumors of FW updating the Chaos Dwarfs could be true as well...

What do you guys think about Warhammer Forge?

"Hi there,
It’s almost Games Day UK, and here at Forge World we have reached a milestone: our 250th Newsletter!
To celebrate, we have an exclusive announcement about a top-secret project that you can see for the very first time at Games Day UK...

Thanks,
Ead Brown

Warhammer Forge Exclusively Unveiled at Games Day UK
Veteran games developer Rick Priestley and Forge World sculptor Mark Bedford have spent the past few months masterminding a brand new project, a long-awaited foray into resin products and detailed expansions for Warhammer, The Game of Fantasy Battles.

Warhammer Forge unveil a veritable horde of work-in-progress resin kits as well as early layout copies of the first in a series of lavish expansion books for the very first time at Games Day UK.
You’ll be able to see the staggering range of resin models that have been created over the past year, and Mark Bedford and his intrepid in-house sculptors Keith Robertson and Steve Whitehead will be available all day to answer any and all questions you have. These intricately detailed models are some of the finest yet produced in resin, adding an incredible depth and breadth to the existing Warhammer range.

Rick Priestley will be on hand to explain his future plans, and Book Production Manager Paul Rudge and Graphic Artist Sam Lamont will be displaying a dizzying array of their incredible work-in-progress example pages from the first Warhammer Forge book, and some phenomenal artwork from Games Workshop artistic stalwart Adrian Smith, as well as everything from single page vignettes to concept sketches and full-colour cover art.

The Warhammer Forge Studio team will be located right next to the Forge World Design Studio stand in the Arena – a map of Games Day can be found here.

You’ll be able to quiz the whole Warhammer Forge design team on the future of this exciting new range, and as an added bonus two of the resin kits on display will be available as advanced pre-releases from the Forge World Sales Stand in strictly limited quantities – details of exactly what these are will be unveiled at Games Day, so don’t miss the Warhammer Forge Studio Stand!"

News: Forgeworld Newsletter #249

Hello all Slick here again. Forgeworld have released another newsletter just before Gamesday UK and there are a couple of exciting new upcoming releases to talk about! The Necrons are getting some attention with the awesome Tomb Stalker while the Orks are getting the Grot Heavy Tank!

"Hi there,

We are now only a few days away from Games Day UK, and the Forge World office is under a mound of packaging and bubble wrap, not to mention a massive stack of Reservation orders! This week’s Newsletter has two more exclusive Games Day pre-release kits for you, more details about the lavish displays that will be showcased on our Studio stand, and a reminder about our exclusive Seminars.

Thanks,
Ead Brown

Pre-Releases Available in Limited Numbers at Games Day UK:

Necron Tomb Stalker
Designed by Will Hayes, the Tomb Stalker is a previously unseen type of Necron construct. This intricately detailed full resin kit can be constructed in a huge variety of dynamic positions as you can see in these images, and is supplied with a sprue of plastic necron green rods with which to complete construction.

Armed with potent Gauss weaponry and razor-edged talons, the Tomb Stalker adds a devastating mix of firepower and combat ability to a Necron army, and Imperial Armour writer Alan Bligh has put together a set of experimental rules for this sleek and ancient instrument of destruction, that are available to download here.

Exclusively available as an advanced pre-release at Games Day UK, this technological terror is priced at £36 and will be available in limited quantities.

Grot Mega Tank
Designed by Stuart Williamson, the Grot Mega Tank represents the pinnacle of Gretchin-built Heavy Tank technology; an overpowering war machine that drives all before it in a storm of scrap and destruction. This full resin kit is festooned with unique details as you can in the images, and Stuart has designed each turret to be fully cross-compatible with Daren Parrwood's Grot Tanks.

Hammered together out of junk, spare Mekboy know-wotz and unbridled Grot enthusiasm, the Grot Mega Tank adds even more firepower to the battlefield madness that has come to be known as a Grotzkrieg, terrifying Imperial Tacticians, Eldar Farseers and Chaos Warlords alike. Taking a brief break from his work on The Badab War Part II, Alan Bligh has created a set of experimental rules for the Grot Mega Tank that you can find here.

Exclusively available in limited numbers at Games Day UK, this devastating war machine is priced at £62."

Apocalypse: Assault on Darius IX Mission 4

Hello all, Slick here. Mission 4 for the Assault on Darius IX Apocalypse campaign is now available!

Game Preserve Apocalypse Campaign 2010
The Assault on Darius IX

Part 2: The Imperium Strikes Back

Mission 4 – Apocalypse Now

The beleaguered Imperial defenders of Dariux IX are stretched to the breaking point. All is not lost however, as a massive combined fleet of Imperial Navy and Space Marines has entered the system in order to relieve the defenders and take the fight to the forces of Chaos. As the fleets enter orbit above Darius IX, Imperial forces launch a massive assault against a major Chaos stronghold.

Objective: Operation Daybreak - Imperial reinforcements have finally entered the system including a large Blood Angels taskforce and several Imperial Guard army groups, as well as the might of the Titan Legions! The Imperium is on the offensive and is launching a massive planetary assault as well as attacks on smaller strategic targets throughout the system in order to contain the Chaos forces and then eliminate them. Imperial forces will launch a combined naval and deep strike assault on a fortified Chaos stronghold in order to prepare the way for more resources and war materiel to be brought planetside. Imperial forces must take and hold several key objectives while Chaos forces attempt to hold throw back the attackers.

The team with the most objectives at the end of the game wins the battle.

Special Rules: There will be three major terrain areas for this battle: water, beach, and land. The majority of Imperial forces will launch an amphibious assault via the water and make their way to the Chaos-occupied defenses along the beachfront. Space Marine forces will primarily focus on surgical strikes, attacking key objectives behind enemy lines in order to cause confusion and soften up Chaos defenses before the main Imperial assault. The water area will count as difficult terrain for infantry. Jump pack troops may not end their move in the water. Bikes may not move through the deep water.

All Imperial tanks excluding Land Raiders and Superheavy tanks gain the Amphibious rule for this battle. Tanks can move up to 6" in the water until reaching the beachfront. In addition they will move an additional D3+1 inches forward to represent the current pushing them toward shore. All Space Marine chapters will be able to Deep Strike their Land Raiders (T-Hawk drop off) following the rule in Codex Blood Angels.

Imperial players may create models (and rules) for landing ships and other naval vessels if they wish. The rules need to be submitted for review prior to the game. This will count as creating a datasheet and an additional event as far as league participation is concerned. It's a great opportunity to create a cool, unique model.

Chaos players are encouraged to create their own defensive terrain pieces. Nothing strikes fear into attackers like seeing their comrades (guardsmen) impaled on pikes. Other ideas include a desecrated Imperial terrain pieces such as the aquila or marine statue or a chaos-themed bastion.

Imperial forces may also upgrade any skimmers to flyers for +25 per model. Flyers may then make use of the hover mode rules found in the Apocalypse rulebook.

Imperial forces receive the following assets for free: Recon, Careful Planning, Surgical Raids.
Imperial forces must take the following: Scheduled Bombardment (this replaces Orbital Bombardment), Vital Objective

Chaos forces receive the following assets for free: Indiscriminate Bombardment, Ambush, Camouflage. In addition there will be numerous bunkers and obstacles present to help Chaos forces defend their stronghold.

Chaos forces may not take Careful Planning.

Each side must also nominate their supreme commander for this battle. This commander must be represented by a model on the table. The model's command radius is 24". Killing the opposing supreme commander will count as a bonus objective. Should a commander be killed he will be unavailable for the remainder of the campaign.

The following characters will be MIA for this battle due to serious wounds: Commissar Yarrick, Pedro Kantor, various named Nurgle demons.

The side battle (kiddie table) will feature a battle to retake an Imperial outpost on one of the moons of Darius IX. This will feature intense close quarters battle!

Determining the Victor – At the end of the game, determine who controls each strategic objective as follows:

• A unit controls an objective if it is in base contact with that objective and no enemy units are in base contact with that objective. The team with the most objectives under their control is the winner. Each objective taken, or not taken, will impact the forces and special rules available to players/teams in subsequent battles. If a unit is in base contact with more than one objective, the owning player must choose which objective it is attempting to control.

Scoring Units: Unlike in normal games of Warhammer 40,000, all non-vehicle units count as scoring units.

Wipeout!: Regardless of all other victory conditions, if at the end of the game the enemy has no units left on the table, you win the game!

Assets: Players will each have access to one strategic asset. Armies not painted to the 3-color minimum must use the Ash Wastes asset. Players can gain additional Assets by using various legendary units and formations. Teams may not have more than one copy of the same asset unless they get these through legendary formations and choosing an asset from their allotment.

Sequence of Play

Pre-game – Setup the Battlefield & Place Objectives

1 Pick Army

2 Select Teams & Nominate Supreme Commanders

3 Set Time Limit

4 Pick Strategic Assets
• If one side has fewer points, then they receive one extra asset for every full 250 points difference.

5. Deployment
• Each side will bid on the their deployment time as normal with the team bidding the lowest time also deploying first and taking the first turn. Superheavies must start the game on the table.
• Units not set up are in Strategic Reserve

6 Fight the Battle

7 Victory! – Players add up the number of objectives. The team with the most objectives wins.

News: Mantic Newsletter

Hello all, Slick here. Mantic's latest newsletter is out and the Zombies are finally available. They look great and their price means you can amass quite the horde without hitting the wallet too hard. Mantic is also set to have their first Open Day! Read more below:

Zombies - The Shambling Hordes Approach! The Zombies are nearly here! With the new miniatures shipping from the 24th of September 2010, which is only just over 1 week away, we know you all must be really excited, as we definitely are! Painted by Andrew Wedmore If you have been watching our Blog this week then you will have seen that we have been teasing you with images, as this week was Zombie week. So we know you have probably seen these images before, but we think they are just so good that we would show you them again! To celebrate this big release we have decided that every order* placed on our website until the end of the month will receive a Zombie sprue completely free! *Please note: any order consisting of just an Open Day ticket or a subscription is exempt from this offer. Now we are sure you will want more than just one sprue, so don't forget you can get your hands on these fantastic figures by buying the Zombie Regiment, the Zombie Horde, or for what can only be described as amazing value for money you can pick up the Zombies in our brand new Undead Army Deal: Malak's Endless Hordes. Zombies are also included in the Mhorgoth's Revenge Fantasy Battleset, the Undead Army Set. All of these box-sets are available for pre-order now, so what are you waiting for! Kings of War Fantasy Battle Rules Well the Closed Beta has now been available for download for a week now and we have been really pleased to see that the rules seem to be going down so well within the community. Just in case you missed the rules, here is the link again - just click on the logo below to get your FREE download!: We would just like to take this opportunity to explain our plans. This is a Closed Public Beta of the rules, giving you guys who are signed up to the newsletter first access to the download. Then the plan is we will print the first version of the rules to be included within our box-sets. This printed version is an Open Beta of the rules, we will be collecting feedback from everyone. In approximately 6 months time we intend to revise the rules again, using all the feedback we have received, and publish a second version. Will you lead the Undead Horde to victory? We want to thank everyone who has been playing our game and leaving feedback for us. We are regularly reading the forums, and it is great to see people discussing the rules. We have already started building up a database of ideas that we want to go through and test with Alessio. So please keep talking to us, we really do want to know what you like, what you don't like and what you maybe think we can add. Until next time - braaaaiiiins....

Open Day The Open Day is continuing to build momentum, tickets are proving to be popular, which is great to see, as we here at Mantic would love to meet as many of you as possible. We will have to stop selling ticket shortly, so please pick up your ticket soon. The Open Day is being held on the 9th October 2010 with doors opening at 10am, with last entry at 4pm, though our doors won't close until 5pm. We will have all of our painted miniatures on display, and there will be a store set-up where you will be able to purchase any of our product range - and loose plastic sprues! “Celebrities” will be in attendance, including the star of all the video blogs you all know and love. Alessio Cavatore will be attending and we can now confirm that both Mike McVey and Bob Naismith are going to be here with us. You can talk to them about all things Mantic. Bob sculpted the incredible new Zombies, and Mike will be painting some during the day - which we intend to give away as prizes! We will also be running demos of our brand new game so you will get to feel the full Kings of War experience using two of our beautifully painted armies. We have a range of ticket deals on offer as you can see here - so what are you waiting for, pick up your ticket now! Shipping in September Mark the 24th September in your diary, the latest sets from Mantic will be shipping. The Dwarf Berserkers and Dwarf War Kings Council will add two new metal sets to the Dwarf army and some of our most beautiful sculpts to date. Issue 2 of the Journal will also begin shipping. Penned by the brilliant Guy Haley once again (watch out for a blog coming from him soon), those of you who've ordered the subscription from Issue 2 will also get a free Dwarf Miner with Drill figure! For full details on the month's releases check out our advance order pages here. Triple Helix Mantic will be attending the grand opening of Triple Helix Wargames in Westbury, Somerset this weekend and, as well as free give-a-ways and the chance to talk to us about all things Mantic, we're also bringing a couple of our armies down to demonstrate the new ruleset! Steven and Charlotte have gone all out on this event and you can check out details on their facebook page (though whilst you're at it, why not hang a left and wander over to the Mantic Facebook page - you might like it!). We'd like to say a big thank you to the guys for inviting us so make sure you pop down and check it out!

News: Forgeworld Newsletter #248

Hello all, Slick here. Forgeworld has released another newsletter with 1 week to go before Gamesday UK and there are even more goodies coming out including new transfer sheets, new brass etch symbols, and the Space Marines see a resin upgrade kit for characters! The confirmation of having Dark Eldar unveiled at GD UK means the long wait for is nearly over. After months of Warhammer Fantasy, it seems that 40K is set to take center stage again.

"Hi There,
With less than 10 days until Games Day UK, we have another Newsletter crammed with exciting announcements for you. This week, we have details of more pre-release items that you’ll be able to purchase at our sales stand along with more titbits about the work-in-progress projects that our Studio team will be showcasing. We can also announce details of an exclusive Forge World Seminar to take place at Games Day.
Remember that you can still order your Games Day ticket, if you haven’t already, and here at Forge World we’re looking forward to seeing all of you at the NEC!

Thanks,
Ead Brown

More Forge World Pre-Releases Available at Games Day UK and to Pre-Order Now:

Chapter-specific A4 Transfer Sheets
Forge World’s Kenton Mills has been hard at work of late, busily working away on a new range of transfer sheets. Some of these have already been released, such as those available now for the Imperial Fists, Iron Hands and Raven Guard Chapters, but as another Games Day pre-release you’ll be able to get your hands on four new A4 decal sheets for the Blood Ravens, Crimson Fists, Blood Angels and Elysians, priced at £9 a sheet.

Each decal sheet is crammed with a huge array of squad badges suitable for shoulder pads, jump packs and vehicles. There are also unit designations and unique details such as Librarian rank markings in the case of the Blood Ravens decals, and Vulture Gunship and Tauros kill markings on the Elysian sheet. Each of these fantastic sheets will be available as an exclusive Games Day UK pre-release while stocks last.

Each of the new transfer sheets is also available to pre-order now, if you aren’t lucky enough to be joining us at Games Day UK, and will be despatched in the week commencing October 4th.

New Etched Brass Symbols
Not content with his awesome Transfer sheets, Kenton has also found time to produce a sheet of incredibly detailed Etched Brass Symbols for the Iron Hands, featuring a variety of Chapter and Clan-Company details perfect for making your infantry and vehicles stand out even more.
He’s also recently finished a set of Etched Brass Ork Glyphs to complement the recent range of Kastorel-Novem themed Greenskin kits that we have released. These glyphs allow you to personalise and name your Ork characters and vehicles in typical Orky fashion.

Both of these detailed Etched Brass sheets will be available as a pre-release at Games Day while stocks last.

Space Marine Character Upgrade Set
Will Hayes and Phil Stutcinskas have followed up their work on our recent Power Armour sets and Weapon Packs with this detailed set of upgrade parts to allow you to customise unique Space Marine figures from Sergeants to Captains. The Character Upgrade Pack features 5 bolt pistols and a plasma pistol, styled along the same lines as the Special Weapons Pack, as well as three bionic arms, a bionic leg, a mechanically detailed head, a fantastic right-handed Power Fist and an ornate Power Sword. The sprues also contain a combat knife and a combi-flamer to offer even more conversion options, as you can see here.

The Space Marine Character Upgrade Set will be available as a pre-release item from the Forge World Sales Stand at Games Day UK while stocks last, priced at £10.
It’s also available to pre-order now for despatch in the week commencing October 4th.

Forge World Show Only Model
Not content with our staggering array of resin kits, modelling supplies and Imperial Armour books, each year Forge World produces a Show Only figure, which as the name suggests can only be purchased from our Sales Stand at an event we attend. The Show Only figure for 2010 is this excellent Ork Runt Bot designed by Mark Bedford. Only available until the end of the year, this unique miniature will be available at Games Day UK alongside the rest of our Ork range while stocks last, and can be yours for £20.

Perfect for use as a vignette, or for representing a Warboss with a Bionik Body or wearing Mega Armour, the Runt Bot depicts a hulking Orky robot wildly swinging its huge klaws while a tiny Grot perches on a vast armour plate, desperately wrestling with his kontrol pad.

Forge World Studio Displays
In addition to our talented model designers, the Forge World studio boasts a dedicated book production team and two Imperial Armour writers and this week we can offer an exclusive peek at what will be on offer from these skilled chaps.

Alan Bligh, writer of Imperial Armour Apocalypse II and the brand new Imperial Armour Volume 9: The Badab War Part I, will be on hand with an entire box of pens to sign your copy, and rumour has it that he will even be letting slip a few of the dark secrets contained within the forthcoming second, and final, half of our epic exploration of the Badab War.

Warwick Kinrade, the writer of Imperial Armour Volume 8: Raid On Kastorel-Novem, will be laying bare his plans for future Imperial Armour books which might involve snow, Eldar and a popular Space Marine Chapter…

Kenton Mills is one of the Graphic Artists behind many of the colour profiles included in recent Imperial Armour books, as well as the architect of the Transfer and Etched Brass sheets that we have recently released. He’ll be showcasing his work on the Badab War series, so don’t forget to ask him to sign your book!

Graphic Artist Ian Strickland is the most recent addition to the Book Production team, and he will have an array of his colour profile work from the Badab War series for you to admire. He will no doubt be easily persuaded to spill a few secrets about exactly how all the fantastic colour profiles in an Imperial Armour book are planned, created, laid out and printed. No Imperial Armour Volume 9 bought at Games Day will be complete without the signature of Forge World’s professional Yorkshireman.

To complete the set, make sure you seek out Book Production Manager Paul Rudge, who oversees every book project that Forge World embarks on. Rudgie also produces colour profiles and photo art for Imperial Armour books, and his iron fist controls all the technical aspects of making a document into a book.

You should also look out for Graphic Artist Sam Lamont, who is responsible for the fantastic Badab Sector Map on one side of the A1 poster supplied with The Badab War Part I, as well as many of the fantastic photo art and other star maps featured across the two parts of the Badab War series. Exactly what these two will be showcasing at Games Day UK is still shrouded in secrecy, so keep an eye on next week’s Newsletter for more details.

We have prepared a special Games Day UK page on the Forge World website that you can find here which contains more details about everything you can expect to see at the NEC on September 26th."

News: GW Newsletter - Cave Drake Unleashed

Hello all, Slick here. The latest GW newsletter is out and some new releases for the armies of Middle Earth are on their way. Check out the Cave Drake below!

The Games Workshop Newsletter 15.09.2010

In this issue: Cave Drake unleashed

New on Advance Order In The Lord of the Rings Gandalf said, 'Far, far below the deepest delving of the Dwarves, the world is gnawed by nameless things.' Well, now we can put a name and a bestial-face to those things - Cave Drake (see below for the face). This massive beastie and four other new sets for The Lord of the Rings are now available to advance order. The forces of Good are reinforced by two all-new Dwarf Heroes - The King's Champion and Flói Stonehand. While the Gundabad Blackshields Command and Gundabad Blackshields sets arrive to bolster the denizens of the Misty Mountains.

Advance order a mighty Cave Drake here. The Cave Drake is a formidable monster and the ultimate hero killer. Should this serpentine terror defeat an enemy hero then it will swallow them whole, killing them instantly.

The Dwarf Holds As a warrior, the Kings Champion is second to none. Use him to slay Mûmaks and fight Heroic Duels. Flói Stonehand on the other hand has more subtle uses, able to nullify an enemy formation's special rule just when they need it most.

The Misty Mountains Gundabad Blackshields are elite Goblins. They are as strong as Uruk-hai, and thanks to suits of heavy armour and the thick shields that give them their name, as resilient as Trolls. These burly Goblins are ideal for holding your battleline together.

Apocalypse: Assault on Darius IX Mission #3

Game Preserve Apocalypse Campaign 2010

The Assault on Darius IX

Mission 3 – Chaos Rising

The forces of Chaos continue to press their attack on the beleaguered world of Darius IX. Imperial counterattacks have largely proven unsuccessful. Reconnaissance reports reveal disturbing rituals taking place in various locations in the Chaos held territories. Surely some greater evil is in motion. Imperial forces launch another desperate attack to contain the Chaos forces and to discover the nature of these rituals and to put an end to them if at all possible. Imperial commanders have received word that several reinforcements are en route to Darius IX. But will they arrive before the defenders expire? To make matters worse, an ancient evil stirs beneath the surface in a remote region of the planet...

Objective: The forces of Chaos must attempt to erect a number of shrines to the dark gods which will help to focus their combined dark energies on the planet for the ultimate goal of opening a major warp rift! If successful, this will most certainly push the Imperial defenders beyond their limit and seal the fate of the planet.

Imperial forces must do everything in their power to prevent this from happening. The Chaos followers will be vulnerable as they consecrate the ground for their dark gods and setup their shrines. Imperial forces must work quickly to destroy any shrines as they are being built.

There will also be a small number of strategic objectives (2) which both sides covet. Each side will have one of these placed in their deployment zone.

Each remaining Chaos shrine at the end of the game will count as an objective for the Chaos side. Each destroyed shrine will count as an objective for the Imperial side. Any shrines which are not successfully placed will count as an objective for the Imperial side.

Strategic objectives will count for either side as normal.

The team with the most objectives at the end of the game wins the battle.

Special Rules:

The Imperial navy has managed to gain some ground in the space around Darius IX. Imperial forces have access to Orbital Bombardment again. In addition, Imperial forces receive the following assets for free: Careful Planning and Recon.

Chaos players will receive a number of Chaos shrines which will be evenly divided among the four gods (1 for Khorne, 1 for Nurgle etc). These shrines will take the forms of the god's symbol for the sake of simplicity. Each shrine will have a special ability that may affect friendly and/or enemy models as well. These abilities will be revealed before the game.

Chaos players will secretly nominate a unit which will be responsible for placing the shrine. Each shrine must be carried by a unit aligned with that particular god. Khorne Berserks could carry the Khorne shrine but not the Slaanesh shrine for example.

The shrines must be placed anywhere in the following locations: 1 in the Chaos deployment zone, 2 in No-Man's Land, 1 in the Imperial deployment zone. The shrines cannot be within 24" of one another.

Once the nominated units reach a suitable point the Chaos player may then place the shrine marker on the table. There must be room to place it. Treat the placement as Deep Striking for this purpose (no deviation though). It cannot be placed within 6" of an enemy unit. The unit placing the shrine must remain there for the rest of the turn. It may shoot but cannot assault another unit. It will fight back as normal if assaulted. After that the unit is free to act as normal.

The shrines can be attacked and have the following profile: Armor 14, 4+ Invulnerable save. Ignore glancing hits.

The following characters will be MIA for this battle due to serious wounds: Commissar Yarrick, Fateweaver, and Khan, and Kharn.

Determining the Victor – At the end of the game, determine who controls each strategic objective as follows:

· A A unit controls an objective if it is in base contact with that objective and no enemy units are in base contact with that objective. The team with the most objectives under their control is the winner. Each objective taken, or not taken, will impact the forces and special rules available to players/teams in subsequent battles. If a unit is in base contact with more than one objective, the owning player must choose which objective it is attempting to control.

Scoring Units: Unlike in normal games of Warhammer 40,000, all non-vehicle units count as scoring units.

Wipeout!: Regardless of all other victory conditions, if at the end of the game the enemy has no units left on the table, you win the game!

Assets: Players will each have access to one strategic asset. Armies not painted to the 3-color minimum must use the Ash Wastes asset. Players can gain additional Assets by using various legendary units and formations. Teams may not have more than one copy of the same asset.

Sequence of Play

Pre-game – Setup the Battlefield & Place Objectives

1 Pick Army

2 Select Teams & Nominate Supreme Commanders

3 Set Time Limit

4 Pick Strategic Assets

· If one side has fewer points, then they receive one extra asset for every full 250 points difference.

5. Deployment

· Each side will bid on the their deployment time as normal with the team bidding the lowest time also deploying first and taking the first turn. Superheavies must start the game on the table.

· Units not set up are in Strategic Reserve

6 Fight the Battle

7 Victory! – Players add up the number of objectives. The team with the most objectives wins.

News: Mantic Newsletter: Kings of War Beta!

Hello all, Slick here. Exciting news from Mantic this time around as their Kings of War beta rules are now available to the public! You can help improve the rules by playing games and giving them your feedback. Imagine that, a company actually involving it's customers in the development of the rules...(looks at the 800 pound gorilla aka GW). Also, the rules were penned by none other than Alessio Cavatore himself!

The Kings of War rules now available for playtesting! Welcome to the play test (closed Beta) edition of the Mantic Newsletter! We've been talking about it all week on the blog, and we're pretty sure you have been waiting about as patiently as a restless child on Christmas Eve. So, as promised, today you newsletter sign-upees can download our free Beta rules! You too could be as happy as this man with a copy of the Kings of War Beta. To get your copy just click on the Kings of War Logo below and download the PDF! Everyone at Mantic is passionate about providing a gaming experience of big armies and even bigger battles - we have worked hard to offer great looking miniatures at affordable prices, and now we want to strive to create the best fantasy rules set we can... and this means it's now over to you! So far, we have collaborated with the best rules writer in the world - Alessio Cavatore and he has created a wonderful set of rules. But now we want your feedback - we want to know what you like, what you don't like and what you maybe think we can add. We have teamed up with our great friends at Beasts of War, who have a whole section dedicated to the rules, chat and much more here http://www.beastsofwar.com/kings-of-war/ They have set up a dedicated area for you to talk about all things Beta and we will be reading all of the feedback offered. Please submit your comments and suggestions here - http://www.beastsofwar.com/groups/kings-of-war-beta-test/forum/ Get on over to their site and find out more about what they have planned... So, this is your chance to impact upon the basic rules before they are released in October in sets such as the seminal Mhorgoth's Revenge Fantasy Battleset - a huge box of miniatures containing two complete opposing armies of Dwarfs and Undead as well as free rules written by Alessio and playtested by you. ...And I did say basic rules - this rules set is just the beginning of what we have planned. In the coming months we have loads of armies lists, expansions and heaps of support to make the Kings of War a very open, enjoyable game. We hope it will offer something to beginners, for those who look to play truly huge games, and special rules for gamers who like competitive play. So don't miss out - download the rules, have some fun playing the game and let us know what you think! The Zombie Apocalypse is near! Amongst all the game excitement we have to make sure we don't miss out on the most fantastic miniatures of the year! The Zombies are nearly here and next week on the blog is all about the living dead! With the new plastic miniatures shipping from the 24th of September 2010, which is only just over 2 weeks away, we're having our second Zombie week on the blog where you will be able to see the sprues and plastic models for the first time. Sneak Preview - Watch the Blog all next week for more! We're pretty mad on our Zombies, so not only can get your hands on these fantastic figures in the Zombie Regiment and Zombie Horde boxes - offering a staggering 30 figures or 60 figures respectively - but the Zombies are also included in the Mhorgoth's Revenge Fantasy Battleset, the Undead Army Set and, for what can only be described as amazing value for money, you can pick up the Zombies in our brand new Undead Army Deal: Malak's Endless Hordes, containing over an incredible 190 figures! All of these sets and many more are available for pre-order now, so what are you waiting for - get over to the Mantic website now!

Shipping in September Mark the 24th September in your diary, the latest sets from Mantic will be shipping. With pre-orders streaming in, the Dwarf Berserkers and Dwarf War Kings Council will add two new metal sets to the Dwarf army, expanding the range to include the berserk elite warriors and some of our most beautiful hero sculpts ever. Rumour has it that a large supply of these metals have now been received, so pre-orders may even be shipping out early! These aren't the only pre-orders for September however - Issue 2 of the Journal will begin shipping. Those of you who've ordered the subscription from Issue 2 will get their free Dwarf Miner with Drill figure! Finally, the Undead are getting reinforced by the aforementioned plastic Zombie Kit and the Undead Army Set. A pretty chocker month I think you'll agree! Open Day As we mentioned last week, we are hosting our Open Day on the 9th of October 2010 to showcase everything we have achieved here at Mantic. We will be opening our doors at 10am, and then we will be open throughout the day with last entry at 4pm, though our doors won't close until 5pm. We have an increasing list of celebrity guests - this week the legendary Mike McVey agreed to be there! Watch this space for more! We will have all of our painted miniatures on display, and there will be a store set-up where you will be able to purchase any of our product range - including picking your own metal or plastic sprues. Alessio Cavatore, who will be on hand to talk to and answer any of your questions, and we will be running demos of our brand new game! So you will get to feel the full Kings of War experience using two of our beautifully painted armies. We have a range of ticket deals on offer as you can see here - so what are you waiting for, pick up your ticket now! Web Order 1500! We have reached the next milestone – our 1500th order. A big thank you to everyone who has supported us! To commemorate reaching this target we offered a special deal. Whoever made the 1500th order would receive credit to the value of their order, so one lucky person would get double the number of figures they were expecting! The 1500th order was placed by Mr Melvin Brookman, with his order of a Zombie Horde. Well done Melvin! More Mantic goodness is on its way.