Warp Rift Cover

Issue 43 | March 2024

Foreword
OH MY BLESSED WARP DRIVE! THE RULES HUB:
https://www.specialist-arms.com/forum/index.php?topic=5203.0
Double celebrations! Firstly, as this issue is the 20th year anniversary edition of Warp Here you will find all and everything rules related from official and unofficial fan
Rift and secondly, but by far not less, it is the 25th anniversary of the game we all love: sources. But also, a digital starter kit, tokens, PDF sheets, markers and all the old
Battlefleet Gothic this year! magazines.

This special moment warrants an extraordinary issue of Warp Rift. The issue was BATTEFLEET GOTHIC DISCORD
already bound to be filled with articles from several active player around the globe, but https://discord.gg/W8ZMHKb2bz
I also contacted some of the venerated players who might seem less active with Join this great discord to talk about Battlefleet Gothic!
Battlefleet Gothic these days but keep it in a special place close to their heart. Check out
the Warp Rift MMIV – MMXXIV article of this issue. WARP RIFT DISCORD
https://discord.gg/kSKy3Rrtda
Furthermore, to make this issue even more special I edged up the level of articles… A small dedicated discord for this very Warp Rift ezine!
resulting in a grand total of more than hundred pages!! Like yeah! Battlefleet Gothic is
alive!
If you want to submit articles or just ask something the best way is to join the
Discord or sent me a mail at: horizonmcr@vivaldi.net
Many thanks to everyone contributing and supporting: DoublebaseFanatic,
Italianmoose, Turbidious Tom, HuvalC, Battlefleet Galaxy, FunkFu Master, BleachHawk,
Battlefleet Gothic also has a presence on Reddit, Instagram, Dakkadakka,
AC2110, Nachocuban, BFG_Noob, Ray Bell, Bob Henderson, Cybershadow and Andy
Yaktribes, Mastodon and Facebook (the last one is without me). So, check those out
Chambers.
as well.
Also, some big thanks to an old friend of mine Erwin Leufkens for the excellent cover;
Cover page is the Cybershadow (!) light cruiser, photoshop by Erwin
James Woodford for his beautiful gallery pages at the end and Christian Schwager for
that impressive artwork of his (Warp Rift MMIV-MMXXIV). Page 4 & 5 are by Christian Schwager https://www.instagram.com/theartofschwager/
Page 12 is by James Threlfall https://www.instagram.com/gothicgarnish/
https://www.instagram.com/anung_un_rama_79
https://www.instagram.com/theartofschwager/

Have fun and Battlefleet Gothic!

Horizon
Index
What we have for you in this issue of Warp Rift? Have a good article? A scenario you want to share? A story to tell? Tactics?
Nice ships? Remarks? Anything?
❖ Warp Rift MMIV-MMXXIV (Page 4) read ‘em.
Contact me and we’ll get it into a next issue of Warp Rift.
❖ Ships of Legend! (Page 11) The Titan Carrier! Take that Nemesis. ;)
You can find me at the Warp Rift Discord, BFG Discord, Reddit
❖ A fleet overview (Page 15) Tom and I had a go. (horizon_fleet), Instagram (horizonmcr), specialist-arms.com/forum,
yaktribe (horizon) and dakkadakka (horizon).
❖ Facebook painting competition 2023: (Page 30) All so good! Or mail me at horizonmcr@vivaldi.net

❖ The Tobari! (Page 38) a refresh of the article in Warp Rift 11! BFG Discord: https://discord.gg/TScZjbwefG
Warp Rift Discord https://discord.gg/VbMSzs6W
❖ Scholar Tacticus (Page 42) FunkFuMaster brings us tactics for the Chaos Light
cruisers! Yes, heresy it is.
You can download previous issues of Warp Rift here:
https://specialist-arms.com/bfg/warprift/
❖ Campaigning through the stars: Tyranids (Page 46) Fr05ty continues his
series of campaign additions!

❖ The Tyrant challenge: (Page 52) HuvalC goes all in.

From the Nexus Publishing House:
❖ Event Horizon (Page 55 ) A ship of horrors in this scenario.
Warp Rift is not endorsed, nor does it endorse, Games Workshop, and it is not an official
publication of Games Workshop. Any words, phrases or images are used without
❖ Dark Mechanicum fleet: (Page 59) Turbidious Tom shows his newest fleet. permission and no challenge is intended as a result of such a usage, including the use of
these words, phrases and images without the appropriate symbols of copyright.
❖ The Warp Rift (Page 62) Ray Bell expands upon…. Warp Rifts! Additionally, these pages – including content, design and images – are copyright (except
where copyright should infringe other such rights). Licensed names, images and logos are
Double’s Hobby Insights (page 65) copyright their respective companies or authors. No part of these pages may be
❖ Celestial Phenomena and more! ‘borrowed’ or reproduced, and no articles or rules should be considered ‘official in any
way.
Moose’Musings (Page 81)
❖ Strike Cruisers…
4
 Andy Chambers

'I'm delighted to be able to offer my heartiest congratulations to Warp Rift on its 20th anniversary,
an amazing achievement and a credit to the vibrant community it has built and fostered for all that
time. Working on Battlefleet Gothic remains one of my fondest memories from my time at Games
Workshop; the art, miniatures and words came together so naturally, and the reception was so great
I'm proud to have been a part of it. The original release of BFG was 25 years ago, and Games
Workshop consigned it to the cold void five years later. Ever since then Warp Rift has lit its own
Astronomicon to guide captains everywhere, and now with the advent of 3D printing there's been a
resurgence in interest for Battlefleet Gothic that no game has a right to expect after two decades out
of print. As I opened with - that's a truly amazing achievement and something for all the dedicated
contributors of Warp Rift to take pride in. Per ardua ad astra indeed.’

Lord Admiral Andy Chambers +++MMXIV

 Bob “Mod-Patriarch” Henderson
Battlefleet Gothic - A look back. Eldar - I must confess to never liking Elves in any way shape or The Tau - A tale of two fleets. The early mercantile Tau fleets
form (pointy eared twits) whether in trees or spaceships, but and models were clever and were consistent with the fluff, but
I find it hard to believe that Battlefleet Gothic is a quarter of a the models were gorgeous. The initial movement rules never the models were big, clunky and the ships were fairly poor
century old. Perhaps even more noteworthy is that the game as really captured the shoot and scoot aspects of the fluff but very performers on the table. The latter primarily Forgeworld ships
a miniatures game was essentially discontinued in 2013 as GW specifically, the work by the fans in Warp Rift (note: Warp Rift were gorgeous, nastier on the table and all in all, a much better
walked away from the Specialist Games entity and the original issue 10) have offered better solutions in the move-shoot-move fleet but as with most things Forgeworld, very pricey.
designer, Andy Chambers moved on to other venues mechanic even if they are still pointy eared twits.
(Blizzard/Activision) although he has occasionally returned to Space Marines - Gorgeous if limited models initially. I still
miniatures rules with among others, Warlord. Orcs - Always fun, very difficult to be competitive without a think the Forgeworld Space Marine Strike Cruiser was the best-
It is a testament to the community that not only have the fans Hulk, at least until the battleships appeared. These were looking model ever and an appropriately liveried Space Marine
kept the Specialist Games lines alive in terms of play, but that models that really felt orcish and the random behaviour nature, fleet with the Forgeworld Thunderhawks and Forgeworld
loyalty appears, hopefully, to have convinced GW to bring back while mostly hard to play, felt fun even while getting stomped. Marine escorts was my personal favourite for sheer looks. I
those lines although BFG seems perpetually "someday soon". Building a completed Hulk was, as a modeler, very satisfying always found the Marines a bit harder to play as their ranged
while emptying the bitz box. weapons really weren't all that tough but up close, they were
I was pretty much a pure PC gamer until I saw a copy of the the equal of pretty much everyone else.
game in the window of a local shop and was fascinated. Sure Chaos - Certainly along with the Imperials, Chaos were the
enough, the miniatures were awesome and the rules with a few other core fleet. Great models, lots of lances, good speed and Grand Cruisers - Not really a great point investment but they
odd clunks (cough Eldar) were smooth and very flavourful with two of the real unusual models in the game in the form of the filled a niche kind of like the Battlecruiser in WW1 navies and
the "fluff" really fitting well within the 40K universe that I was Planet Killer and the Blackstone Fortress. The Planet Killer as a later addition to the fleets, added some nice options.
familiar with from my kids 40K armies. model looked great, sucked to assemble and absent some luck,
really wasn't the table monster it initially appeared to be. The Necrons - Ugh. I do not recall a longer set of testing,
Looking back, I remember some highlights/lowlights/semi- Planet Killer was a beast but a beast that was very expensive arguments, and general dissatisfaction with a fleet They were
lights that still resonate. and could be crippled. The Blackstone Fortress made a great good and nasty but fixing balance problems by jacking up
scenario centrepiece and certainly belonged in every Chaos points and Victory Conditions never really felt right. Killing a
collection. Personally, I always though the Chaos cruisers were Scythe or a Tombship really felt like an accomplishment but
Nova Cannons - The original guess the range was unfortunate
simply some of the best ships in the game for cost and usually the other fleet was shredded in the process. The models
for the 80% of players without that range estimation skillset so
effectiveness and there was rarely an issue with them amongst were a real challenge to paint well but worth the effort when
after a certain wailing a gnashing off teeth from the 20% that
the players. finished although the rules never really ended up with them on
were deadly, enter the scatter die. That should have been the
end but when we started having some tournaments, some the table that often.
Imperial players showed up using all Nova Cannon fleets which
up until Necrons probably felt the most "broken" but the rules
were robust, and all Nova fleets were often clobbered by
terrain and fast closing fleets such as Chaos.
 Bob “Mod-Patriarch” Henderson
Dark Eldar - Socially unpleasant elves with a bad attitude and In summary, I haven't thought to really reflect on BFG in years Note: Bob Henderson has been a long-standing member of the
a cool colour scheme couldn't really make up for rules that if and was fairly surprised to realize it has been a quarter of a High Admiralty, the Battlefleet Gothic rules committee. He was
Eldar were hard to truly capture a feel, Dark Eldar never really century since that first Devastation was assembled and painted part of the team in creating the Armada supplement and several
felt right. In part this was because a stand-up fight wasn't ever and my first string of ripe Anglo-Saxon expletives were uttered articles of him can be found in the old magazines.
their thing but rather hit, run and hide with the spoils. as I rolled a twelve and lost my freshly painted Retribution.
He still answers community rules questions for which I am very
Demiurg - Yup, they were space squats in my opinion. BFG got me back into miniatures and since 1999, I've seen a glad. ☺
Interesting additions to another full fleet but my experience number of rules come
with the models involved very warped resin. and go but it is quite
rare to see a set
Adeptus Mechanicus - Just sad that the support dried up just developed by the fans
as these great models were coming out. into a lasting set that,
fingers crossed, will
The Tyranids - Probably the best model refresh any BFG race come back fully.
received including the Tau. I was OK with the mutant potato
hiveships and their tadpole escorts, but the refresh was - Bob
brilliant. While the spores as shields is a bit of a complex
mechanic, the flavour of the fleet is excellent and just my
opinion, the new rules really worked. I found them a bit hard to
play effectively but potentially very nasty.

Blast markers and all that - In any set of rules there are
always fiddly bits. How blast markers affect varying special
circumstances are always going to be an issue but common
sense versus a narrow reading should solve most special
issues.
 Iain “Cybershadow” Werry
Like many people, Games Workshop was my introduction to One of the challenges that I faced initially was a name for the What of the future of BFG? There are rumours of a new edition
tabletop wargaming, and the release of the original Rogue publication. Warp Rift was perhaps my second choice overall, in the GW future timeline and coming off the fifth edition of
Trader 40K was the start of what would be a lifelong hobby. but my favourite - Void Stalker - was linked too closely to the Epic with Legions Imperialis, that might be a double-edged
But, through this time, there have always been two games that Eldar fleet and I didn't want anything that might imply a bias in sword! If GW do decide to put out a second official edition of
have captured my primary interest and attention - Space the title. I think that also 'Planet Killer' was considered, but that BFG, it's highly unlikely that it will have much in common with
Marine/Epic, and Battlefleet Gothic.... Well, three really, but was a little away from a clear space theme, and a bit too the game that we know and love. Perhaps a new scale of minis,
whenever I start talking about Advanced Space Crusade my apocalyptical. (note: and already a GW publication ;) ) perhaps a new scale of engagement and detail, almost certainly
poor victim starts glancing around frantically for an exit! Even totally new rules. (Although I really hope that GW does not
now, twenty years later, I am busy starting a brand-new fleet decide to base any new edition on Space Fleet!)
for a local escalation system in BFG.
What I do know is that whatever the future, BFG will long be
The fact that this fanzine is still going after twenty years is, remembered as a key, influential game, both within GW and in
quite frankly, incredible to me. What started as fun project and the wider gaming environment and what it inspired, and what
way to keep interest and enthusiasm for the game has become keeps it alive and great is the player community.
something much more. I moved country from the UK ten years
ago to the other side of the world, and even here there were So, thank you, to Andy Chamber and the GW design team, the
players who had downloaded issues and knew of the fanzine. original High Admiralty that pushed the game forwards, the
Warp Rift was initially the result of two factors. Firstly, the My time at the helm of Warp Rift was.... stormy, and only
founding group of the Specialist Games forums who
Space Marine players had their own fan publication at the time actually lasted ten issues. Although I made those ten issues last
contributed so much, to Roy and the Warp Rift team and to
(Incoming) and that provided both a huge sign that this was three years! Sticking to a schedule was a challenge, especially
everyone who submitted an article or picture to Warp Rift, who
something that could actually be done and a rough template of in the first few issues as people are less likely to put the
championed the game and introduced it to their friends, and
what was achievable. Secondly, at the end of the previous year, commitment in to an online, free magazine that has no
played and enjoyed it. BFG is a game that I will forever keep on
Fanatic had decided to terminate the individual magazines established history or reputation. I can honestly say that
hand, no matter what the future holds.
supporting each game, and instead combine them into a single passing the torch over to Roy was one of the best decisions that
publication covering all games. I made regarding Warp Rift. Under his icy gaze (and he clearly
had more command rerolls than I did!), Warp Rift has grown All Ahead Full!
This was a sensible move at the time, but still felt that we - the
and gone further that it ever would have under me. Not only
BFG community - were losing something. And so, after about
has Roy picked up the duties here and run with them, he has Iain / CyberShadow
six months of 'preparation' (aka, trying to find other victims
also stepped forward as a key member of the BFG community. I
who were both enthusiastic about BFG and that I could trick
genuinely believe that the game would not be as healthy as it is
into agreeing to a schedule), issue one of Warp Rift was
now, without him.
launched.
 Aron “Vaaish” Dickey
Thinking Back on BFG

It’s hard to believe how much time has passed since I started
playing BFG. I can recall getting interested in the 40k universe
soon after college while playing Dawn of War with friends. That
kicked off what is now a twenty-plus year love of the hobby
when I made an order for the Maccragge starter set. Eventually
I got curious about Epic and BFG and purchased some of the
models. I remember thinking how much cheaper it was to get a
good force for those games compared to the 40k armies and
how much faster I could paint things up. Once I got started, the
rest, as they say, was history.

Back when I started forums were the primary ways we talked

about the hobby and shared ideas. Port Maw or Warseer or
Tactical Command were the go-to hubs where we worked out
what the best lists might be for competitive play, learned about
how others played different fleets, and talked about what we
wanted to change about the game to make it more fun. In those
days most models could be sourced directly from Games
Workshop which made it easier for a time to get a fleet. I still
wish I’d had more foresight to pick up some of the Xenos fleets
before GW cut us off!

A lot has changed over the years since then. Forums have given
way to Discord channels, GW has stopped producing BFG, and It’s been amazing to see players, both new and old, in that time While none of us knows what the future holds, I hope to see
the 2010 FAQ was produced to polish the core rules. Through keeping the game alive. When GW stopped production, players BFG thriving when we look back in another ten years. I know
that time, Warp Rift has been the Astronomicon beacon for BFG picked up the slack and with the rise of 3D printing and for me; my kids will finally be old enough to pull out the fleets
players and I was privileged to have been the editor for a time Vanguard Miniatures and BF Galaxy, fleets could truly look the and battle it out over snacks. That’s a day I’m looking forward
until life got too busy, and I had to stop. Over the years I’ve still part of different forgeworlds and hand-crafted cathedrals to to and, in the meantime, I’ll continue to lurk in the shadows
been a part of the BFG world, just more silent than before. the machine. Beyond the influx of new models, it’s been until I’m summoned once more.
exhilarating to see them painted up and on the table with each
AAR that shows up on Discord.
 Roy “horizon” Amkreutz
Warp Rift 20th anniversary It was in 2010, after issue 29 and real life asked other stuff In February 2022 Warp Rift stirred the Battlefleet Gothic
from me at that point it was an easy question to ask Vaaish if he universe and I am so pleased it is still running in 2024. Still
That is quite something! Somewhere last year it dawned to me would take the helm of Warp Rift. To be the third chief of the running to bring this anniversary edition!
that it had been quite a while since Warp Rift saw the light of fan magazine. In the last two years a couple of people became regular
day. To be precise it was March 2004 that the first issue of contributors like the teams from the past but it is just as much
Warp Rift was released! And truth to be told issues 30-33 are the by far most fun to receive articles from other people in the community and
professional looking issues of Warp Rift till this very date. I hope that this will continue in the future as well!
Warp Rift: the brainchild of Cybershadow; an online magazine That Vaaish only did four issues was a combination of factors:
to fill the gap when the Games Workshop published BFG the forums started their slow decline in usage and that Games Looking back, it has been a blast. Speaking for myself but I’m
magazine came to an end. I think he himself wouldn’t have Workshop dropped support on Specialist Games. It was kind of sure Vaaish and Cybershadow feel the same, it has always been
expected to see Warp Rift still being an active magazine twenty felt in the community. We did create a Warp Rift internet page great to put the various articles into a nice PDF. It just makes
years later. For a game that lost its official support about eleven where we could still add articles but somehow that never all that fun fan work more solid and settled.
years ago. landed in such a way as the magazine did. In Warp Rift 10 Cybershadow published the first article I
Cybershadow, together with community veterans Chris French, And as such the Warp Rift run came to an end in January 2012. helped working on (yes the first incarnation of Eldar MMS) and
Ray Bell, John Webber and Todd Kess, delivered us a great run with the Warp Rift 11 the first one with me as chief I
of ten issues. Though the story never truly ends. introduced the Tobari. And to celebrate that fact this
anniversary edition has an updated Tobari article! Including a
During 2005 or 2006 Cybershadow asked me to take over It was in the latter months of 2021 I realised that people were splash new design for them as well.
organising the yearly GothiComp painting competition and for still doing great stuff. That the community was being back
him the next logical step followed soon: “Hey horizon, I think creative again. The resurgence of Battlefleet Gothic (which I hope that we as a community can go on creating this
you should take over the torch and be the new chief of Warp would be a whole article on its own) was happening. And I also magazine for the time to come. Who knows what the future will
Rift!” noticed that ideas fastly got buried in the faster social media bring. Will GW release a new version of Battlefleet Gothic or
tools we have today. And what’s better to capture those ideas Spacefleet? But I don’t think it’ll stop the current Battlefleet
…. And I did; starting with issue eleven, from March 2007, I was in time in a PDF. To have a reference and not have things lost. Gothic community. Yes, it might bring changes but also
at the helm! During the years I was responsible for Warp Rift The idea of bringing Warp Rift back from its hiatus was born. opportunities. Let us look forward to that.
you can see an ezine that constantly evolved in layout. As I was
not professional (and still aren’t) with layout and editing I And the following quote also stuck in my mind, I received this And as a last bit I like to thank Iain, Bob, Ray, Iain, Aron and
learned each issue something new. It started in Word and at from a Warp Rift reader nine years after issue 33: Andy for writing something for this anniversary edition. And of
one point I was able to use InDesign and level up the quality. “I loved all of them and especially because sometimes it can course, everyone contributing to this issue and the community.
Mainly thanks to Vaaish who gave valuable tips in that regard. feel like you’re on an island with the hobby - warp rift was a
reminder that there are other people out there who are just as Enjoy!
enthusiastic about your hobby as you are! Awesome work all Roy
three of you!” horizon
After the joint Imperial Navy and Black Templar forces from
the Tenebris sector suffered severe losses versus the Tau fleets
and their drone missiles the high command called for dedicated
support to reclaim the lost systems.

It was an Adeptus Mechanicus Magos who knew a possible

solution to the massed ordnance wave attacks: decades ago, the
Gareox Prerogative was initiated to build great carrier vessels
as the power of attack craft was believed to be superior.
However, the big gun lobby hampered the project and as the
Despoiler class subsequently succumbed to the forces of Chaos
the project was mothballed.

Seeing a new opportunity to push forward the ideas behind the

Gareox Prerogative the Magos brought forth a couple of the
humongous Gareox Supremacy Class Carriers! Ships to outclass
the previous Despoiler class in terms of attack craft command
and control.

Equipped with an immense arsenal of launch bays and massive

flight decks the rising power of the Tau Merchants would be
stopped! The fleets of the Black Templars and Imperial Navy
returned to the Tenebris system!
Initial success occurred but they also discovered the Gareox
Supremacy Class Carriers suffered some weird quirks now and
then. A result of hastily being brought into server without a
proper testing of all systems….

12
Background and rules by horizon; miniature by Battlefleet Galaxy; painted by DoublebaseFanatic and horizon
Type/Hits Speed Turns Shields Armour Turrets Notes:
The Gareox Supremacy Carrier was hastily brought into the Tenebris sector and not all systems are
Battleship/16 15cm 45º 3 5+ 5 thoroughly tested. Furthermore, the energy consumption of this ship is atrocious. At the start of each
turn, before special orders, roll on the following table to see which system is malfunctioning:
Armament Range/Speed Firepower/Str Fire Arc
1 = Rudder is stuck, the ship may not make any turns (including when on Burn Retros)
Port Weapon Batteries 60 cm 4 Left 2 = Lance batteries depleted, only 1 lance per side may fire at a range of 15cm.
3 = Launch bay errors, the ship can only launch 1 attack craft marker per bay and ramp.
Starboard Weapon Batteries 60 cm 4 Right
4 = Nova Cannon energy drain, the Nova Cannon may not fire.
Port Lance Batteries 60 cm 3 Left 5 = Engine troubles, the speed is reduced to half speed.
6 = Communications offline, leadership is modified by -3.
Starboard Lance Battery 60 cm 1 Front/Right
30cm fighters Keel Launch Ramp
Port Launch Bays 20cm bombers 4 - This special designed launch bay was intended for a more than battle ready state: when launching
30 cm assault boats attack craft from this ramp they get a 15cm speed boost in the turn when being launched

30cm fighters Variant Option

Starboard Launch Bays 20cm bombers 4 - From the five Gareox Supremacy Carriers brought back from the scrapyards one had an empty void
30 cm assault boats
at the front: its prow section was not yet installed. Under time pressure the prow of an even older,
30cm fighters abandoned, design was added to the vessel. The Bane of Charlemagne under command of captain
Prow Launch Bays 20cm bombers 4 - Gary f Oz replaces its prow weaponry with strength 4 torpedoes (Speed 30cm, arc front) and strength
30 cm assault boats 4 weapon batteries (range 60cm, arc left, front and right).
30cm fighters
20cm bombers Fleet availability
Port Launch Ramp* 30 cm assault boats 4 - An Imperial Navy fleet, except Battlefleet Bakka, may add a single Titan Carrier instead of a regular
battleship slot. A pre-requirement is that the fleet is at least 1000 Points of other vessels.
Furthermore, it should have an Admiral of at least 100 Points leading the fleet.
Starboard Nova Cannon 30 – 150 cm Special Front Any Space Marine fleet, except the Crusade list, may add a single Titan Carrier as a venerable battle
barge choice following all the usual rules except that it cannot take Thunderhawks.
.

13
14
Alrighty, this round Tom and Roy will talk you through the light cruisers I have found are best used to finish off crippled
various factions in Battlefleet Gothic. Is it in depth? Naah, we ships and prevent other faster fleets from outflanking you.
leave that to other tacticas, but this one should give you a
thorough feel of the core elements of a certain fleet. Finally – The Emperor Battleship is the darling of the fleet; you
will see why.
Imperial Navy
Tom - The Imperial Navy is probably the most common fleet Roy - The Imperial Navy is the great allrounder. It has really a
used in the game and in my opinion the most versatile out of all lot of options to build your fleet from. Not only because of the
the fleets. The Imperial fleets don’t have the most guns, don’t various lists like the Gothic or Armageddon one but also for
have the most ordnance and they are not the fastest. However, each list several builds are possible.
what they lack in specialty they make up for in variety. The The variety is great fun but sometimes it can blur the
Imperial fleet has a wide selection of ships available to them effectiveness. Most list building questions are about the
and is a bit of a jack of all trades fleet that can deal with most Imperial Navy because of all of this.
situations and cause a few surprises.
Overall, the Imperial fleet has a mediocre speed with some
Due to this jack of all trades approach the Imperial fleet, more Battleships being slow and some escorts giving the speed
than most, needs to work as a unit to succeed. Keeping your boost. A main asset is the armoured prow , which is good as
mainline ships together for mutual support is key, this allows early in the game you want to point the prow at the enemy to
them to easily react to the situation at hand and mutually fire torpedoes and get closer. However, if the opponent is a
support each other’s firing. The Imperial fleet needs to combine lance heavy fleet that 6+prow doesn’t do much, so you’ll go
its firepower to destroy ships, to bring this down to simple abeam sooner as you like. Though try to close that distance in
terms – pick on a ship, cripple or destroy it, move onto the next an abeam line. Battlecruisers and Battleships with 60cm
target. Using your large number of torpedoes to force enemies weaponry can thwart opponents at this point.
into firing zones and break up their own fleet is also a tried and And let's not forget the nova cannon: the weapon many
trusted tactic. opponents will see with horror be they ordnance spamming
fleets or long-range gunnery platforms… the Nova Cannon will
Keep escorts and light cruisers behind the main gun line, these have the longer reach forcing opponents to close (what we
ships are the most manoeuvrable in an Imperial fleet but do really want as an Imperial admiral yay). Though, don’t bring
not have the survivability of your main cruisers. too many of these, it can spoil a fun game too soon.
Keeping them back but in touching distance of your main ships
allows them to support and also defend the rear. Escorts and Lastly, if you know what scenario is being played the Navy has
a wonderful selection to cover all aspects: use it if possible.

16
Chaos Roy - The Chaos vessels are the masters of long-range gunnery, In addition to their mighty gunnery Chaos also brings a good
Tom - The real heavy hitters, they have some of the most mid-range gunnery and short-range gunnery. That sounds like carrier selection. Assault boats included and the carriers
powerful ships in the game and are quicker than their Imperial a good bunch, and it is! Of course, what you have available in a supporting long range weaponry.
counterparts and most other fleets too. They do have lighter game depends on the selection of ships you made. On top of
armour though, so while it is tempting to just throw their ships this great gunnery even the Chaos capital ships come along The fleet falls a bit into the same trap as the Imperial Navy
into the thick of it, they can end up being destroyed in a war of with good speed. Either to keep that distance or close in fast; because of all the options you have. And some ships just work
attrition. However, they have pound for pound the best cruisers either way what suits your liking. better with others.
in the game in my opinion; all classes can hit hard and are Another fun addition is theming the fleet with one of the
quick. The Chaos fleet also has the bonus of having some of the Their vulnerable prow tends to push you into an abeam playing various powers and options they bring. Though they deflect
longest-range weapons too. So those pesky Eldar can be hit by style, which is good for them, but certain fleet builds have a points from the great ships they also give some nice extras and
your long-range guns. powerful prow-on approach. Massive lance arrays pointing personality.
forward at 60cm will give shivers to many opposing admirals.
The Chaos fleet also have some of the best carriers in the game
(there’s a theme here) and can generally hold their own in
wars of ordnance.

Due to the nature of their cruisers, their escorts become

somewhat redundant though, so keep that in mind, taking
another cruiser over a squadron of escorts should always be
the question. Using your usually superior speed to outflank and
keep out of the enemies’ field of fire is a great tactic as well.

Consider a squadron of cruisers too, the devastation and look of

horror that a squadron of two Murder cruisers can do is a thing
of Slaaneshi beauty.

Also, don’t ignore the marks of Chaos. A mark of Khorne with

boarding is brutal and taking Nurgle mark against Orks negates
one of their biggest threats.

One thing missing though is torpedoes, never underestimate a

salvo. I have in the past and it hurts.

17
Orks Boarding! Roy - I played more against them and what the Orks need most
Tom - The Orks tend to get a bad rap in BFG, and this tends to is the dedication of the player: think and be like an Ork: Smash
be because of their slower speed, perceived low ordnance and For every 500 points you can put a Warboss on your cruisers. that red button, get stuck in there and disregard the many
the poor rear armour. While the armour is something that This drastically improves your boarding value, especially on odds. However, it’s unjust to see the Ork fleet like that. As many
cannot change the lack of speed can be negated due to the cruiser hulls that already have extra hit points compared to all things might not look good on paper, they do have some
automatic success of leadership for all ahead full orders. Using other cruiser hulls already. Using all ahead full and then getting serious stuff to make opponents have a real bad day.
this order can get the Ork fleet very much within hard hitting into boarding range can cause your ships to destroy and/or
distance and it should be the first thing an Ork Warboss cripple ships easily a turn. The Orks can unload an unhealthy amount of ordnance making
attempts to do. even a Tau kor’vattra admiral blink. But that low leadership
The lack of ordnance is also slightly misleading, as the Orks can you might say? Orks have plenty of cheap re-rolls: take them
​In the Imperial section I said use your mainline cruisers to trade in a lot of the heavy gunz for ordnance and this can not and use them!
screen your lighter ships, I would say do the opposite here and only cause big problems offensively but also help keep those With their free, yet a tad slower All Ahead Full, Orks can close
use a lovely screen of ram ships in larger games. Most admirals pesky bombers from the rear armour. There are only so many in quite fast with an enemy fleet. And the closer you get the
will be wary of a large ram ship charge. The key thing is that fleets where you will be able to close and get into the range of more chances you must get those Heavy Gunz roaring.
this shouldn’t be the main tactic of an Ork admiral, that’s…. the double damage gunz, so keep that in mind when selecting
your fleet. If the enemy tries to fly by the Ork broadsides are decent
. enough to pose a threat, just watch that weak rear armour. A
bunch of enemy torpedo escorts can be devastating.

And let's not forget that with cheap Warlords, possible

upgrades, high hitpoint capital ships, the big base and AAF
boarding actions (or ramming!) are never far away. And in true
Ork style you should do so.

Ork Clanz: If you want to play the Orks a little different go for
the Ork clanz lists. You might miss out on some capital ships
but go crazy on escorts! A squadron of ten escorts has an Un-
Orkish high leadership. The torpedo escort benefits from that
immensely; even though they cannot mass torpedoes having 10
markers of various strength flying around is ….. waaaaagh.
This list also has many gubbinz available to customise and
improve ships. With some sneaky options there to surprise
even veteran captains.

18
Necrons
Tom - Does this fleet need a tactica? Hmmm.

The Necrons are the strongest fleet on paper in the game; they
have strong armour, plenty of offensive capabilities and are fast
too. However, they do lack ordnance completely so can be very
susceptible to massive waves and often spend much of that
firepower trying to keep ordnance at bay.

I am generally fine with Necrons being the strongest fleet

though, that is very fluffy for me really. The key for this fleet is
to ensure that one aspect is not picked on. Due to the rules
around Necron ships phasing out and the victory points rule
around crippled ships and destroyed ships counting more etc.
losing one Necron ship can be disastrous and in all honestly
lose you the game. I have found pairing cruisers together for
mutual support really does help.

Also don’t bother taking the light cruiser Shroud. It is a weak Furthermore, the Necron fleet brings a lot of special weaponry
link in the Necron fleet, and any opposition admiral will pick on Roy - Necrons are fast, like really fast. The smallest escort goes (Eldar dislike them the most… by far) but it is more quality
those ships if they are in your fleet to get easy victory points. It a whopping 50 cm, the bigger one 40cm; the two cruisers have over quantity. Their extra portal attack is a real nice extra
might look cool but it’s a flying liability. an excellent 30cm and the mighty Tombship at 20cm might though as it is a teleport attack with increased range.
seem a little slow (a Chaos Desolator Battleship goes 25cm)...
however the Necron All Ahead Full orders are something else: Personally, I find their biggest weakness to be the reactive hull
the ship gains D6 x 10cm… and for every 20 cm moved they save as you need to roll and can’t rely on some shields to
may make a turn! Nothing in the game will beat that ... and absorb enemy fire. From that very first hit on you can be
yet…. that high speed comes at a cost: remember that general damaged. And given the fact Necron vessels give more victory
rule a ship must always move at least half speed (unless on points away when destroyed compared to other races you
Burn Retros)? It is so easy for the escorts to overshoot after really need to be careful when the opponent starts to retaliate.
their initial attack run and to an extent the cruisers can also fall
in that trap but much less so. And, agreeing with Tom that the Shroud is a liability…. it does
look gorgeous though.

19
Tyranids Roy - The space bugs. And the real thing about them is that you Furthermore, the Tyranid fleet, on top of the swarm of escorts,
Tom - Tom - People new to the Hive Mind fleets often find the have so many of them. All those small space critters like to can unleash the next big swarm with their attack craft rules:
instinctive behaviour difficult to deal with but often this can head directly at the enemy and overrun them through they may have double the amount of available launch bays in
help rather than hinder once you learn how to deal with it. numbers. play at once! Albeit slow, that many markers can make a
Add the fact that a good placement of Krakens makes it really dedicated carrier fleet really sweat.
Failing the behaviour doesn't mean all is lost, for instance it can hard to crack that approach for many opponents.
help auto pass reload ordnance. But once you get to grips with And if this isn’t enough the Tyranids also have nasty weaponry
it the rule won't be much of an issue. While the Tyranids may fall into instinctive behaviour, having like Bio-plasma batteries available; eating away through
two or more Hiveships around will prevent this in many cases. shields putting on fires…
However, what is an issue is keeping your Hive Ships alive, they It is often just better to have two or three cheap Hiveships in
are key to victory for any Tyranid fleet. Keep them safe! your fleet then one mighty tooled up one.

It can be tempting to go overboard in buying upgrades for a

Nid fleet on various ships, but more Hive ships are better than
an overloaded single ship. Giving a Hive ship max ordnance and
decent weapons batteries at long range will offset that
weakness of the fleet with the eventual aim to close and board
and hit the enemy with close range bio-plasma too.

A neat trick is to use escorts with feeder tentacles to cause

havoc amongst enemy fleets too.

The Tyranid fleet can put out the most ordnance of any fleet
and really, only Tau can match them so using that to full effect
is a must. You can also purchase ordnance at the start of the
game to provide a nice fighter screen to begin the fight. This is
certainly worth doing in the initial stages while you try to close.
The moment you are in close it's generally game over for most
fleets. Kraken with massive claws can really prove devastating
here, also with ramming too!

There is also a tendency to over purchase bio-plasma, as it

ignores shields, but I would say use this as a bonus rather than
your main armament.
20
Corsair Eldar Roy - The Corsair Eldar… the fleet that loves to play hide and Above again gives a reason why Corsair Escorts are preferred
Tom - Think of this fleet as a hit and run fleet, get into causing seek. A fleet with deadly weaponry; with perhaps the most over their capital ships. Also, the point to weapon ratio on
damage and then make a run for it. While celestial vicious escorts in the whole game. But their rules make it for a Eldar escorts is insane. Their biggest bane is having no real safe
phenomenon can help the fleet it can also hinder the fleet, so be completely different experience and an Eldar admiral needs to against weapon batteries: even at 60cm a single dice can
wary of that. Blast markers can cause some serious damage too take heed of a few matters to make that deadly weaponry destroy an escort on an easy 4+.
if not avoided. work. Want a big ship? Get that Void Stalker in: 8 weapon batteries
Eldar batteries, pulsars, bombers and torpedoes are all special and 4 pulsar lances with a range of…. 45 cm! That’s a whole
They are the typical glass cannon, hard hitting with their and ace. Especially Pulsars and Torpedoes deserve an extra different level for this short-ranged fleet.
weapons batteries, pulsar lances and ordnance but if they are mention here. Nightshades and Hemlocks! Alternatively using Yriel to get the Void Dragon/Flame of
caught out in the open then they will be shredded. The low Asuryan in with big guns and 5+ armour is a good idea as well
armour and low critical hits roll can and will result in any The Eldar speed is depending on the sun-facing, which at best to give a little more staying power.
battle plan being thrown out the window if you are caught. gives them 30cm when being abeam. Add the usual 30 cm
weapon range for Eldar and their strike range of 60 cm isn’t
Many advocate for the escorts in their fleet and while they are that impressive at all: a Chaos fleet has a strike range of 90 cm!
powerful, I have always liked their cruiser hulls. Many admirals So, the Eldar admiral needs to plan his approach with care and
will go for the pulsar lances due to the hitting on 4+ rather than most importantly: the Eldar admiral must always consider the
the armour of the enemy. However, I would suggest to not second move: the escape move in the ordnance phase.
immediately jump to that, Eldar weapons batteries are always At best he manages to hide his ship in or behind an asteroid
considered closing. So, locking on can give you some serious field at the worst he tries to only give away an abeam angle at
dice to roll. distance.

The one thing that can make or break Eldar fleets though is the Thus, celestial phenomena are really important for Eldar;
way the sun is facing. So always keep that in mind, a savvy especially asteroid fields are their best friends. Their
enemy will suddenly have you moving away from the sun and leadership, and the ability of escorts to re-roll this in asteroid
so that speed suddenly disappears, and you can be on the back fields, usually makes sure it’s a real safe spot. Opponents can
foot within a single phase. only fire at you if they are in an asteroid field themselves
beware of Space Marines though!
So, to sum up, always be on the move, never stay still, get in, hit
hard and run away (cowardly xenos!)

21
Craftworld Eldar
Tom - Very similar to the Corsair but they have a bit more
staying power due to the improved armour. The special
character grand cruiser available to this fleet is quite simply
amazing for its points with its weapon batteries and lances, it
can basically shred any ship it targets.

The benefit of this fleet is that both its wraith and dragon
cruiser ships can swap weapons around to meet the needs of
the fleet, unlike their Corsair kin. So, it turns into quite a
versatile fleet.

The same weaknesses apply to these ships though, so don't be

misled by the improved armour.

Roy - in terms of rules and weaponry the Craftworld Eldar are

the same as the Corsair Eldar. The biggest change is the fact
that the cruisers come with 5+ armour (like the mentioned
Flame of Asuryan; and especially the dragonships pack a good
punch on a highly mobile vessel.

As such the Craftworld Eldar focus more on a fleet list using

cruisers. But as general tactics movement and control are still
the most important part of taking these to battle.

The Craftworld Eldar also have two extra options which are
nice options: vampire raiders to get assault boats and aspect
warriors to get a boarding bonus (in dire circumstances or as a
really well-planned massed attack).

22
Dark Eldar
Tom - Dark Eldar are like their Craftworld and Corsair
brethren and although only two models were produced, they
can in theory create five (5) different cruiser class hulls
(similar to Craftworld here). So, they do have a bit of variety.

​The mimic engines and shadowfields prove to be as useful as

their Eldar kin and they are actually slightly faster. However,
they suffer from the same drawbacks as being made of wet
paper if weapons batteries are used against them.

While the weapons batteries the Dark Eldar put out are the
same as their kin and their lances do similar impacts, one
aspect that is different are the Leech Torpedoes. Leech
torpedoes are very effective weaponry. Whilst doing damage
isn’t their main purpose, they slow down enemy ships, as any
successful hit reduces 10 cm movement from the target vessels
movement. Multiple hits do not stack but they need to get
repaired separately before normal movement speed is Roy - A different take on the Eldar: while their shieldless ships One note on the mimic engine: it does require a bit of
restored. So, you can really hamper the movement of your remain with holofields instead it is the fact that they lose the fair/immersive play by the opponent when it comes to moving
enemy and avoid damage. second move which makes them set-apart and yet more in line ordnance and aiming Nova Cannons or alike: you are not
with the more traditional fleets. supposed to recognize the ships!
The Impaler is also a neat weapon that I think is more
situational that a must have. Their weaponry is more or less the same as the other Eldar
They also lose the sun-depending speed and have a flat speed except that Shadow Lances work slightly different than Pulsar
all the time… which is high! They can catch almost everything. lances but still as deadly effective.

Adding to this predator style are their mimic engines: giving a In the race to victory points their Impaler modules are a unique
free move after deployment and the opponent cannot target asset. Which can be a key instrument in raids to bring Dark
ships with this upgrade right away. So, a Dark Eldar player Eldar victories.
must plan everything around that devastating alpha strike,
cause ones discovered their 5+ armour and better resilience
versus critical hits can only take them so far.

23
Tau Kor’vattra Roy - The original Tau fleet by Games workshop (note:
Tom - Even as a loyal Imperial citizen I do love the aesthetic of will not win. Something that is often missed is that these ships actually, quite funny that the Tau Emissary by Forgeworld was
the Explorer fleets . They are often overlooked for the newer have quite long-range guns that do not suffer the accuracy only released three months after GW released their Tau fleet.
looking forgeworld fleet. They are similar in tactics to the issues that other fleets do. So, make sure to keep your enemy at And in 2004 Forgeworld added the rest of their line-up).
Imperial fleet and keeping the fleet together is needed, using a arms distance. Punch, dodge and weave!
strong core of their only true warship. This fleet is slow and rates low on the manoeuvrability score.
The darling of the fleet is the Hero, which pound for pound is Add the fact that its battleship only costs 230 points and you
They are very much a standoff fleet with the aim to unleash as the hardest hitting and cheapest ship in the game. Having as know you are in for a different kind of fleet. Yet, it still is an
much ordnance on the board as possible. This can lead them to many of these in your fleet as you can will greatly increase your easy fleet to get started with if you know the setup.
being susceptible to failed leadership rolls, so buy as many chance of victory. The main problem of the Explorer is the fact it has only 1 shield
rerolls as you can is my advice. and weak rear armour. Its gunnery isn’t impressive either but
Finally, don’t ignore the Defender escort, she can cause a few having 8 launch bays at that point cost is something different
The carriers are relatively cheap so trying to swamp the board surprises. and the version with more missiles instead of half the launch
is a must, you must have ordnance superiority otherwise you bays also brings ordnance fun to the engagement.
Such a carrier needs protection which the Hero perfectly
brings. It is locked behind other capitals ships to field but with
how the Explorer plays that combo is just easy to make and
many consider the vessel to be undercosted or overpowered. It
for sure has a great weaponry setup which gives it a big
advantage over a Lunar for example in a 1 v 1.

So, with this fleet you move slowly, concentrating on attack

craft and missiles, which will force the enemy to close. At which
point the Hero steps in to engage.

With this fleet you should be wary of nova cannons and fast-
moving boarding specialists…. as Tau are really bad at this
aspect!

So don’t forget Orca’s and Defenders to help when it gets up

close and personal with the enemy fleet.

For the narrative approach, the Tau fleet allows for a variety of
close allies like the Demiurg, Kroot and Rogue Traders.
24
Tau Kor’or’vesh Roy - The Tau fleet with the different design and as such it has
Tom - The forgeworld ships have better front armour than a rather different playing style compared to the Merchant fleet.
their Explorer fleet contemporaries. The spread of ordnance on Yet, at its core ordnance is still a mighty aspect of this fleet but
the forgeworld ships is more even and so can prove more instead of the large waves of Attack Craft the Commerce
versatile and they also have greater firepower and are faster. Protection Fleet relies on many fast-moving missiles waves.
This means you can be a little more aggressive with this Tau
fleet.
Getting this fleet to work will mean you have to get into that
You must force your enemy into brace for impact as early in the missile play in an engagement. Using their flexible speeds and
fight as you can to try to both reduce enemy firepower and turn rate to build up larger strike waves. Using the small waves
retain the advantage of your ordnance. Picking on the greatest of Castellans to clear out enemy fighters as the larger waves
threat and concentrating on that will help both Tau fleets make it onto the enemy vessels. If you can plan this carefully,
succeed. with your own number of bombers and fighters around you
will most likely stretch any opponent’s carrier capacity to the
The Custodian is probably the best battleship in the game too, limit.
so having this spitting out tonnes of ordnance and striking
from distance is the way to go, keep it out of harm's way. But at some point, the lines will close but just before the Tau
fleet has a great weapon arsenal covering the 31-45 cm range
Also consider the Demiurg ships, they can plug some holes in band. If a Custodian is near a few Protectors, the range shift
the battle line, these ships can take a bit more punishment than will be negated as well. And with 10 (or 8) railgun batteries per
the regular Tau cruisers, so they are typically worth the ship the Protector can make a pretty good impact.
sacrifice. Furthermore, the weapons of this fleet may be optimised in the
front arc; the fact that the cruisers (and escorts this time) have
a 90-degree turning arc means that enemy fleets usually can’t
escape the full barrage.
At that close range point it is when the Wardens drop in and
use their multiple arc lance (to stay abeam themselves) to
finish off the enemy ships.

It’s a real versatile fleet with the biggest weakness being the
fact they have low hit points. The Custodian comes at 10, the
Protector at 6 and the Emissary at 4. The latter can become a
problem when under pressure from enemy gunnery.

25
Space Marines Roy - Space Marines…. High speed, high manoeuvrability, 6+ With all those positives does that mean Marines are the ruling
Tom - The Adeptus Astartes, what to say. They have very armour, high leadership, excellent in the hit & run department, fleet in Battlefleet Gothic? Actually…. They only became a fleet
strong armour all round so can usually tank ordnance and great boarding and as cherry on top: bombardment cannons: to be reckoned with after the 2010 update.
weapon battery fire thrown at them. They are susceptible to using the gunnery table they always damage on a 4+ regardless As we all know 6+ armour is fine versus weapon batteries and
lance only fleets though. of armour and when doing damage these inflict a critical hit on ordnance but against lances it doesn’t matter. At all. Even an
a 4+ instead of 6+! untailored Chaos fleet of 1500 points could bring 10 lances at a
While their weapon batteries are not to be sniffed at, it is the range of 60cm. Using batteries to soften up some shields that
bombardment cannon that causes and will cause some amount will even hurt a Marine player.
problems for enemy ships. However, the major weapon that In 2010 Strike Cruisers got the option to add a second shield.
can and will win games for the Marines is their ability to This and the option to give half of you strike cruisers extra
cripple fleets with critical hits from the large number of bombardment cannons instead of Thunderhawks made them
thunderhawks. lethal.

Thunderhawks cause critical hits on a +2, and they can result in As a Marine admiral you just want to head in quickly. Using
a ship becoming totally ineffective and able to be picked off at that speed to bring those bombardment cannons and
the marines' leisure. Fear the thunderhawk for it will be your Thunderhawks close. If you mass those Thunderhawks enemy
doom if you ignore waves of them. ships soon are limping with critical hits, mass the
bombardment cannons and they get turned into smouldering
wrecks.
Strike cruisers are a good, cheap, cruiser that can certainly hit
harder than initial impressions would suggest, a fleet should
consist of as many as you can get your hands on. Perhaps the oddball in the Marine fleet is the mighty battle
barge. Although it is the only vessel with weaponry range
above 30 cm it is also the only vessel not flying 25 cm or faster
Boarding and teleport attacks can also cause major damage and
nor can it turn 90 degrees like everything else.
should be utilised along with the ordnance to maximum effect.
The option to take a venerable battle barge is often a narrative
one or an option to take some more launch bays into the fleet.

26
Adeptus Mechanicus Roy - The Adeptus Mechanicus can best be seen as when a
Tom - The fleet list for Ad Mech is limited for cruisers and they Captain of the Imperial Navy takes his ship to MTV’s pimp my
cannot have battlecruisers unfortunately. However, this is ride or Las Vegas customs. That very standard cruiser suddenly
offset with all the cruisers as they can have an extra dorsal comes with a lot of extras and fun stuff. However, it does come
lance. They benefit from the same tactics of the standard at a cost as all capital ships go up in points.
Imperial fleet too.
A benefit this list has compared to the regular Imperial Navy is
The Dictator is your only real ordnance hull at a reasonable that it has less options actually. It is much more focused in that
price and so pairing it with a couple of lunars together is a regard. It also has a slightly better leadership table at the
sensible, solid fleet tactic and gives you a nice coverage. expense of being less protected against boarding.

The AdMech fleet also rolls on a refit table to give them some With every cruiser becoming a sort of battlecruiser on their
extra goodies. Honestly, I have never really seen the huge own (among the options per standard they add a turret versus
benefit but each to their own. ordnance and a single dorsal lance shooting 60 cm!).

Suffers from the same pros and cons as the standard Imperial Furthermore, each capital ship rolls on the Gift of the
fleet. Omnissiah table. If the ship rolls a ‘6’ when determining
leadership that ship may pick the gift it prefers. Each of the
gifts has its own merit but personally I like Fleet Defense
Turrets as it helps a low carrier fleet quite good, repulsor
shield to make that movement through blastmarkers a breeze
and finally the augmented weapon relay is ace: if you have a
Magos on a battleship or cruiser just take this one: Weapon
Batteries get a left shift on the gunnery table and lances inflict
double hits when rolling a ‘6’; imagine the fun with this on a
Retribution. But also, Lunars like this a lot. And while Gothics
have no weapon batteries…. Five lances in one broadside… a 6
is rolled quickly!

Expect to be outnumbered with this fleet so leave a little room

for some escorts to make that up.

27
Rogue Traders column shift on those powerful batteries at range will give any Roy - Rogue Traders, what can we tell about these? The first
Tom - Originally, Rogue Traders didn't have a specific fleet of enemy fleet pause but the kicker - Always closing under 30cm! list of them was pretty small, aimed at playing games of BFG
their own. Any fleet, apart from Necrons and Tyranids (I'd also But on a carnage class cruiser with that hull's weapons Privateer opposed to Battlefleet Gothic. And as such it was only
say Orks but that's just me), can take a Rogue Trader, with batteries, lock her on and see things blow up. For real giggles, a cruiser plus a handful of escorts that could be added for
Imperials and Tau being able to take more ships per 750 pts. squadron two of them together. Even Battleships will fear that. variety and narrative to an existing fleet you already had;
Then for each cruiser you can take between 2-6 escorts to except Tyranids and Necron that is.
accompany them. So, you potentially could get 3x cruisers into I would recommend keeping a rogue trader fleet together, like
a list that's just over 1500 pts and then have plenty of escorts the usual imperial fleets for mutual support as well. They can In 2010 they got an option to field a full-fledged fleet. But truth
to join them. You can also potentially include Demiurg and operate separately under the right conditions, such as using the to be told this is a hard fleet to play with. Yes, you do get some
Kroot vessels too. So that kind of makes a fleet....kind of. grav thrusters to give a few ships extra turning ability, and fun upgrades and the xenos escort is pretty good with the right
flanking becomes easier. But overall, I'd keep them together. options but the lack of carriers and premium cost of lances in
​Then the exploration fleet list was created, which lets you build the fleet makes it hard.
an actual Rogue Trader fleet. This list allows you to build a I would be remiss not to mention the little xenos escort that the (Note: the third shield as an upgrade for the Rogue Trader
Rogue Trader fleet using the trader cruiser hulls and escorts list can also purchase, they are decent little escorts but at 50 cruiser may seem attractive but keep in mind the ship must go
like above but also allows you to include some ships from the points each I would recommend potentially looking at a light on a big base if you do so!).
Imperial (Lunar) and Chaos (Carnage) lists etc as well. I would cruiser over a squadron of them.
recommend using this list in reality if you really want to build a How to play with them outside of the suited scenarios? The key
Rogue Trader fleet rather than just add them into another fleet will be to get the most out of the cruisers you take and then
ad hoc. start adding big escort squadrons. Add cheap transport
squadrons to bug the enemy, when possible, they are dirt
The Rogue Trader cruiser ship itself, is, well, an ok class of ship. cheap but can-do heroic saves.
It has decent weapons batteries and is a cheap ship. However,
where the fun is in my view is the xenotech systems you can Use your launch bays wisely and make sure the
either roll for or buy for an additional 5 points. I would always Recommissioned Escort is on standby to take out large enemy
recommend purchasing to give yourself a choice. torpedo waves if needed.

I would do this anyway but with exclusive rogue trader fleets

not having any carriers at all, I think the ability to buy extra
turrets will greatly help prevent them being overwhelmed by
ordnance. Additionally, buying targeting matrix for a carnage
or tyrant class will dramatically improve their weapons battery
fire and is a must for these ships. Being able to not take a

28
The Inquisition against the agents of chaos as well, as grey knight ships ignore Roy - Okay, gonna admit this fleet list can be hard to follow if
Tom - The Inquisition has no fleet list on its own. Instead, there marks of chaos essentially, again a useful tactic if applied you want to do certain builds. The easiest is probably to take an
are various ways to add an Inquisitor or Inquisitorial ships to correctly. You could now board that Nurgle ship that's been Inquisitor on an Inquisitorial Cruiser and (just like a Rogue
the Imperial factions. literally plaguing you. Trader and his cruiser) add it to an Imperial or Space Marine
fleet. The Inquisitor’s high leadership can be quite a boost to
The same can be said of the Order Xenos as well. My personal certain fleets and his options and special rules can bring some
Any Imperial, Ad Mech or Space Marine fleet 750 points or
favourite choice, as you can randomly roll on an upgrades table fun and variety.
greater may be led by an Inquisitor Lord. They must be aboard
an Inquisitorial Cruiser or on an Inquisition Blackship either of for the Inquisitors vessel or pay 5pts to choose one. I think the
these are included. If none of these ships are present, they have extra 5pts is very much worth it when you can choose an If you add a Blackship to that fleet, no reserve rules needed to
to be placed on the most expensive ship in the fleet. upgrade that plays to your style, I personally love the Grav follow, it gets even more stylish in your fleet.
thrusters, having a battleship being able to double its turn
movement is a powerful upgrade and will catch plenty of For a lot of players, the most appealing part is to build a Grey
The different ships themselves that can be included in a fleet,
admirals out, imagine possibilities of Battle Barge that could Knights fleet, and this is where the list shines in …. What?!?
black ships or the types of Grey Knight ships add flavour to
just turn on the spot. However, a future update of the remastered fleetbook may
imperial fleets but for me it's the choice of your Inquisitor that
will be a key choice. have a solid solution for this (sanctioned by the rules
Ordo xenos has one other little bonus that I think is very much committee, so stay tuned for that).
worth it and really pips it for me, as long as you're facing these
You can select a Lord from the big three inquisition factions
opponents mind - Rolled saves by holofields, shadowfields or A Grey Knight fleet has all the great stuff from the usual Space
Ordo Malleus, Ordo Xenos or Ordo Hereticus.
any similar rule against a boarding action or hit and run attack Marine fleet but with even more special bonus stuff going on.
succeed on a 3+ instead of a 2+ . That is massive against those But this time it comes at a prize as you cannot spam the Grey
I think that if you are looking to add just a little spice to your pesky fast Eldar and Dark Eldar, and an instance purchase in Knight Strike Cruiser like a regular Strike Cruiser. So, the fleet
fleet and have some spare points then going with an Ordo my view. will be more balanced between the barge, strike cruisers and
Hereticus Inquisitor to lead, say, a boarding heavy fleet, will
escorts.
stand you in good stead. The extras to the boarding values and
So, I would suggest seeing how you want to play your fleet,
hit and run could be a wonderful bonus to certain imperial
who against and potentially then choose the most appropriate
fleets and could cause a surprise or two. Additionally, it's the
Inquisitor to join your fleet.
cheapest Inquisitor option with no drawbacks.

Now if you really want to board and mess up some other ships
then the next option of the Ordo Malleus is a good choice. As
you then purchase extra Grey Knight terminators and/or
honour guard on ships. This greatly helps in boarding and your
hit and run attacks, perfect for Space Marine fleets but also
adding that tactical option to Imperial fleets that potentially
wouldn't usually use it. One of these inquisitors also helps
29
​The BFG community goes from strength to strength with more Bondsman Award - Best Overall Entry (Community Vote) It's a fantastic ship with a beautiful forgeworld base as well!
designers and creators joining the community. This painting Chris has won the monthly painting competition a few times
competition continues to roll on and warp rift magazine is well now, but this is the first time he has won the overall award.
and truly back with a vengeance. We also have a fantastic Congratulations and we look forward to seeing more ships in
remastered rulebook and fleet list we all can now use, along 2024.
with a brilliant and easy to use Starter Kit to help get folks into
this wonderful game. ​Techno Heresy Award – Conversion

It's a good time to be an admiral. This award is given to my favourite conversion or 3d print over
the past year. I have to give it to this ship by Bluesquat555 on
This painting competition is now into its 6th year, which is Instagram. This is an amazing Tobari cruiser. Outstanding
quite fantastic. Thank you to all of you who enter, I love seeing work and I love the colour scheme as well, the green and
all the ships and I think the rest of the community does too. yellow just works so well on this ship.

These awards are a little bit of a vanity project of mine, but I

think reflecting over the year and celebrating the competition
is great fun. So please forgive me the indulgence.

I also like to look at the ships that may not have won in their
month of entry as well, so all ships are represented.

I have asked a few special guests again to help too, so I do hope

you enjoy the new awards for 2023!

For the monthly awards, the BFG Facebook community votes This amazing Adeptus Mechanicus ship was painted by a
for their favourite entry, each year the community votes on stalwart of our community, Admiral Krows also known as
their overall favourite too....the Bondsman Award. DoublebaseFanatic. The ship even lights up! Very Ad Mech I
would say.

31
Neophyte Award The Black Library Award - Xenos

So, this award goes out to a fresh new member of the This award goes out to my favourite xenos entry of the year.
community, someone who has only just joined the BFG Always a tough category but in the end, I had to give it to this
community, returned or they entered their first BFG amazing Tyranid piece full of character by Instagram painter
competition. I had to choose this amazing Battleship by Guajirogunpla. The fleet colours are just striking and there's
Admiral Hryek (the_garantine on Instagram). The white and diorama elements to it as well. Love the background artwork as
grey is just beautiful and the subtle gold and green just makes well. The fleet also consists of new designs, kit bashes and old
the ship stand out. Stunning work and the rest of the fleet is original ships, it just shows the variety BFG can bring.
painted in this scheme as well, amazing work. This ship design Outstanding work.
is from Battlefleet Galaxy as well.

..

32
Ollenus Pious Award – Imperial Despoiler Award - Chaos No One Expects the Inquisition Award

This award goes to my favourite imperial entry of the year and This award goes to my favourite chaos entry for the year. This This award is a little left field, a bit different. This award goes
every year this is one of the toughest awards to choose. There one is always difficult due to the variety and creativity that the out to the entry that came out of nowhere. An entry that wasn't
is always so many fantastic entries but, in the end, this Imperial chaos fleets can bring to the table. A lot to choose from this the typical and bit of outside the box thinking if you will. This
Lunar class cruiser from Instagram community member Bleach year, we even had a chaos month, so this was a very award has gone to various different types of entries before,
Hawk took it for me. I mean not only is it beautifully painted competitive category. From the group this stunning chaos fleet from whole tables built like a ship, to actual painted artwork, to
but it's in my fleets colours and has my Turbidious logo! I from Admiral Hannah stood out to me though. The ships inside a hanger.
might be a little bias, but I think this is one of my favourite themselves are from No fixed Forge and I don't think I have
entries ever. ever seen a fully pink fleet before. This fleet just works ​This year I had to give it to utterly insane dragon prow
beautifully. The green accent colours also really pop, it's such a battleship from the Instagram community member
striking fleet. Love it. Ben_hobbiz_lair. This is a Dragon Alpha legion ship, and it is
crazy good. I love it.

33
The Crusader Award ​The Furious Abyss Award Blessings of the Omnissiah

This award goes to my favourite 30k and/or heresy fleet from So, I have asked three of the best battlefleet gothic ship
The space marines are the poster boys of Warhammer 40k, you the past year. Heresy era wargaming is huge and has increased designers and creators to choose their favourite entries of the
can't do awards without including them. This year has had its thanks to the release of the heresy rule set and plenty of new year, they are Italian Moose, Battlefleet Galaxy and
fair share of marine entries, but this amazing Blood Angels fleet models. Some of the Glorianas that are being built, wow. Paulsmallus. Fantastic creators you should check out.
stood out to me from Admiral Crossley. The yellows really Speaking of, this amazing Gloriana ship comes from Admiral
bring all the fleet together and I love the addition of Death Stribley and is a stunning Blood Angels ship called the 'Red I brought this award in last year and the guys agreed to come
Company style ships. How mad must it be to serve on those! Tear'. Stunning work, the white wings at the back are a back to select their favourites again this year. I appreciate it. So
particular highlight for me. It makes me want to make a blood here are their choices for this year:
angels fleet!
Italian Moose
These ships are from Soul Forge Studios.
I choose this one! From the Chaos month (Turbidious - how
chaos is it to enter a Tyranid fleet in a chaos theme, I love it!).

​I really like the creativity of using natural components to make

a fleet that looks super alien.

​This fleet is from Admiral Ferrari.

34
Battlefleet Galaxy ​Paulsmallus The Lord Solar Admiral Award

So, I nominate this Grand Battleship produced by commission This one! Dioramas win. Every time! So this is a special award, I have been very fortunate to be able
painter diseased_paint on Instagram, It was excellently to chat with the very man that created the game we know and
executed, immaculate technique, and the colours are perfect. This ships is from Admiral Krows, DoublebaseFanatic on love - the one and only Andy Chambers (you can even watch an
Instagram or Discord. interview I did with him on this page). Andy has again been
kind enough to choose his favourite from the winners this year.

​Over to Andy:
​"Tough to pick favourites here, but the glowy lights for the Ad
mech battleship swing that for me. Honourable mentions to both
the Necron cruiser and Ork battleship as they are so nicely done,
but honestly that applies to all the winners so I'm just on
personal preferences here. Fantastic''

Thank you to those fantastic creators for choosing their

favourite entries of the year.

35
Commodore of Turbidious Award ​Well, my fellow admirals that's it for 2023, I hope you enjoyed
the article. Congratulations to all the recipients and to
Now after the creators and Andy I have one final award and everyone who entered this year. It only continues because of all
that's my Commodore of Turbidious award. of you.

This is my main award, and it goes to the member of the Thank you to the creators and to Andy Chambers for their
community who supports the BFG community. A person who input this year. Thank you to Battlefleet Galaxy for sponsoring
does so much to keep the BFG community very much alive and again. It is very much appreciated. Please check out the
kicking. Facebook page and discord. I'm also Turbidious on Instagram if
interested.
This year I had to give it to Admiral Simon Saier.
The competition is already underway for 2023 - Jan/Feb
Simon is the mastermind behind the Remastered BFG category is - any ship. Like always to start the year.
Rulebook and Remastered Fleet List. The Remastered rulebook
compiles the 2007 digital rulebook, 2003 Armada and the 2010 Look forward to seeing all your entries next (this) year!
Compendium into one document with updated layout and
artwork, and without altering any rules. Additionally, it
contains the campaigns from the original books.

This remaster is now the go to for all admirals, captains and

ensign alike, it is what is constantly recommended across the
various platforms as the go to for folks looking to play BFG.

Simon has pulled together a fantastic document that is easy to

use and beautiful to look at. Congratulations on creating a great
resource for the community Simon. Thank you and thank you
to all those who helped and continue to help on the BFG
Discord.

36
 37
The ten winners of the month.
The Tobari What is the Khareshi Expanse?
It was in Warp Rift 11, the first edition I did as editor from To the Imperial administratum, nothing more than a forgotten Tobari Raiders
March 2007, that I also included my first own article: Tobari and non-important Nebula in the Eastern Fringe. This Nebula is The Tobari are one of the many alien races who reside inside
from the Khareshi Expanse. cluttered with various kinds of races, almost all of them the Khareshi Expanse. According to the highly classified report
capable of warp or FTL travel. It has been reported that some of Lord Inquisitor Revic and the, most of the time wild. Stories
And just like in that article first a note about the origins: The of these races are starting to leave their Nebula more often in by Rogue Traders or the few Merchantmen who survived an
initial Tobari rules sprang forth from Gothicomms (Tactical the last decade. Imperial merchant vessels15cm
have been targeted attack of the raiders the Tobari utilise two types of fast escort
Command early days). The starting points were two kit bashed more and more by them. But since priority lies not in the sized vessels; and more recently a bigger light cruiser sized
alien escort vessels. It was Magus who came up with the name Khareshi Nebula, no thorough investigation has been carried vessel has been seen leading the Tobari in a raid.
for the ‘Tobari’ name, Xisor for the extensive background story out, only foolhardy Rogue Traders travel there in the hopes of
about Lord Inquisitor Revic and Ray Bell for his feedback on finding profit and renown. They mostly prey on weak or unprotected mercantile shipping.
the rules. On some small occasions they engaged larger cruisers in larger
numbers.
And now, all those years later I need to do a big thanks to two
more people: firstly, Arcaneshipyard who made a printable STL The vessels harbour sophisticated weaponry: these are not
design based on the kitbash I made of the Tobari destroyer. So primarily used to destroy enemy vessels but more to damage
now everyone interested can get themselves one or more of the vessels and make them incapable of escaping their clutches.
these vessels. Secondly a big thanks goes to Bluesquat who Once the Tobari damaged a merchantman enough they will fly
took that STL design, did some things, printed it and made a alongside them and teleport aboard the merchantmen.
kitbash, using the core of the destroyer, to create a Tobari Light
Cruiser! Their teleporters are reported to be more advanced than
standard Imperial teleport devices as they can penetrate still
Currently Arcane Shipyard is creating a STL for this light active shields. If they make it aboard, they raid the ship and
cruiser of the Tobari. take all equipment they can get hold of. Even more worrying
are the reports of crew being abducted by the Tobari, never to
So that’s just an awesome thing to see. be seen again. Once the Tobari are ready they teleport back to
their ships and leave the merchants at their fate.
This anniversary edition was a perfect moment to show these
designs and give a fresh new look at the Tobari.

39
.
Tobari Special Rules Advanced teleport attack:
The Tobari have a form of very advanced teleport technology Tobari Fleet List
Tobari Leadership which has not been seen before. Somehow, they can teleport The Tobari can be used as a wolfpack list. (Ideally in small
The Tobari make use of the standard leadership table. onto another vessel while bypassing its active shields games of up to a maximum of 500 points).
(holofields and spores are not negated). Tobari may also be added to the Wolfpack fleet list as xenos
allies.
Boarding actions
When involved in a boarding action the Tobari have a +1 When a Tobari ship is within 10 cm of an enemy
15cm ship they can
modifier. make 1 teleport raid against any enemy ship during the Tobari leader - 25 points
endphase. Instead of a regular hit and run attack damaging Add +1 to the leadership. A Tobari leader will be stationed on
systems Tobari will try to abduct as many of the crew as they the most expensive ship or squadron.
Disruptor weapon:
can.
This short ranged but advanced weapon does not bring direct
They may also conduct teleport attacks against ships with more Tobari fleet structure
damage to the ship being hit but it cuts through to the core
remaining hit points as their own ship has. A Tobari escort squadron may consist of 2-6 vessels. The
electrical functions and disables those.
frigate may not outnumber the destroyer.
Roll a D6 when doing such a teleport attack: On a 4+ the raid is
When attacking with the disruptor, roll a D6: on a 5+ it will hit
considered a success. One light cruiser may be taken per 250 points.
the enemy ship, negating shields (but not holofields or spores).
Roll another D6 to see what the result is from the Teleport
Raid: multiply the result of the roll with 5 to see how many
Apply the following results: victory points the Tobari gain. If the result equals or exceeds
the value of the enemy ship it is destroyed as well
• On a 5 + it inflicts a critical hit.
Example: the Tobari destroyer Kash’lok conducts a teleport
• On a 6 + it inflicts a critical hit and places a Blast Marker attack against an armed cargo vessel: first it rolls a D6 to see if
on the ship being targeted. the teleport attack is being made; a 4+ is needed to do so. Now
another D6 is rolled to determine how many victory points are
Note: Critical hits are being rolled using the standard critical hit scored: the roll is a 3. The Tobari scores 3 x 5 = 15 victory points.
charts. Brace for Impact is allowed as normal. The cargo vessel stays on the tabletop and can do its actions as
usual in the next turn.

40
.
Tobari Destroyer 40 Points Tobari Light Cruiser 140 Points
Type/Hits Speed Turns Shields Armour Turrets Type/Hits Speed Turns Shields Armour Turrets

Escort/1 35 cm 90º 1 5+ 1 Cruiser/6 25 cm 90º 2 5+ 2

Armament Range/Speed Firepower/Str Fire Arc Armament Range/Speed Firepower/Str Fire Arc
15cm
Prow Disruptor 15 cm 1 Front Prow Disruptor 15 cm 2 Front

Dorsal Weapon Batteries 30 cm 2 Front Port Weapon Batteries 30 cm 3 Front

Prow Disruptor 30 cm 3 Front

Tobari Frigate 50 Points

Type/Hits Speed Turns Shields Armour Turrets

Escort/1 30 cm 90º 2 5+ 1

Armament Range/Speed Firepower/Str Fire Arc

Prow Disruptor 15 cm 1 Front

Dorsal Weapon Batteries 30 cm 3 Left/Front/Right

The new
STL by
Arcane
Shipyard The kitbashed light cruiser by Bluesquat using parts of the new destroyer STL. Also,
printed & splendid paintjob!
painted.

Check out the original Tobari article in Warp Rift 11:

https://specialist-arms.com/bfg/warprift/warprift11.pdf
The classic kit bashes of the destroyer
and frigate. And I like to encourage people to pick start kitbashing of xenos escorts!
41
.
Image by Eliaz
 ++ SChOLAR TACTICUS GOTHIC ++ TRAITOR FLEET LIGHT CRUISER PLATFORMS weapon systems hold a range advantage over current Imperial
Good evening my Lord Commanders, this will be an technology, the limited hull space on board the smaller frames
++FLEET WARFARE COMMMAND COURSE++ intelligence overview of identified traitor and pirated former restrict ranges to those comparable with current loyalist
Imperial classes of light cruiser and observed tactical firepower.
++SESSION 4120+M41.345+PORT MAW++ employment.
Fanatic Light Cruiser
++TACTICAL DOCTRINE – BFG: REMASTERED++ As with the wider array of fleet assets that are now utilised by
the traitor warmasters, defection and subversion
++FLEET INTELLIGENCE DATABASE – BFGXR++
conspicuously has occurred along specific classes of light
++LESSION-306++RECORDING TRANSCRIPT++ cruiser. This phenomenon is more apparent in older obsolete
classes or those of radically experimental designs that differ
++LORD ADMIRAL PELLEW PRESIDING++ significantly from those traditional patterns endorsed and
blessed by the Adeptus Mechanicus.

Welcome back class, I trust our last session on the employment Of the three most common classes that intelligence has
FANATIC Class Light Cruiser
of His most holy Emperor’s light cruisers sparked vigorous determined captured, defected or even constructed by fallen
discussion, and hopefully at least some of you utilised those forge worlds, they all share common traits differing from the
tactics in your practical simulation sessions with success. currently operational classes within the Imperial Fleet.

This evening, we are joined by Commander Eiger of BattleFleet They share improved maximum velocities, keeping in line with
Intelligence Division, who will be providing us with a dossier traitor cruisers and raiders. A trait observed with many of the All three classes have been known to often conduct both hit
on the employment of mutinous light cruiser platforms older classes before the modern armoured prow design. As and run tactics against weakened targets, and support
amongst the heretical traitor fleets that have such they also lack such forward protection. Shield systems are boarding actions of larger traitor cruisers and battleships.
of older design comparable to their size. Several examples
plagued the Imperium since the Heresy, and such across the three classes seem to dedicate their service to a The Fanatic class boasts impressive, long range macro
platforms as employed by the dread xenos races that particular aspect of the so called “Chaotic Deities” that the batteries for its size, complemented by an improved turreted
prey upon the righteous Imperial frontier worlds and traitors worship. Whilst others take on the lifestyle of raiders Lance arrangement, delivering a comparable broadside to that
trade routes. and renegades that have snubbed righteous Imperial rule. of a Lunar class cruiser at greater range. It boasts an adequate
thruster arrangement, able to keep pace with Traitor cruisers.
Like the mainline chaos capital ships, they lack the noble The class is an exceptional cruiser escort, with its side batteries
Commander, your class. complementing all known traitor cruiser types, and the prow
armoured prow that the Imperial forces now bear as their
Aegis. Whereas many of the older, larger platforms’ ancient lance turrets can adapt to support both broadside attacks or

43
supplement the heavy, yet fixed, prow lance armaments that The experimental Schismatic class performs the anachronistic However, the light cruisers are somewhat disadvantaged
some renegade cruiser classes boast. Of ubiquity is the role of fire support cruiser within the traitor fleets. With an compared to their Loyal counterparts (except for the Fanatic)
prevalence of Fanatics escorting the escorting the Styx fleet enhances thrust assembly and unique wide angled torpedo as they are restricted in range compared to most traitor
carrier, which boasts an underpowered, yet long range launcher system on its prow, it can perform encircling weaponry on larger platforms as such may force a closer
armament to support its attack craft. The Fanatics longer range manoeuvres whilst bombarding targets with repeated torpedo engagement in order to bring their weaponry to bear in
can allow this pairing to distance itself from the fighting line salvos. Supplemented by broadside lance batteries, this class support to their parent cruiser. Alternatively, they can be used
and still provide significant weight of macro and lance shot. can be an effective area denial threat, and has been observed as a shielding force, ranging closer whilst their longer ranged
lurking on the flanks of engagements, allowing its more parent cruiser can remain engaged.
Heretic Light Cruiser aggressive counterparts taking the brunt of Imperial justice
through firepower, providing counter fire to torpedo salvos These classes are also observed in independent squadrons,
and employing its lances on already weakened foes. With its where loose formations can maximise the speed and
speed it can support escorts and fast cruisers also, shoring up manoeuvrability advantage the platforms afford, whilst
holes in the spearhead and filling them with torpedoes and bringing wide angled weapon and lance batteries to bear in
lance. With its shorter range, it is far more common to see in coordinated strikes. Squadrons of Schismatic class are of
independent squadrons, usually pairs, where massing salvos particular note, able to concentrate torpedo salvos in tight
becomes a fearsome prospect to face and the concentration of formation across a wide swath to devastating effect whilst
lance power matches that of a Gothic class. combining lethal lance batteries.

TRAITOR LIGHT CRUISER FORMATION TACTICS Schismatic Light Cruiser

With the scarcity of torpedo armament throughout the traitor
fleets and renegade raiders, the honourable tactic of close
cruiser escort to mass ordnance salvos is far less prevalent.
Instead, when assigned to cruiser escort, traitor light cruisers
will range in loose formation to either defend their parent
The Heretic class sacrifices the lance armament and in favour cruiser, or cowardly escape the righteous fury of destruction
of extra thrust as compared to the Fanatic. This is to bring to that they deserve. Close support has been observed
bear an impressive, although shorter ranged, prow turreted occasionally to mass close in defence against ordnance.
macro weapon system that can supplement its broadside to
match that of a Dominator cruiser. This class excels at All classes perform adequately in the cruiser escort role, able to
supporting lance armed raiders or fast cruisers such as the add their firepower to their parent ship in a flexible manner
Slaughter class that the traitors use extensively, knocking down due to the wide arcs of the prow weaponry that they boast. The
shields with its weapon batteries allowing lances to strike lack of the noble armoured prow that the Imperial forces now
unprotected armour. Against the elusive Eldar xenos, its bear as their Aegis require the heretics to resort to cowardly
massed fire is particularly effective. flanking and “Stiff-arming” tactics.

44
TACTICAL NOTE: SLAUGHTER CLASS FAST CRUISER CONCLUSIONS
Whilst possessing displacement, firepower and armour As I have outlined to my
comparable to many other traitor cruiser variants, special esteemed Captains and
mention of this particular class of cruiser is warranted. Shipmasters, the traitorous
Sacrificing the greater weaponry range common among other light cruiser presents a
classes, this class possesses phenomenal speed for its mass. credible threat to the fleet.
Able to maintain pace with raiders, escorts and the That threat, if ignored, can
Heretic/Schismatic class. The Slaughter class can range ahead quickly bring to bear
of the main chaos formation. considerable firepower on
vectors undesirable to our
This can be often to the tactical disadvantage of the traitor defences. These platforms can
warmaster, as the captains of these accursed vessel seem to significantly augment larger
relish in the wild abandon of the charge to deliver a substantial traitor platforms and shore up
primary broadside of macro and lance weaponry, whilst able to perceived weaknesses in class
significantly engage a secondary target opposite. It is for these designs.
reasons that the heretic class, possessing similar velocity
capabilities, is often observed in formation alongside the fast Disregard these threats at your
cruiser. Whether this is to share in the thrill of the charge, or an peril My Lord Captains, as they
effort on behalf of the traitor fleet commander to preserve the can be a significant thorn in
fast cruiser from destruction is difficult to differentiate. your midships.
Schismatic classes are less commonly paired with the
I look forward to our next
Slaughter, in part due to their rarity, but also the frontal rapid intelligence briefing, where I
charges that the larger cruiser relishes at are less viable for the will seek to cover the light
lighter cruiser with its wide angled torpedo array, preferring cruiser threat posed by the
flanking tactics against targets that the Slaughter may have xenos races.
already weakened.
Fair solar winds, and following
warp tides.

45
Image from the AC2110
There’s a single race that has purity of purpose in Warhammer Tyranid Fleet Rules Hive Ships which are crippled in a battle lose -1 Leadership (to
40k, a race with the singular desire to consume, a race known as Tyranid fleets a minimum of 7).
the Tyranids! Tyranids are completely uninterested in material In stark difference to other races, Tyranids have rather peculiar
gains and seek only to leave a trail of biomass stripped worlds in rules for how they build their fleets, and in a campaign, it is Other Ships
their path. The Tyranid swarm knows no fear, no regret, only possible that you end up deploying a fleet in battle that’s not Other ships may roll to Gain Experience as well, rolling using
hunger, and with every enemy that’s consumed, the swarm led by a Hive Ship. In such cases, you may use the rules for the the Hive Mind’s Leadership. If successful, they may choose to
grows, but the hunger… The hunger never ends. Tyranid Vanguard Fleet List, provided that your forces purchase a new refit or they may choose to exchange a refit for
Today I’ll aim to provide you with the full almost-official deployed to the battle itself would be a legal fleet under the another one (though they must still pay the points cost for
complement of rules that you’ll need to make sure your Tyranids Tyranid Vanguard Fleet List. them, and they follow the usual limitations).
get their campaign going!
Tyranid reinforcements Vanguard Fleet Rules
Tyranids in a campaign If a Tyranid Reinforcements appeal is granted, and a new Hive Fleet Size
There’s something quite odd about trying to lead an extra- Ship is chosen, the Hive Ship may not take the option to Your starting fleet size is 1500 points (or 75% of the starting
galactic race bent on devouring everything in its path while improve its Leadership from the fleet list (it may still improve points value that has been agreed for conquering fleets in this
being a human, but then again, it can be quite relaxing to know its Leadership through Tyranid Ship Development). campaign).
that your campaign will have to deal with none of the politics
and infighting that plagues your prey races. Here you’ll find a Tyranid ship development Fleet Lists
comprehensive adaptation for the official, if oddly fitting, rules Tyranid ships do not gain experience in the same way as those Tyranid pirate fleets should be represented by using the
to use Tyranids in a campaign, along with their evolution and of other races: Vanguard Fleet List, but you should feel free to use other lists if
possible appeals. These changes attempt to provide a more lore-
you feel it appropriate!
faithful representation of how the Tyranids behave in a Hive Ships
campaign, without changing the campaign rules too much!
Hive Ships (or other ships which may exert synaptic control) Pirate Base
may roll to Gain Experience as normal, rolling using their own A Tyranid Vanguard Fleet may use a single Tyranid hive ship as
General rules Leadership. If successful, they may choose one of the following their pirate base in a campaign. If the pirate base comes under
Tyranids follow the usual rules for a campaign, being capable options: attack, play out one of the scenarios below with the Tyranid
of behaving as a conquering fleet (a Hive Fleet) or as a pirate • Improve their Leadership (though they may never improve Vanguard Fleet as the defender. The hive ship must still be
fleet (a Vanguard Fleet), though in both cases that must be their Leadership above that of the Hive Mind). They must purchased using the fleet and/or planetary defence points
announced when the campaign starts. choose this option if the Hive Ship’s Leadership is below 8. allocation for the scenario, but the hive ship itself is not
• Choose to purchase a new refit (though they must roll for considered part of the fleet registry.
them instead of choosing one, and they must still pay the
points cost for them).
• Add 1 Repair Point to the fleet.
47
.
Scenarios Surprise Attack Hive Fleet Rules
The attacker must on the table below to determine which Play out Surprise Attack, but instead of orbiting a planet, the Fleet Size
scenario is to be played, or if both players agree, they can pick defending Tyranid fleet is stationed around the Hive Ship. The Your starting fleet size is 2000 points (or the starting points
one from those listed. defender does not have to pay any points for the Hive Ship, but value that has been agreed for conquering fleets in this
it starts the battle on standby like the other defending vessels. campaign).
D6 roll: The attackers must cripple the Hive Ship to win. You may
• 1 - 2 scenario: The Raiders spend the points for planetary defences on Escort Drones. Fleet Lists
• 3 - 4 scenario: Queenslayer Most Hive Fleets should be represented by using the Hive Fleet
• 5 - 6 scenario: Surprise Attack Birth of a Hive Fleet List, but you should feel free to use other lists if you feel it
A Tyranid Vanguard Fleet may use a Reinforcement appeal to appropriate.
All of the scenarios have the following modification: add a Hive Ship to your fleet roster. From that moment
You must include a single Hive Ship as part of your defending onwards, the fleet roster changes to that of a Hive Fleet and Promotions
fleet’s point cost (unless otherwise specified). This Hive Ship is new ships will be following the restrictions set by the Tyranid Your Admiral is nothing more than the collective gestalt of the
not part of your fleet registry, it’s just for this scenario and it Hive Fleet List (your escorts from the Vanguard Fleet will not Hive Mind, but even so, it grows wiser and more powerful as it
represents the pirate base from which your fleet operates. You count for how many escorts you could have in relation to your devours!
may outfit the Hive Ship as you please, including any Evolutions hive ships).
of the Hive Mind up to the limit of three different kinds. Your Tyranid commanders use the following table for their
Hive Mind will be commanding it. You may now choose to roll on the Battles table after rolling on promotions during a campaign.
the Incoming Orders table, instead of being forced to roll for a
The Raiders major raid on the Raids table. If you win a Battle, you may
The Hive Mind chooses a single Hive Ship as its flagship and
Play out The Raiders but instead of the normal victory choose to take over the system. If you do, you’ll stop behaving
shall behave as a regular commander, overriding the Hive
conditions, the attacking player must cripple or destroy the as a Vanguard Fleet and instead you’ll now behave like a Hive
Ship’s leadership. Should the flagship be destroyed, then the
Hive Ship. Fleet (as described below), with the newly conquered system
Hive Mind may not have any further effect in that game, but
being your home system (you keep the hidden pirate base
you may choose a new Hive Ship to be its flagship once the
too!).
Queenslayer battle is over.
Play out Commerce Raiders (see Warp Rift 38), but instead of
Should you lose control over all your systems, but your pirate
transports, for every 100 points (rounding up), you may
base remains, your fleet will go back to behaving like a
include 10 points of Escort Drones. If the Hive Ship moves off
Vanguard Fleet, with the pirate base as your home of
through the escape corridor, the defender is victorious. If the
operations.
attacker destroys the Hive Ship, then the attacker is victorious.

.
48
If there are no Hive Ships participating in a battle, the Hive Refits Evolution of the Hive Mind refit while your ship has its
Mind instead focuses on a squadron or ship. Choose a squadron As the hive fleet sails relentlessly on through space, it is maximum amount of different Evolution of the Hive Mind
or ship at the beginning of the battle, that squadron or ship is continually evolving to meet the enemies that it faces. Individual refits, you may choose to exchange one of the previous
the focus of the Hive Mind, automatically passes any instance of organisms adapt and refine themselves with each new Evolution of the Hive Mind refits for the newly acquired one.
Instinctive Behaviour and will have the Hive Mind’s encounter, while the hive ships perpetually alter the morphology These improvements represent the only means of evolving
Leadership, regardless of the number of vessels remaining in of the new organisms birthed by the fleet. As such, the hive fleet against increasingly capable foes, for Tyranids operate under
the squadron or any other rules. It may then take any Special is a continually changing mass, both individually and Instinctive Behaviour or under direction of the Hive Mind, and
Orders as normal. You may use Hive Mind Influence re-rolls collectively. This natural adaptation is represented in the thus they cannot take on crew skills.
and Hive Mind Imperatives as normal, or on checks to override Tyranid fleet list in the way that other races have special refits.
Instinctive Behaviour for other squadrons in the fleet (as per Because the equivalent of Tyranid torpedoes are always
the Vanguard Fleet rules). Tyranid refits are called bio-enhancements and are described boarding torpedoes, Tyranids cannot use the torpedo refits
in the Evolution of the Hive Mind Refit table. These refits can be available to other races.
Renow Title Ld, notes incorporated by capital ships or individual escorts except
n where specifically noted otherwise for the cost indicated Any Tyranid ship may change one of its weapon options for
(instead of costing the flat +10% ship points as happens with another (so long as that’s allowed in the ship’s profile, and
1-5 Awakened Node Ld 8, 1 influence roll
other races). During a campaign, no one ship can gain more adjusting the ship’s points cost) instead of acquiring an
than one different kind of Evolution of the Hive Mind refit Evolution of the Hive Mind refit (regardless of how the
6-10 Tyrant Node Ld 8, 2 influence rolls
before each battle. Should a ship gain an Evolution of the Hive Evolution of the Hive Mind refit was acquired).
Ld 8, 2 influence rolls Mind refit due to Tyranid Ship Development and another
11-20 Dominatrix Node
1 Hive Mind Imperative Evolution of the Hive Mind refit from a Refit Appeal before a When acquiring an Evolution of the Hive Mind refit through
Ld 9, 2 influence rolls
battle, you simply choose a kind of Evolution of the Hive Mind Tyranid Ship Development, you must roll 2D6 on the Evolution
21-30 Norn-Queen Node refit to apply and discard the other (or in the case that both
1 Hive Mind Imperative of the Hive Mind Refit table and apply the result. Should the
refits result in Reinforced Carapace or Extra Spore Cysts, you result be inapplicable for the ship, then roll again until an
Ld 9, 3 influence rolls can choose to apply them twice).
31-50 Alpha Node
1 Hive Mind Imperative
applicable result is rolled. When acquiring a bio-enhancement
through a Refit Appeal, you may just choose which bio-
Ld 10, 3 influence rolls With the exception of reinforced carapace and extra spore enhancement to apply instead of rolling for it.
51+ Omega Node
2 Hive Mind Imperative cysts, no single Evolution of the Hive Mind refit may be granted
more than once. No hive ship may ever have more than three
different Evolution of the Hive Mind refits, no cruiser more
than two and no escort more than one. Should you gain an

49
EVOLUTION OF THE HIVE MIND REFIT

The bio-ships constantly evolve in order to better face new challenges, producing a biological arms race with their enemies. Roll on the following table:

2D6 Roll Skill

Solar Vanes (+15 points): The ship has bio-engineered solar wings that spread to absorb the smallest amount of ambient radiated energy from surrounding space. The ship gains +5cm
2
speed.

Adrenaline Sacs (+10 points): The primary propulsion valves and constrictor muscles at the rear of the bio-ship have grown in size and strength. The ship gains +1D6 when on All Ahead
3
Full special orders.

Psychic Scream (+20 points): The bio-ship’s connection to the Hive Mind is so pervasive that an indelible psychic reverberation surrounds the ship, marring its visage to one even more
4
ghastly and fearsome than normal and instilling visceral terror in any that approach. Any enemy vessels within 15cm suffer -2Ld. Intended solely for hive ships.

More Discharge Vents (+15 points): The number of discharge vents along the beast’s length has increased dramatically. The creature reduces the distance it needs to move before
5
turning by 5cm. Not intended for escorts

6 Extra Spore Cysts (+10 points each): The ship gains one spore cyst. No more than two spore cysts can be gained in this manner.

Reinforced Carapace (+10 points each): The creature has grown to an inordinate size with correspondingly reinforced internal endostructures and additional ablative carapace,
increasing its total mass and capacity to sustain
7
damage. The ship gains +1 Hit. No more than four additional Hits may be gained in this manner. If rolling randomly, a cruiser which attains 10 Hits in this way matures into a hive ship! Not
intended for escorts.

Mucous Membrane (+20 points): The bio ship is covered with a slimy coat of mucous making it difficult for relatively slower moving ordnance to attack or damage it effectively.
8 Bombers and assault boats suffer a -1 modifier (in addition to any other modifiers) when rolling their Attack roll, and all torpedoes must roll +1 to hit (maximum of 6+). Ranged weapon
hits remain unaffected

Accelerated Healing (+10 points): The bio-ship has enhanced its ability to heal critical wounds, enabling capital ships to roll two extra dice in the End phase when attempting to repair
9
critical damage. Not intended for escorts

Drone Link (+20 points): The creature maintains an unbroken link with the Vanguard drone ships and hive ships of the swarm. When within 15cm of a Vanguard drone ship, all pyro-
10
acid batteries benefit from a left shift on the Gunnery table (before all other modifiers).

Tenacity (+20 points): The creature has evolved the capability of effectively bringing its weapons to bear on its enemies even when following the prerogative of the Hive Mind. When on
11
All Ahead Full, Burn Retros or Come to New Heading special orders, its pyro-acid batteries and bio-plasma weapons are unaffected.

Mega-Spore Mines (+10 points per launch bay): Ships equipped with assault boat launch bays can exchange all their launch bays for spore mine launchers. Each launch bay can launch
12 one mega-spore mine In the Ordnance phase Megaspore mines follow all movement and ordnance rules mines do, but when rolling against armour to inflict hits, it inflicts that number of
fire criticals instead. Not intended for escorts.

50
APPEALS

There are few forces that a Tyranid Hive Mind can turn to for support, but Genestealer Cults often behave as a Hive Fleet’s advance forces, feeling the tug of the Hive Mind directing their actions.
Tyranid players may roll on the Genestealer Cults Appeal Chart below.

2D6 Roll Skill

The Cult has delayed the enemy. Choose one enemy ship or ship squadron. It is deployed in reserves, and will only show up on the tabletop during the 2nd turn from the closest table edge
2
to the deployment of their fleet. They may not move further during the turn they’ve arrived.

The Cult has infiltrated an enemy ship and sabotaged it, striking just before battle. After determining the next mission to be played, but before deployment, choose one enemy ship, that
3
ship suffers a critical hit. Roll for it as normal.

The Cult has fed the Hive Mind with advanced information on the enemy fleet. During the next engagement, after deployment, but before the first turn, you may redeploy D3 of your ships
4
or ship squadrons following the scenario’s rules for deployment.

5 The Cult has eliminated key leadership figures in the enemy fleet. An enemy ship suffers a permanent -1 Leadership.

6 The Cult disrupts enemy fleet discipline. You may force an enemy to re-roll a single Leadership roll during the next battle.

7 The Cult is ready to strike aboard an enemy ship. Choose an enemy ship, any of your attempts to board that ship gain a +2 modifier.

8 The Cult feeds wrong information to fleet leadership, confusing their battle plans. An enemy suffers -1 to his Initiative roll for the next turn.

The Cult spreads and an enemy system becomes seeded by the Cult. The owner receives 1 fewer RP (up to a minimum of 1) from the system. You gain 1 RP per turn for each seeded
9
system.

The Cult guides you into the enemy system. Do not roll for Initiative nor to receive orders, you can automatically decide to fight a Planetary Assault scenario against an enemy, and you’ll
10 be the attacker. In the case of Vanguard Fleets without Hive Ships, since they cannot take control of systems, instead of gaining control of the system if victorious, treat it as a successful
raid, but you’ll be able to get double the RP points the system would provide.

The Cult ascends as you arrive! When you next perform a planetary assault, you may include an extra D6x20 points of planetary defences around the planet (following the same rules of
11 deployment as the defender), but they're controlled by you. Alternatively, after deployment, you may take over D6x20 points of planetary defences deployed by your enemy. They are now
under your control.

The Cult heeds the call and reinforces your fleet with stolen ships. You may add a ship or squadron 250 points or under to your fleet roster (including planetary defence ships) as reserves.
You may include these ships as if they were reserves in your fleet, but they do not require the inclusion of any other ships to be taken (ignoring the reserves requirement for multiple ships
of the same type). You may choose them from any of the fleet lists used by players which hold a seeded system, in the same manner as if it was the result of a Reinforcement Appeal (these
ships are NOT taken from that player’s campaign fleet roster and ignore any ship requirements for them from their original fleet list); if there are no seeded systems, you may choose ships
12 from the Imperial Gothic Sector list.
They behave as ships from their original race with all their original rules, but will now be crewed by the Genestealer Cult. This means that they suffer a -1 to the Leadership rolled (so they
roll on the Leadership table with a -1 malus due to Reinforcements leadership rules, and then reduce the resulting Leadership by 1) and that they may be directed by the Hive Mind.
Ships with a Genestealer Cult crew may be the target of a Hive Ship’s Synaptic Control as if they were a Tyranid ship, but should the Hive Ship’s command fail, these ships will just behave
as normal (though they may not attempt to go on Special Orders again that turn) as their Genestealer Cult crews act on their own.
51
Image from the BFG Armada videogame
The Tyrant challenge - EPISODE 1 weapon battery support (mainly shield). It was a very efficient
While writing the incoming tactica on the Imperial Navy (and core for my fleet. The tyrant had quickly its broadside critted
the AdMech one), I tried to position myself on the Tyrant class but the few turns it shot was effective for obvious reasons. Any
cruiser. This ship is well known for its usage against Eldar, other cruiser would have done the job (like an endeavour), but
eventually seen being paired with an Armageddon or another the potential strength-16 weapon batteries were scary.
Tyrant (rarely) but is usually considered overcosted for what it 30cm 15cm
brings. So, I said to myself: Why about a trial in game ? My first game this winter is a Bakka fleet vs Chaos 750pts
cruiser clash. In this game the tyrant will be stock and will be
In this article I will try to go through a few games I will perform backed up by an Endurance. So, I rely on its raw str10
against myself or an actual opponent throughout the winter. I firepower at short range. I intend that line to push in, relying
will get a Tyrant in every single game, may it be stock, on the Endurance shielding to put the tyrant into good position.
upgraded with range, potentially upgraded with a Nova Cannon The Armageddon will mostly be on his own, providing damage
(I do not believe in that), within Navy or AdMech, and try to be from further.
as objective as possible.
Battle Report One
My reference on this ship is an article that was published in With a Leadership 6 it was confirmed the Tyrant will be paired
Warp Rift 32 in which the author was explaining while being with the Endurance which rolled Leadership 8. In this setup, I
inferior to lunar and dominator as a line cruiser, its potential discard the 4 bonus ranged batteries and focus on positioning As a conclusion for this game, the impact of the tyrant was very
was on the flexibility it could bring being armed with only 1 to get the best out of the 12 WB of the squadron. I look for the good. It did more than Armageddon. The torpedoes were very
weapon type, like the gothic, may it be upgraded or not. It adds potential strength 8 torpedo salvo, but the endurance may have useful, the squadron with the Endurance was good, even if I did
some torpedoes which you lack a bit of with the Dominator an opportunistic shot to prevent attack crafts or torps if any. not make use of the turret bonus.
option. Majority of feedback on this ship relies on the
mandatory range upgrade ; but the tyrant can be used in 2 turns in a row (with one being braced), the tyrant was able to 15/20 thanks to good shot opportunities.
several roles. Despite having the same broadside armament as deliver 2 good weapon battery shots. The Endurance took all
a Murder class cruiser, it will not out range chaos fleet. So the shots during the first two turns, but that's what it was here ***
better see its range as an opportunistic long-range shooter, for. In turns 3 and 4, the tyrant was able to follow the fleeing
rather than a sniper. second murder, which could escape with 1 hp left. Could have For the next game, I will change the configuration. I would like
been worse. The 2 torpedo salvoes were very useful in that to either squadron it to a bigger cruiser or let him alone while
Some months ago, I played a game where my Tyrant (with situation. It would have not happened with a Dominator. Went supported by a Gothic. If points allow it, I wish to get the range
range upgrade) was squadroned to an Armageddon. Expensive was going to last too long so both my opponent and I decided upgrade, like the ‘Dominion’ which served during the Gothic
squadron in a 1000 pts game but the tyrant served as shield + to stop it after the tyrant disengaged while being charged by War.
the slaughter.

53
The Tyrant challenge - EPISODE 2 despite a good lock on positioning and - I must admit -
Finally, it will be a small game versus Orks. I use the Gothic list extraordinary BFI saves from the Kill Kroozer. The gothic had
as entry, and the Tyrant will have the range upgrade. Despite to disengage on turn 3, leaving the fleet with only weapon
the 6+ prows, the tyrant will try to put blast markers on Kill batteries and 3 firestorms.
and Terror Kroozers to slow their advance. The 4+ aft armour
of Ork ships make the tyrant very interesting, so on contrary to Secondly, Ork had the initiative
30cm and took advantage
15cm of it. They
other matchups, Tyrant will try to cross the T behind the are difficult to outmanoeuvre (at least for the Imperial navy).
enemy cruisers to benefit from that. If required, this could be My plan was to close the T behind the Ork ships, but Ork
from a longer range as well. generally show their prows.

Lastly, the range upgrade was only useful one or two times,
where the tyrant was lucky enough to drop a shield from 44cm
while being braced. However, it slowed a bit the Orks cruisers
dropping blast markers here and there. Average mark for the
utility in that scenario. Otherwise, I would say a Lunar would
have been better, but a dominator would have been worse
while being constantly chased. The torps still took 1 or 2 HP. Conclusion for game 2 : Orks are definitely not a matchup for
the Tyrant due to the weapon configuration and regular navy
profile. You cannot really outmanoeuvre Orks, and you need
lances or luck to get damages. Though the blast markers from
45cm avoided several boarding actions, and the torps can go
through low turret value from the Orks. 10/20 for the win and
utility.

Next game I want to get a tyrant in an AdMech fleet. The

advanced weapon gift is really powerful, and in addition to the
Despite being a victory for the navy, the Tyrant did not perform dorsal lance, this kit pushes the Tyrant to a battlecruiser level.
as expected. The dictator was MVP thanks to its fighter However, the available ships in AdMech will make the fleet
coverage. look like the fleet of the previous game. Maybe a good
First of all: the Tyrant did not have a close partner like an opportunity to bring a nova cannon for this one, despite the
Endurance light cruiser or any other cruiser. Therefore, the huge cost of the cruiser.
weapon batteries really had trouble going through shields

54
Image left is from a Vassal game HuvalC played. The image in the middle column is by OSJCLatchford and the image in the right column is from Spellscape.
Image from the internet
The Warp is a strange and terrible place, and many words have Considered lost, the Warp drive project was initially put on With the new knowledge the Warp Drive project was restarted
already been written on it. Many millennia ago, back on earth, hold. That was until seven years later a distress call near as they had proof the concept of the warp portal worked.
when the warp was almost something from fiction, a few Neptune was picked up…. the Event Horizon had returned. Though now they also knew they had to protect themselves
scientists started to study the relations between the mortal from possible dangers.
thoughts and the dreamlike existence of the Warp… A team under command of lead scientist Dr. Weir and Captain
Miller were sent to investigate
30cm the sudden15cm
reappearance. And as they studied further some scholars concluded that Event
They discovered that the Warp in theory would offer the This proved to be a horrific expedition. From the team only Horizon had slipped away into the Warp before exploding. Yet,
possibility of traversing vast distances in the universe within three crew members returned. Two who were held back at the this stance was deemed heretical and was put down
mere seconds. Which would be a big boost to the early days of rescue ship and one member who was part of the investigation immediately.
mankind’s slow interstellar travels. Soon they gathered enough team on the Event Horizon. The latter was in shock.
fundings to build the prototype of a device which could open a Now, millennia later, a scribe on Mars finished collecting the
gate into the Warp and re-emerge at another location in space. hidden away, vague stories about an ancient ship design
The experimental ship the Event Horizon was chosen to be dropping in and out of the Immaterium and subsequently
fitted with the Warp engine and conduct the first experiments luring unknowing vessels nearby by sending out distress
with. calls. Every time resulting in the death of the responding ship's
crew. The scribe attuned the characteristics to the ship being
At a safe distance from Earth the Event Horizon with a research the ancient Event Horizon.
team consisting of captain Kilpack and science officers At first the reappearances only occurred with pauses of
Chambers, Reuben, Fender and Smith aboard was about to sometimes hundred years in between, sometimes longer but
rewrite history. this was attributed to missing reports. But as the 41st
Millennium ended the appearances suddenly started to
The first days of experimenting proved successful as they increase and became more frequent. As the 42nd Millennia
managed to open small portals into the warp and channel its dawned the scribe noticed that the, now yearly, appearances
energy into the drive. Encouraged by the results they pushed happened in a closing circle towards the planet of Neptune.
further and prepared the vessel for a jump into the warp; only
programming a destination within the current milky way. Only slowly they learned about the events on the ship. About As the Magi learned of this, three small exploration
how, allegedly, the ship itself was haunted and terrorised the flotillas were sent forth to intercept the ancient vessel as much
As the gate to the warp opened and the raw energy was crew. That Dr. Weir was possessed by a daemonic entity and could be learned from it. In addition a honourable Ark took
channelled into the drive’s core, a corridor started to emerge proclaimed the ship itself was now a sentient being after position in orbit over Neptune being tasked with projecting a
but as systems and fuses blew the ship collapsed into a whirling visiting the hellish dimension outside the known universe. pattern for the Event Horizon. The three flotillas ventured
gate surrounding the ship. deeper into space following possible projections.
In the end the Event Horizon was brought to an explosion as the
The Event Horizon disappeared from the known universe. self-destruct mechanism was activated by Captain Miller in an Though unbeknownst to the Adeptus Mechanicus the
act of self-sacrifice. Inquisition also learned of the Event Horizon and set on a
mission to find the ancient vessels for their own ends…
56
Scenario -The Eisner Incident BATTLEZONE SPECIAL RULES
Anderson trade station - Fishnell system. It was in M42.017 when This battle takes place in Deep Space. Place a large sized planet Both fleets must try to board the Event Horizon and learn of
the locale of the trade station picked up a distress call coming as shown on the map below. Furthermore, the planet has two long-lost knowledge. If a ship comes into base contact with this
from the fifth planet of the system, Eisner, the planet furthest gas/dust rings: one is 15 cm away from the planet’s edge and vessel, make a leadership test on 3D6 and discard the lowest
away from the sun, known for its mesmerising gas cloud rings. A 5cm wide, the second ring is 25 cm away from the planet’s dice. If multiple ships of the same fleet participate in the same
few local captains set on course to answer the distress call. edge and 7cm wide. Additionally, both players
15cm may set up two boarding action, lower the highest dice with 1 per extra ship. If
However, before they could arrive at Eisner a large behemoth asteroid fields: these are D3 x 5cm wide and D3 x 5cm long. a ship is boarding and the opponent moves into the boarding
entered the system ordering the system ships to return and not action, the highest dice is upped with a value of 1 per opposing
come near Eisner for the foreseeable future. The captains swiftly SET-UP ship.
turned around as there would be no argument with a warship of Both players roll a dice. The player with the highest roll may Each time a player succeeds in this action, that player gains an
the Adeptus Mechanicus. pick in which corner the fleet is deployed. Event Horizon point.
Place the Event Horizon between the planet and the closest
As Magos Ja Vala set course for Eisner, Augurs quickly verified it dust/gas ring in the centre of the table. Players may shoot at the Event Horizon to deny the opponent
was the elusive Event Horizon sending out the distress call. But precious knowledge and victory points.
what usually would have been a regular investigation and
deployment deployment
salvage mission turned upside down when sensors revealed a In this scenario the Event Horizon will stay in place and thus
second fleet moving in fast to Eisner as well…. Magos Ja Vala makes no movement. Use the profile and rules from the
frowned as he noticed the signature of the Inquisition. This following page.
encounter would need to be dealt with swiftly.
GAME LENGTH
FORCES When one fleet is destroyed or has completely disengaged, the
The Adeptus Mechanicus player may pick a fleet of up to 750 other fleet gets D3 turns to try and score Event Horizon points.
points. A maximum of two normal cruisers may be chosen. Event Horizon At the end of those turns the Event Horizon will fall back into
The Inquisition player may pick a fleet of up to 750 points. The the warp.
Inquisition fleet must be led by either an Inquisitor Lord of the
Ordo Xenos or Ordo Malleus. No Grey Knights, Blackship or The game continues until the Event Horizon is removed.
Adeptus Mechanicus reserves may be taken.
(As an alternative one or two Rogue Trader fleets of 750 points VICTORY CONDITIONS
could be chosen). FIRST TURN
The player who scored the most Event Horizon points will win
The attacker takes the first turn.
this scenario. Furthermore, you calculate the usual victory
point to determine the winner in case the Event Horizon points
are tied.

57
Type/Hits Speed Turns Shields Armour Turrets The Event Horizon in regular games of Battlefleet Gothic
Cruiser/10 20 cm 45º Special 6+ 0 You may include the Event Horizon in any Chaos fleet, of course it may be only taken
once. It follows the profile as listed in the Special Rules of this scenario. Furthermore, it
Notes follows all basic rules for capital ships and being a daemonship. The special Horrors of
the Warp rules are only used when the ship is materialised. As long as it is spectral it will
Mirrors: 15cm
reduce the Leadership of every ship within 15 cm with -1.
The Event Horizon is protected by the very core of the warp energies; which daemonic
entity took possession of the vessel in unknown but each time the Event Horizon takes a The Event Horizon costs 300 points and takes up a heavy cruiser slot.
hit roll a D6: on a roll of 3 or higher the shot is deflected towards the ship firing at it,
resolve this as an attack versus the shooting ship. When ordnance makes a successful
attack and a 3+ from “Mirrors” is rolled the attack is negated. Roll once for a wave of
attack craft or torpedoes.

Warp bound:
When the Event Horizon is reduced to 2 hit points, it will start to slip back into the warp.
Roll a D6 in each end phase: on a 4+ it is removed from the table as it is pulled back into
the warp.

Horrors of the Warp:

Roll a dice in each end phase and apply the following result:

1-2: Warp full of Horrors: the structure of a ship is attacked by clawing warp energies:
every enemy ship within 15 cm takes D3+1 hits. (shields have no effect).
3-4: Dreams of Doom: the crew of the ship is driven insane by images of the warp:
every enemy within 15 cm cannot take special orders or make leadership checks
of any type, including Brace For Impact in its next turn (own and opponents).
5-6: Herald of dread: the captain of the vessel is being possessed by a daemonic entity:
roll a D6 for each enemy ship within 15 cm, on a 4+ the vessel will be under the
command of a daemon for the next turn and as such, the vessel must turn towards
the closest celestial phenomena and move at full speed. It may not do anything
else.

58
Arch Magos Larsik, a venerable figure with over four centuries As demonic entities began to merge with the cold metal of the The then crazed Magos decided to bend his mind to improving
of rule over Gathemorn's Forgeworld, was a legendary master warships, a twisted fleet emerged from Gathemorn's shipyards. upon a colossal and evil ship design he had seen vox-scripts of.
of the ancient sciences, renowned for his meticulous These demon engines, possessed and corrupted, bore little Larsik decided to build and improve upon the great despoilers'
craftsmanship in creating formidable warships for both the resemblance to the pristine vessels that had once rolled off the design of the planet killer. Larsik took many years to perfect
Imperial Navy and the Adeptus Mechanicus fleets. His assembly lines. The Arch Magos had unwittingly birthed a fleet and build his masterwork, in finishing the giant ship, he had
reputation as a brilliant innovator and visionary leader had that defied the laws of Imperial
30cm engineering,
15cm
and with each created a ship of splitting the void super with its armament and
made Gathemorn's shipyards a beacon of technological passing day, the tainted armada grew in power and wiping a planet from existence. The Void Destroyer was born.
excellence within the Imperium. malevolence.

However, the insatiable hunger for improvement gnawed at

Larsik's mind. Fuelled by an unrelenting desire to push the
boundaries of technology, he delved into forbidden realms of
knowledge and unsanctioned experimentation. His quest for
perfection led him to explore the forbidden arts of demonology,
seeking to infuse the very essence of Chaos into the heart of his
creations.

At first, Larsik's clandestine experiments remained hidden

from the prying eyes of the Imperium. As he introduced subtle
alterations to the ship designs, incorporating elements drawn Editor Note:
from the warp, the ships maintained an outward appearance of the fanmade rules for the Dark Mechanicum fleet
purity. But beneath the surface, the corrupting influence of can be downloaded directly from here:
Chaos began to seep into the very fabric of Gathemorn's Dark Mechanicum Ruleset
shipyards.

The turning point came when Larsik, in a blasphemous act of

desperation, attempted to bind a demon to a colossal warship.
The ritual, a dark communion between man and daemon,
unleashed an uncontrollable tide of chaotic energy that
engulfed the once-hallowed shipyards. The Forgeworld, once a
bastion of Imperial strength, succumbed to the malevolent
forces that now festered within.

60
30cm 15cm

61
Of all the celestial phenomenon that may be encountered in A Mandeville point is where most artificial breaches to and from The most common region for Mandeville points is in the outer
habitable systems the warp rift has the most devastating the immaterium take place. This is likely due to distance from reaches or deep space. This can often coincide with a stable
potential to ships and planets alike. Real space is distorted planets, stars and other significant gravity wells or dangers to Lagrangian point where competing gravity wells find
haphazardly blending with the immaterium, the natural laws shipping. Vitally the ease of breaching the dimensional equilibrium. Due to this being on the gravitational plane it is
are broken or twisted. The damage a warp rift can cause is membrane coupled with the relative tranquillity of the common for shipping to remain in alignment with planetary
incredibly varied, such as melding of physical matter, immaterium will determine a suitable Mandeville
15cm
point. orbits and those of mundane celestial phenomenon. Depending
spaghettification, relocation or reconfiguration, time dilation, on the system's Lagrangian points an abundance of asteroid
spiritual destabilisation and of course daemonic infestation. fields and dust clouds can be found at the point of transition to
and from the immaterium. If it weren't for the disruptive nature
Warp Rifts occur where the of a breach from the
membrane between the immaterium collisions would
immaterium and real space is the be common. Mandeville points
further in system are not rare
weakest, or in the case of
but warp travel in such places
warpstorms, where the
will likely be heavily restricted
immaterium is the most turbulent.
due to the increased risk of
Weaknesses in the dimensional warp rifts. Therefore, warp
membrane can be considered a rifts in habitable zones or
'natural' phenomena but can also closer to a star will be
be caused by frequent warp travel. incredibly rare.

63
Effects Tyranids; Hiveships are considered the only warp capable
Warp rifts block line of fire. At the beginning of the player's turn he must roll a d6 for each vessels in the fleet but will not do so intentionally. All other
of his contact markers, on a 5+ the ship may move on from the Tyranid vessels entering a warp rift will count as destroyed on
Ordnance will count as destroyed when making contact with a board edge within 10cm of the marker. This roll is modified by a roll of a 2+ (a roll of a 1 being disengagement as normal).
warp rift. the following: +2 if friendly ships are within 30cm, +1 if 25cm
speed or faster, +1 if 30cm speed or faster.15cm
If failed, the contact Tau; Orcas and Wardens are not warp capable, as such will
marker may be moved along the table edge by the ships speed. count as destroyed when making contact with a warp rift.
Not all ships or defences are capable of safely traversing warp
rifts. System ships, defence monitors and other orbital defences
will be effectively destroyed when coming into contact with a Warp rifts from Warp Drive Implosions Kroot; Skiffs(system ships) count as destroyed if they make
warp rift. Ramillies class starforts and Blackstone fortresses If a ship suffers the Warp Drive Implosion result on the contact with a warp rift.
are examples of warp capable orbital defences, if they were to catastrophic damage table leave the ships flying base in place,
contact a warp rift, they would count as having disengaged. this is now treated as a warp rift. At the start of each players Nicassar; Caravan's disengage when making contact with a
turn roll a D6, on a 1 the warp rift is removed. warp rift after a successful leadership test, otherwise they are
Traversing a warp rift destroyed. Dhows can be redeployed as normal.
If you wish a ship or squadron to enter a warp rift you must Placement
take a leadership test at the start of their movement phase for Warp rift markers are D6xD6cm wide by D6xD6cm long. Demiurg (Votann); Demiurg use Warp Skimming rather than
each individual ship. If failed the ship must avoid the warp rift, normal warp jumps, as such warp rifts are harder for them to
if this is impossible the ship disengages when in stem contact Warp Rifts and xenos fleets navigate. A Roll of a 6 on a D6 when placing blips is a
with the warp rift and then suffers D6 damage. Some fleets are not as adept at traversing the warp as others disengagement rather than picking which board edge or warp
and so have special rules: rift.
After a successful leadership test, when the ship's stem
overlaps the warp rift marker it has entered the immaterium. Eldar(Corsairs, Craftworld, Dark Eldar); If a disengagement
Pick a board edge and Roll a D6: result is rolled when traversing a warp rift the ship suffers D6
1. the ship disengages damage. Note: Ray Bell, just as Bob, has been a long-standing member of
2.place a contact marker anywhere on the chosen board the High Admiralty, the Battlefleet Gothic rules committee. He
edge Necrons; Necrons do not interact with warp rifts in the was part of the team in creating the Armada supplement and
3.place a contact marker anywhere on the board edge to standard manner. Necrons must pass a leadership test as several articles of him can be found in Warp Rift and the old
right normal to move onto a warp rift, however they do not roll for magazines.
4.place a contact marker anywhere on the opposite board redeployment and instead roll to close the warp rift: Roll a D6,
edge on a 1 the ship disengages due to emergency protocols, on a 2- And he also still answers community rules questions for which I
5.place a contact marker anywhere on the board edge to the 5 the ship moves through the warp rift as if it were a dust am very glad.
left cloud, on a 6 the warp rift counts as a dust cloud for the
6.place a contact marker anywhere on any board edge or remainder of the game.
warp rift marker(including the one entered)
64
 Double’s Hobby Insights

Terrain

Written by DoublebaseFanatic
Prologue
What is better than 1 article? The Equipment
Exactly, 5 in one. And since this is a special issue of Warp Rift Magazine (Happy birthday! Brushes:
<3), I thought it was time to write one (or more) special articles. Winsor & Newton Series 7 (0)
Many old bigger ones
I’ve also noticed that my hobby articles have very rarely talked about terrain. The terrain
is actually the most important thing to make the game immersive. (imo) The list of items Airbrush:
used will be bit longer, that's why I'll keep the prologue short this time. Fengda FE-183 – 0,5mm
Harder & Steenbeck Compressor 16A
(Besides, otherwise I would feel like one of those food bloggers. I'd have to write 20 Space stencil
pages about how much my last trip to Kandodzhikistan influenced me creatively, what a
positive influence FIMO had on my mental well-being, before we finally get to the recipe. Tools:
#nofront) Scissors
A Cutting mat
So, let's dive into the world of crafting and we start with the most frequently used to the Blu Tack to fix my models
rather special terrain. A self-made wet pallete
Glossy haispray

Colours:
Recipe: Citadel (brushwork)
Vallejo Model Air (airbrush)
Asteroid Fields The Planet
•Foam •Acrylic beads
•Fimo •Citadel Technical Mordant Earth
•Bases and stems •Various colours
•Various colours •Glossy hairspray
•Superglue •Superglue
•Baking paper

The Space Hulk

Gas Clouds •Building foam spray
•Foam •3D missprints
•Wool (organic) •Superglue
•Wood glue •Oilcolour (Oilwash)
•Water •Various colours
•Various colours •5mm acrylic rod
The Play Mat – and how AI helped me
Let's start with the most important and by far the I used the mat for a long time and it was well worth Here are a few comparison photos for you:
most frequently used terrain. The play mat. You're the money, but at one day I got to the point (during
probably wondering "Why not just buy one? There our campaign) where I thought I needed something
new. Old
are various ones you can order online in stores!" and
you're absolutely right. But that would be far too The old mat is a PVC vinyl print. The print is kind of
easy for me, and it wouldn't be "my" mat either. “okayish”. If you look at the details, they are a bit
blurry. The new mat had to be a mouse pad material,
This article in particular (and the following ones) have the right dimensions and, above all, have the New
should serve as inspiration for what is possible today same motif.
and, in a way, I have to pat myself on the back a little
for the idea I had back then. Therefore, I maintain First of all, I went looking for a printing service for
that it makes sense to read this article. play mats and quickly found one. Then I used the
google reverse image search, added the photo of my Old New
So why an article about a play mat? The short old play mat and found a couple of images to go with
it. However, the images I found were a maximum of
answer? AI! 1920x1080 pixels in size. So, when you scale that up
to the size of a regular mat, I'm not surprised that the
When I started playing Battlefleet Gothic in 2019, I image quality on my previous mat is so "poor". So, I
quickly realized that I needed a playmat. So, I set off took the image and went in search of a suitable AI
into the vastness of the internet and looked for one that could upscale an image for me free of charge.
that I liked. At some point, I stumbled across one that And OMG it works well. I loaded the image into the AI
I really liked the look of, and, above all, that fitted on and was able to scale it up to the desired resolution.
my kitchen table. It was also very reasonably priced So, my picture grew from 1920x1080p to no less
than 21600x12600p (which is exactly 72”x45” on Old New
at around €30. Regardless of the fact that it wasn't 300dpi printing quality) and with crystal clear
the right size for a regular BFG game, I ordered it. details. And to make sure it really is "my" mat, I
You probably know the mat, I still use it today as a decided to add my logo to one of the corners of the
background for all my pictures that you see in my picture.
articles or on my Instagram. I just love the bright
colors. Of course, the size of the file also increased. So large,
in fact, that the upload function of the print service
broke down.
After a brief contact with the manufacturer's print
team, I was kindly offered a cloud service on which I
could then store my file. From now on it was just a
case of paying and waiting.
And what can I say, it was worth it for me. The details
are amazing, and the material quality is as I wanted
it. Even though the mat wasn't particularly cheap at
€110 in the end but I’m very happy to have taken this So, I come to the conclusion, upscaling the photo for
step. your own play mat thanks to AI: 10/10
recommendation.
Asteroid Fields
There are many methods out there in the wide world Then we should have two disks that look something To model a few larger craters on them, I broke off
to represent asteroids. In my opinion, the most like this. We then put these in the oven according to the handle of an old paintbrush and then used this
common are to use 3D printing or lava rocks. Back the instructions to harden them. end to make more craters.
then I also used these methods but then I decided to
try FIMO for this.

But why FIMO? Well, FIMO is quite cheap for a

modeling clay and easy to work with.

First, roll out two lumps of FIMO between two sheets

of baking paper using a rolling pin.

When the sheets have finished hardening, we roll lots

of small FIMO balls between the two textured
surfaces to create lots of different-looking asteroids
in different sizes.

New
Then we take an existing asteroid (with a strong
structure or a lava stone) and roll it over the entire
surface of the two rolled-out FIMO discs to transfer
its structure onto them.

If you then use the same tool to smear the sides of

the craters outwards, you get really cool craters. Just
try it out a little. As long as FIMO has not been in the
oven, you have plenty of time to work on it.

When you are happy with your result, put it in the

oven to harden.
This page is mainly about how I painted the asteroid After that I consider from which side of the base the And finally, I highlight the outer edges of the
fields on the bases. The same technique can be "light" could shine. Then I apply Base Mourfang asteroids with Layer Baneblade Brown
applied 1:1 to the foam bases that I always use for Brown to the "bright side" of the asteroids with an
playing to mark the asteroid fields. The foam bases old medium brush.
are the actual asteroid fields. The 3D asteroids are
actually just for decoration and can be moved
individually.

As mentioned at the beginning, these little freehands

are super easy to transfer to the foam bases and give
your asteroids lots of cool little details. I played
around and experimented with different colors for
the previously shaped 3D asteroids. Just let your
creativity run wild. Not every asteroid looks the
same. Not even in terms of color.
Now just stick everything onto the bases with sticks
and you have a pretty cool asteroid field. Another
I do the same (only a little finer) with my fine brush valuable tip at this point. Search the internet for
and Layer Gorthor Brown. So that the painted 3mm acrylic rods. They are perfect as base New sticks.
Asteroids do have a bright and a dark side on the They are individually adjustable in length and, above
other. all, cheaper than the conical ones from our favorite
manufacturer.
So, let’s start…

With a big old brush, I apply Base Rhinox Hide to

the bases. This is the basic structure of the asteroids.

And btw, let me know if you guys want to know how

I did the ship scrapyard on the first picture.
Gas Clouds
Just like with the asteroid fields, we need 2D I mark the bottom of the templates with an X so that I Once it has dried, however, the painting fun can
templates for the 3D gas clouds that we can place don't get confused later. I then coat the templates for begin. I won't go into much detail about the colours I
under the clouds to be able to remove them if the 3D clouds with wood glue and spread it with a used here. The most important thing here is simply
necessary and for game purposes. large old paintbrush. that I used at least two colours per cloud in my
airbrush, one darker and one lighter of the same
I also use foam for the templates. But this time basic shade. The darker colour goes on the areas
white. The advantage of foam is that you don't have that are more on the inside of the cloud and the
to prime it. lighter colour on the outside. In fact, it doesn't hurt
to leave the very outer parts of your clouds white as
For this, I cut out many templates of different sizes an additional highlight. It's also not a bad thing if
and shapes. However, we need two of the same size there are still white areas inside that are visible.
from each template. One side is for the 2D template, Think of it as flashes or glows inside the cloud.
the second is the base for our 3D clouds.
However, it is important to know that you will need
a considerable amount of paint. But in the end (and
As I wanted the clouds to have a certain firmness for my part) I think it's definitely worth it.
after I had modelled them, I diluted wood glue with a
little water in an old container and then dipped wool
in the mixture. As soon as the wool is well soaked, I
wring it out again over the container and then attach
it to the template with the wood glue. At this point
we can shape the wool the way we want it later. As
you can easily see, I did this outside. Because it's New
quite a mess. (Reminds me a little of kindergarten
craft projects :D )

I simply place the first template on the foam and

trace the edges before cutting it out.
Once we have decided on the colour and painted the Here are the colours and an example of pink clouds You can of course add a few stars to the 2D template
clouds, all we have to do is paint the 2D templates to as an additional detail.
match the clouds. For this, I used my favourite stencil
again, which I use for all my space projects. I then
used it to spray different shapes onto the tempalte to
make it look more or less like a gas cloud. To be
honest, I think I'll be able to make it a bit prettier at
some point. But as this is only the 2D template, which
you only see when you need it, the result was
perfectly adequate for me at this point.

The clouds are ready. And here is another picture

with both 3D clouds and the 2D templates. Very
gaudy, very colourful. Very grimdark :D Anyway, I
like it a lot.

New

I then contoured the edges of the template in the

base colour at the end. The 2D template is now also
finished and we can place the 3D cloud on it.
The Planet – and his moon
I still remember well when I wrote my first planet On one side of the moon sphere, I worked on a spot
tutorial for Warp Rift 37. And I have to admit, as easy with a dart until it formed a flat hole with flat edges,
as it was to create this planet, it's still one of my so that the hole fits in with the planet and then glued
absolute favorites. Why am I mentioning it here now? the two halves of the moon together with superglue.
Quite simply.... we are going to adopt parts of the
technique with this one.

After a quick and rough white primer coat, you can

start painting straight away. It is important that the
two celestial bodies are not yet glued together.
After this had dried, I liberally applied hairspray to
the moon (you probably already know this trick
from my other tutorials)
Firstly, I searched my stash for any remaining acrylic
beads. (As with the planet described above, I used
the decorative acrylic spheres again. In my opinion,
they are the best base for planets)

For the moon I found a 7cm sphere and for the planet
I used an older, larger one from a previous project.

I decided to use Vallejo 71.051 Neutral Grey as the

base colour for the moon.
Now I apply a good coat of Vallejo 71.050 Light Now the base colour and the texture of the moon are
Grey to the layer of hairspray and then dab it off ready. Which is why it's the planet's base colour's
again to create a nice texture on the moon. turn next.

Starting on the white primer, I began on one side

with a coat of Vallejo 71.317 Light Blue and then
worked my way round to Vallejo 71.333 Russian
AF Blue and on to the other side to Vallejo 71.004
Blue.

Using the stencil, I now spray various islands and

land sections onto the planet. The first layer with
Vallejo 71.036 Mahogany followed by Vallejo
71.031 Middlestone and for a few green sections
Vallejo 71.267 Light Green

But since that wasn't enough for me, I repeat the last
two steps, only this time with Vallejo 71.001 White
Using the brush and various Citadel colours, I paint a With the help of Blu Tack, I placed the moon at the
few more details on the islands, such as small forests approximate point where I want it to hit the planet.
or mountain ranges. A few highlights here and there. Then I darkened the room and illuminated both
celestial bodies from the other side with a flashlight
to see how the shadows on both spheres behave.

With this in mind, I began to spray the shady areas

with black. (More or less perfect)
In the last picture, however, you can see that I made a
few mistakes here and there, mainly due to the
curvature of the sphere, because I sprayed past the
stencil. To correct these, I decided to spray a few
clouds here and there over the mistakes with Vallejo
71.001 White.
Now we come to the effect of the impact of the two I first sprayed Vallejo 72.705 Moon Yellow onto the
bullets. For this, I first sprayed white over both white base and then added a little depth with Vallejo
shaded sides to provide a good base for red and 71.083 Orange.
orange.

As soon as this was dry, I was able to touch up and

adjust the edges a little with black.

Now we come to the magic of Technical Mordant

Earth and the technique I used in the last planet
tutorial. We use Mordant Earth's rupturing property
to create the cracks on the planet's surface and let
the yellow/orange colour underneath shine through.
To do this, we apply a thick layer of Mordant Earth to
the area and leave it to dry for at least 24 hours. I try
to leave the spot where the moon is supposed to hit
relatively free of Mordant Earth, as the moon will be
glued to it later.
Now for the actual explosion effect, which we create This completes the painting job, and we can now glue
in exactly the same way as before, only this time on the moon in place using superglue. Done :)
the dried Mordant Earth layer.

In conclusion, I am ultra satisfied with the impact

effect of the two bodies, but less so with the planet
surface and the land masses. I think that I would do
it better today or even realise it completely
differently. Anyway, the whole article should serve
as inspiration, and I hope you like it.
The Space Hulk
Let's go straight to the last of the 5 articles. The Space Please do not do this indoors anywhere. This stuff The texture left by the foam is also great. It really
Hulk. I've always wanted to build a large central can really cause a lot of mess. In any case, it takes looks as if this mass of "everything" has simply
piece of terrain for my game board around which the about 24 hours to harden. Once this is the case, it's melted together.
action would then revolve. And seriously, anyone time for the fun tinkering. So, I took all my misprints
who has a 3D printer at home and prints BFG models to one side and started to simply press the ships into So on to the next step with the airbrush.
every day will have the odd misprint flying around in the material here and there. This works wonderfully,
the cupboard. And what better way to dispose of the as the foam still has a slight flexibility and can be Here I have now worked from the bottom upwards
misprints than with a Space Hulk? (And if I may give pressed in. Once I was happy with the position, I with three different shades of grey, so that it looks as
you a tip at this point. Many print services out there generously fixed the 3D models in place with if this massif is illuminated from above. I don't think
sometimes offer packages with various misprints superglue. I need to go into this in detail.
they have generated. This is worthwhile.)

I have a little magic word for the Hulk's body and

base. A magic word that is hard to beat in terms of
randomness and structure: “construction foam”. You
can get it in a spray can at any DIY store. It doesn't
cost a lot of money, is stable, very light and also very
easy to work with.

I got myself a can of this and laid out a film in our

cluttered garage on which I then started spraying the
foam like crazy. Be careful at this point, don't get the As a next step, I could of course go and paint each of
stuff on your fingers. It sticks like hell, and you'll the ships individually, but I've realised over time
have it on your fingers for a very long time :D (I may Satisfied with this step, I went outside again and gave that I'm not a big fan of the rather colourful Space
be speaking from experience here) it a good coat of Chaos Black as a primer. Hulks I've seen here and there. So, I decided to keep
it simple. The block will just be grey, everything on
If you spray it on the foil, you'll soon realise that the Fortunately, the material is not affected by the it, all the ships. However, I use the same effect in the
foam spreads out like big balloons, but that's not solvent and can be primed perfectly. And Yes! It is so "caves" as the explosion effect on the planet from the
what we want. So, I took an old stick and started satisfying when you see the mixed and glued article above.
poking around in it until it looked like it should. together thing in just one colour for the first time. I'm
sure you know the feeling. But more on that later.
First, the whole thing gets an extensive bath in an oil Now that the wash was completely dry, I could get to And what can I say... I think it looks great. It was a
wash to get more depth into it. Agrax Earthshade work on the glowing effects. Back at the airbrush, I technically very simple project, with a very simple
would be beyond my budget at this point. That's why started spraying the caves and recesses white and, paint job. But that's what gives it a very interesting
I opted for an oil wash with Schmincke Vandyke just like with the planet, I built up the effect from look (in my opinion). The fact that everything is
Brown. yellow to orange to a rich red. mostly grey in grey makes the surface more exciting
in my eyes, because you are willing to look for the
individual details and they don't immediately catch
your eye because of their different colours and
possibly overwhelm it.

Now just add a base underneath with a 5mm acrylic

rod and the project is finished.

Unfortunately, the nature of an oil wash also means

that it takes a long time to dry. So, you should allow
24 hours for this. And yes, thanks to the thinner, it
also smells really bad. So much so that I decided to
throw the whole thing back in the garage.
Closing words
I hope I was able to give you some inspiration for your next craft projects or you
might even decide to copy it 1 to 1.

Either way, I would be very happy.

Feel free to send me your current projects on the various channels. As always, I
look forward to hearing from you. Of course you can also ask me questions, give me
ideas or criticise me. I am always ready for an extensive conversation :)

Instagram: DoublebaseFanatic

Facebook: Chris Krows

Discord: doublebasefanatic

Linktree: DoublebaseFanatic

Thanks for reading

Chris “DoublebaseFanatic” Kraus

This might be the most controversial musing I muse! A while back we were discussing the Strike Cruiser - 145 pts.
Space Marine fleets and the fact that the bombardment cannon variant was an auto-pick While a Space Marine Chapter only rarely employs the might of its battle barges, Adeptus
while the others just felt… a bit naff! The extra shield also was very much an auto-pick and Astartes strike cruisers are a more common, although still rare, sight. Often the arrival of a
added a huge amount of durability for a fairly bargain price. The lance variant is not popular Space Marine strike cruiser is enough to quell a rebellious system. The Space Marines are
in-universe due to it being very obviously a problem for the Imperial Navy - it’s much more quick to act if their enemies’ surrender is not immediately forthcoming.
obviously suited for fleet actions. It was a controversial addition in FAQ 2010, but I think it 30cm 15cm
does have a place in more insular chapters, for example the Dark Angels. I’ve given it a Strike Cruisers are fast, lightly-armed vessels which mass slightly less than the Imperial
slight range and arc nudge to make it a little bit less of a terrible choice vs. the standard Navy’s Dauntless class light cruisers. Their primary function seems to be that of rapid
version. response, reports indicating that they are invariably the first craft to arrive at a threatened
planet.
The rationale behind these changes is to make the torpedo strike cruiser more attractive
while limiting the bombardment cannon variant. It becomes something more or less a Strike cruisers appear to carry approximately one full company of Space Marines (including
battlecruiser. Also note that the Inquisitorial Cruiser also serves somewhat as a support vehicles) and have been observed to deploy them within twenty minutes of arrival in
battlecruiser for the Marines as well. orbit.

Remove the Strike cruiser entry in all Space Marines lists as well as the Armageddon list, Type/Hits Speed Turns Shields Armour Turrets
and replace it with these two entries:
Cruiser/6 25 cm 90º 1 6+ 2

Armament Range/Speed Firepower/Str Fire Arc

Port Weapon Batteries 30 cm 4 Left

Starboard Weapon Batteries 30 cm 4 Right

Prow Launch Bays Thunderhawks:20cm 2 -

Prow Bombardment Cannon 30 cm 3 Left/Front/Right

Options
May take 1 extra shield for 20pts.

May replace its launch bays with strength-6, speed 30cm torpedo tubes, which may fire normal or
boarding torpedoes for free.

82
 Suppression Cruiser - 160 pts
The suppression cruiser is a heavily modified strike cruiser that is designed for fleet action
and heavy planetary fire support. Far rarer than the standard strike cruiser, suppression
cruisers nevertheless give space marine chapters a valuable gunship that can even go toe to
toe with Navy cruisers.
30cm 15cm
Type/Hits Speed Turns Shields Armour Turrets

Cruiser/6 25 cm 90º 1 6+ 2

Armament Range/Speed Firepower/Str Fire Arc

Port Weapon Batteries 30 cm 4 Left

Starboard Weapon Batteries 30 cm 4 Right

Prow Bombardment Cannon 30 cm 5 Front

Prow Bombardment Cannon 30 cm 3 Left/Front/Right

Note
1 Suppression Cruiser may be taken for every 2 strike cruisers in your fleet (any variant)

In the Space Marine Crusade fleet, an additional lance-armed suppression cruiser may be taken on
top of the 2:1 ratio above

Options
May take 1 extra shield for 20pts.

May replace its strength-5 prow bombardment cannon with a strength-1, range 45 cm prow lance
firing Left/Front/Right for + 30 points.

83
James Woodford https://www.instagram.com/anung_un_rama_79/
James Woodford https://www.instagram.com/anung_un_rama_79/
James Woodford https://www.instagram.com/anung_un_rama_79/
James Woodford https://www.instagram.com/anung_un_rama_79/
Issue 43 | March 2024