Review - White Dwarf July 2017
Hi Everyone, it's been quite the ride ever since 8th edition dropped, and we've been super excited about all the models and players crawling out of the woodwork and being used/seen again here at The Crossroads. White Dwarf has been much better ever since they switched back to the monthly format and since it's the first one after 8th edition dropped in the middle of June, I thought it'd be cool to do a review on it!
This being the first White Dwarf since the release of 8th edition, we are bound to see talk of all the new releases this month. Namely, the easy-to-build sets and the Primaris characters in the form of the Captain and the Librarian.
1) The first section of this month's White Dwarf details the contents of these releases and it looks like there's going to be a low-priced entry-level (US$40, SG$60) starter set called "First Strike" and a mid-priced version (US$80, SG$120) called "Know No Fear". From the looks of it, the easy-to-build miniatures offered in both boxes differ and all the models in First Strike are entirely new sculpts (no repetition from the Dark Imperium boxed set) which might make it a worthwhile buy for those looking for some variation or looking to get their hands on the first iterations of the awesome looking Reivers.
Combined with Dark Imperium, these look like great entry-level offerings at various price points. They seem like perfect gifts for a favourite niece or nephew (the choice of which depending on how favoured said nephew/niece is....). One of the things that makes tabletop miniature games more difficult to get into, are their relatively high costs of entry compared to a computer or a board game. With the low-cost starter sets, it will be easier than ever to introduce your friends and family to the hobby and get them away from staring at a computer screen the whole day.
Did I mention that each of these new boxed-sets come with a 2x2' playing mat and a cardboard terrain piece as well as all the tools you need to start playing out of the box? Not to be outdone by its 40k cousin, Age of Sigmar (AoS) also has a new set (well, not exactly new but its latest starter set) and a few new models featured.
2) Following the new release and the letters section, is one of the highlights of this month's issue, a sit-down with 7 of the Citadels Miniatures' design team (out of a team of 30). These are some of the people that give us the fantastic miniatures we all love. The 8-page feature goes through some of their creation processes as well as their background and thought process when designing an entirely new range of miniatures (such as the Kharadron Overlords), or fitting new models into an existing, well-established, range.
3) After the continuation of "A Tale of Four Warlords" (that began 4 issues ago) and a showcase of selected Golden Demon winners/entries, we have "Illuminations". This entry of Illuminations takes the awesome artwork of the old world (Warhammer Fantasy) orcs and the newer orruks from Age of Sigmar, and showcases them in an 8-page feature. With so much fantastic artwork on display, it's not difficult to imagine someone being inspired enough to make a diorama based on one of them or something for a future Armies on Parade contest.
4) Next up is my favourite (and new) segment called Tactica Imperialis that focuses on rules and tactics in 8th edition! It goes through some of the reasoning behind the rules changes and their simplification (no more Universal Special Rules), and some army building basics before rounding off with basic tips and tactics from the game designers themselves. Of course, this being the first article in the segment, I don't fault it for touching on the basics to start off but am hoping that there will be a lot more in-depth tactica in the months to come. Would be great if they could even feature some of the more well-known content producers of tactics and analysis to give their 2 cents down the road!
5) No white Dwarf would be complete without a Battle Report and this month features T'au vs Orks (FILTHY XENOS) in a narrative mission to secure ork freebooter Kaptin Badrukk's loot that was stashed long ago on the human world of Pathon which has since fallen under the control of the T'au empire.
6) Even with the release of Warhammer 40k 8th edition, there's always something in store for Age of Sigmar players; and the Gaming section features a guide for the recently released AoS: Skirmish. The small-battle focus of AoS Skirmish gives lots of opportunities for storytelling and can also be the starting point for growing your own AoS army by collecting manageable sections at a time. Following that is the frikkin' awesome army showcase of James Karch's Stormhost Eternals called the Astral Templars. It truly is a magnificent and great looking army and whatever I write here won't be able to do it as much justice as the full 4-page flip spread that it got in the White Dwarf.
7) The last quarter of this month's White Dwarf is filled with ideas and inspiration. There are paint schemes and examples of how some hobbyists have painted up their Start Collecting! box sets, the usual hobbying column Paint Splatter that goes through super-easy painting guides for some of the new First Strike models, and a detailed walk through of how to paint the new Primaris Librarian.
If you're into doing up your own hobby table to play in the comfort of your home and as an awesome showcase, there are a number of hobby tables featured in their Modelling and Painting section to inspire you.
All in all, I'd give this issue of White Dwarf an 8/10. As usual, it has a lot of inspirational material for the regular hobbyist and does a decent job of telling the reader what's in the works and coming up in the month ahead. What puts it above the average White Dwarf that we've come to expect (I'd give an average WD a 6/10), is the inclusion of Tactica Imperialis and I hope to see a more in-depth look at tactics and strategies or unit combinations in future issues.
Verdict: 8/10