Thursday 16 March 2017

Shadow Wars: Armageddon


Greetings sinners!
Could this be the 40k skirmish that I've wanted since 2nd edition?
It's no secret that I've thought that 40k was going in the wrong direction since 3rd edition. That's not to say that I haven't enjoyed 40k through all of the editions (okay, maybe 6th edition was a bit iffy), because I have.
No, the reason I think 40k has been going in the wrong direction is because it has long since stopped being a skirmish game and has started to resemble Epic.
Too many models, Flyers, Super Heavies & now Primarchs, have left me thinking "This isn't the game I signed up for all those many years ago."
Hopefully, that may all be about to change!




I've tried not to get excited about this latest offering, really I have. But damn it, I'm as giddy as a school girl at a One Direction concert!
Just in case you haven't seen it yet, what little we know about it can be found here.

So what is it that has me so excited then?
This little snippet of information:

Those veteran gamers out there will be keen to learn that much of the ruleset is based off of the classic Necromunda game, including some in-between game advancements and earning experience that can see your small recon-force grow to become an elite unit of honed killers.

No, it isn't Necromunda, but it might be even better!

It's many many years since I've played Necromunda and, as much as I enjoyed it at the time, I always wanted to be able to add the odd Chaos Space Marine or use an Inquisitorial warband in those games to help tell my own story in the Grimdark future....It's pretty much what this blog is all about (thanks to Joe B for making me realise this). Hopefully, it now looks like I might finally get my wish.

There's very little information on exactly what it will be, but it looks like it will be based off of the Necromunda rules. Hopefully there will be a campaign and it does mention that some form of character progression will be involved. Whether it's as good as Necromunda, only time will tell, but I've hunted around to see what I can find and the photos below show character sheets with space for upgrades on them.
Notice the movement stat on this Data-Sheet, I wonder if 8th edition will go down this route?

So that's pretty much all I've been able to find out about it so far.
I'm really stoked about this game, unfortunately, the interwebz has started off incredibly negative about this game (this isn't replacing Necromunda people, it will be out next year, so chill out, all of you negative nancies!), but there are signs that people are warming to the idea.
I'm reminded of the infamous 40k adage "Hope is the first step on the road to disappointment", but sod it, I'm going all in on this and if the worst comes to the worst, at least I'll have this to play around with....

Until next time.....may 'Our Lady' grant you her number!

15 comments:

  1. Yeah completely agree with you how 40k as gone flyers super heavies do away with them all i say. My first ever experience playing 40k was way back in 2nd edition 40k many happy memories my khorne army playing against the castigators. Just hope shadow wars brings back that gaming experience again; -)

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    1. Hopefully, it will happen again mate ;-)

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    2. That's why i really enjoyed reading the battle reports between you and Rob using the zone mortalis rules and board. I found it limited what you could take and limited size force.

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    3. Yeah, we both found them to be much more exciting than regular 40k. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy 40k, it's just that skirmish level games feel more evocative and intimate.

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  2. I'm with you. I also feel 40K has just gotten too big, and I would LOVE for a proper skirmish game to arise in the 40K setting. I'll remain cautiously optimistic for now.

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    1. That's the best way to be with it, cautiously optimistic......unfortunately for me, my Slaaneshi tendencies have won out and I'm letting my hopes and desires run rampant ;-)

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  3. I've got mixed memories of 2nd Edition. On one hand, everything was new for me and Orks were really exciting way back then (but not as much as Chaos, hence my speedy conversion to the worship of True Gods :-D ), but going beyond 25 miniatures per army certainly bogged things down - I recall some games that took the better part of six hours on a Sunday morning! Oh, and Assault Cannons and Cyclone launchers, to name just the worst culprits.

    I've been having a lot of fun with small points games around the 1000 point mark, with quite a lot of variety and not much rules complexity if you are on good terms with your opponent, so a skirmish game is not really one of my aspirational projects right now. In any case, it's good to see GW lending an ear to the really diverse interpretations of how the Grimdark should be.

    All the best.

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    1. Yeah, 2nd edition had its fair share of issues. But what really excites me about this is that it will (hopefully) be a proper skirmish game rather than a small game of 40k, which doesn't work very well unless both parties work it all out beforehand.

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  4. If, as stated, the rules follow the original Necromunda then it should play how you want it to Gaz. It sounds comparable to Kill Team in that each model is a unit in its own right but need to interact with other friendly models to work best, eg be within 2" of a friend in order to recover from being pinned.

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    1. Yeah, I have high hopes for this Iain. I'm more excited about this than I am about 8th edition ;-).
      Hopefully it will prove to be popular and events organisers consider it :-)

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  5. I am really looking forward to this one all. I sadly have not gotten in many games recently, two in 15 years, but I see a lot of stuff that goes over board.

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    1. My mate Rob came round last night for a couple of beers and a natter and we are both really stoked to get our hands on this.
      We've decided that we're both going to be building up our terrain collection so we can use it for Shadow Wars and our Path to Glory campaign that we intend to start on next week.
      I'm more excited about this than I am about 8th edition and we're both looking forward to introducing more of our model collection such as Inquisitor Dragosani of Ordos Hereticus with his Sisters of Battle entourage and Rob's Genestealer Cult!
      Between us, we can field just about anything that we want, so hopefully the blog will become even more chaotic rather than just Chaos ;-)

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    2. Looking forward to seeing more stuff. Although you know me, I love my Chaos.

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    3. Chaos is always my first love, but being Slaaneshi​, I'm a bit of a slut, so I like my Sisters.... and Space Wolves.... and I have been trying really hard not to buy into the Mechanicus, although now that it looks like I will only need a squad to play, I can feel a dark Mechanicus squad turning up!

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  6. Thanks Jake, I'll have a looksee :D

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