Civil War VI Results and Coverage

 Incoming Transmission... 

War Head Civil War, the shining beacon in our annual calendar, is again behind us for another year. This one must have been the best one yet, as everyone was really pushing themselves creatively and artistically to produce amazing secret army projects for the occasion, and the battles had a good flow to them thanks to the refined scenarios. Our collective effort also made sure that the Civil War army building values of out-of-the-box thinking, the rule of cool and anti-competitive choices were in the limelight through the weekend. You can find this year's event rules as well as the scenarios and special features here.

This pic is a little teaser of the landing zone, right after we had all taken turns describing our new forces, revealing a surprise unit after another for others to freak out about and marvel at. We look forward to this moment all year and it is at least as important as all the following games combined. Assembling a new force is often quite labour-intensive especially during the last few weeks leading up to the big day, but the shared sense of hobby thrill at this very moment is most addictive and rather emotional. It's the pinnacle of the hobby for us.

The Civil War format includes a change of dynamics each round, as the games are played as 1v1, 2v2 and 4-player compositions. You kind of get to learn the ropes of the new roster in the first clash, and then take those teachings to the multiplayer fields, co-operating and politicizing in the middle of permanent and temporary alliances. This is also a neat social hook - sharing the table with several friends is one of the keys to the gaming madness we're looking to achieve.  

The sweet photography coverage for this year was courtesy of Manel @mp_miniatures, who joined us for our traditional hobby celebration all the way from Barcelona! Stay tuned for the full model gallery here and on War Head Instagram!

Round 1: Escalation (1v1)

14 Blood Angels (Juha) vs Death Guard (Manel) 6

19 Word Bearers (Olli) vs Sons of Horus (Eric) 1

14 Death Guard (Scott) vs White Scars (Noa) 6

17 Sons of Horus (Joel) vs Space Wolves (Teemu) 3

Round 2: Battle Brothers (2v2)

11 Word Bearers & Death Guard (Olli+Manel) vs White Scars & Space Wolves (Noa+Teemu) 9

13 Death Guard & Sons of Horus (Scott+Eric) vs Blood Angels & Sons of Horus (Juha+Joel) 7

Round 3: Carnage (4-way free-for-all)

White Scars (Noa) 5
Sons of Horus (Eric) 4
Blood Angels (Juha) 1
Space Wolves (Teemu) 5

Word Bearers (Olli) 0
Sons of Horus (Joel) 4
Death Guard (Manel) 4
Death Guard (Scott) 5

Final Standings

1. Death Guard (Scott) 32

2. Word Bearers (Ollie) 30

3. Sons of Horus (Joel) 28

4. Blood Angels (Juha) 22

5. Death Guard (Manel) 21

6. White Scars (Noa) 20

7. Sons of Horus (Eric) 18

8. Space Wolves (Teemu) 17

+ The Civil War Patrol Compilation +

Civil Warrior: Olli @wrhd_ollie

Legion: The Word Bearers

Army: The Unspeaking of the Miskatonic Fleet

HQ: Diabolist Consul Aleister Alhazred, Artificer Armour, Bolt Pistol, Power Sword

ELITE: 5 Ashen Circle

ELITE: 5 Veteran Squad, Vexilla, 2x Power Maul, Warpfire Blaster, Sergeant with Power Maul

TROOP: Despoiler Squad: Power Sword, Power Axe, Sergeant with Power Maul

Civil Warrior: Noa @wrhd_noa

Legion: The White Scars

Army: The Brotherhood of the Golden Star

TROOP: Breacher Squad, 2x Flamer, Sergeant with Artificer Armour and Power Glaive
TROOP: Reconnaissance Squad, 5x Nemesis Boltguns, Nuncio-Vox, Augury Scanner
ELITE: Destroyer Squad, 2x Volkite Serpenta, Sergeant with Phosphex Bomb and Power Maul

Civil Warrior: Manel @mp_miniatures

Legion: The Death Guard

Army: XIV Destroyer Cadre

HQ: Moritat Consul, Volkite Serpentas, Toxin Bombs
TROOP: Despoilers, two Bolt Pistols, Sergeant with Power Scythe, Toxin Bombs
HEAVY: Heavy Support Squad, Alchem Flamers, Toxin Bombs
TRANSPORT: Rhino APC, Combi-Alchem Flamer

Civil Warrior: Eric @wrhd.eric

Legion: The Sons of Horus

Army: The Talon of the Warmaster

HQ: Legion Centurion, Chainsword
TROOP: Tactical Squad
TROOP: Legion Despoilers, Inductii, Chainaxes
ELITE: 6 Reaver Aggressors, Jump Packs, Chainaxes

TRANSPORT: Rhino APC

Civil Warrior: Teemu @gowarhead

Legion: VI Legiones Astartes, The Fenrisians

Army: The Night's Watch - Search for the First Wulfen

TROOP: Grey Stalkers, Power Axe, Maul, Spear, 2x Rotor Cannon, Huscarl with Power Spear

TROOP: The Night's Own, First Wulfen (10 Scouts) Power Spear, 2x Carnyx Traps (Shotguns)

FAST: Asaheim Attack Bike, Heavy Bolter, Twin-Linked Bolter, Chainsword

FAST: Asaheim Attack Bike, Heavy Bolter, Twin-Linked Bolter,  Chainsword

FAST: Sabre Strike Tank, Anvilus Snub Autocannon, The Heavy Flamer

FAST: The Næturvár, (Tarantula Battery), 3 Frontier Idols with 6x Heavy Bolter

Civil Warrior: Scott @wrhd_scott

Legion: Death Guard and Daemons

Army: Dreams of Heresy

HQ: Esoterist Consul, Artificer Armour, Force Maul, Alchem Pistol, Toxin Bombs

HQ: Davinite Lodge Priest

ELITE: Apothecary, Chainsword, Bolt Pistol

ELITE: Daemon Brutes (Esoterist), Infernal Armaments, Infernal Tempest, Aetheric Dominion

TROOP: 8 Scout Squad, Alchem Flamer, 2x Nemesis Bolter, Toxin Bombs

Civil Warrior: Joel @fellfyre

Legion: The Sons of Horus

Army: 82nd Reserve Assault Company Remnants

ELITE: 8 Veterans, Banestrike Bolters, Power Fist, Power Sword, Power Maul, Charnabal Sabre
TROOP: Tactical Squad, Bayonets
TROOP: Legion Despoilers, Inductii, Chainaxes, Power Maul, Power Axe
TRANSPORT: Rhino APC, Heavy Bolter

Civil Warrior: Juha @mentoronminiatures

Legion: The Blood Angels

Army: Task Force Malletus

HQ: Legion Centurion, Thunder Hammer
HQ: Legion Company Command Squad, Chainswords
TROOP: Legion Tactical Squad, Bayonets, Lightning Claw, Plasma Pistol
TROOP: Legion Reconnaissance Squad, Nemesis Bolters

Blood and Iron - Horus Heresy Casual Gaming

During the last week or so we've had some neat Horus Heresy going on, and have got some proper games in after quite a while! To begin the fall gaming season we met with Rob from Medders' Miniatures and Heresy Hammer podcast, along with a crew of eager generals attending Rob's famous Kratos Tank Painting Course organized here in Helsinki! Arranged at Nopat ja Taktiikka, the weekend of professionally guided painting was a superb technical exercise that was able to educate and inspire all of its hardworking attendees. 

Before the course kicked off we assembled at our studio for an evening of dining, discussions and dice rolling, as we had the guys try out War Head Civil War's multiplayer "carnage" format. Always nice to witness new, spectacular models take to the field, and it was particularly cool to reconnect with Rob after the SN Battle Reports: No Retreat experience we shared earlier this year. Thanks for the visit!

This weekend myself and Ollie attended a three round narrative Horus Heresy event at Nopat & Taktiikka, taking our 3000 point rosters to reinforce the Traitor alliance. The positive gaming buzz, quality hobby vibes and the old and new acquaintances all played their part in making the day a success - we both enjoyed the rare occasion of taking part in an event as a regular participant instead of being part of the organization as usual. Ollie especially had gone through a massive effort to complete his new Iron Warriors detachment and I bet it was hugely rewarding to finally deploy them (first in our practice game, and finally at the event venue for the first time against loyalist opposition).

Game 1 - World Eaters vs Dark Angels Armoured Spearhead

First game, massed armoured onslaught of Willy's first legion. My reserve-based list is rather good facing tank opposition and I went with the usual modus operandi - deep striking right into the thick of it, trying to annihilate enemy scoring capability mostly or entirely upon the initial touchdown, even if it means leaving the enemy hard-hitters unscathed. The Dark Angels Deredeo proved to be super imposing and Marduk Sedras made a valiant push, but as the tank line was halted on their own deployment zone and most Line units lost their lives on turn 2, Dark Angels had hard time gaining any points in the progressive scoring mission. Both of us suffered huge losses in the bloody contest, but World Eaters took the win with a considerable margin.

Game 2 - World Eaters vs Alpha Legion and Armigers

Battle two against KuoFi's Juska was a great learning experience, as the expert Alpha Legion Headhunters scouted to kill my Master of Signals (and the precious reserve rerolls) on their first turn despite of my protective efforts. Luckily the deep strike element arrived on time and only the outflank aspect was delayed, and the World Eaters went to work. The allied Dark Fury and Deliverer units proved to be super spicy as is their reputation - I also had hard time with the opponent using their narrative trait to blow up one of my preferred objective markers and placing a denying Callidus Assassin upon another! Finally my MVP was a Skyhunter Jetbike Sergeant, who refused to give ground against a Contemptor and an Armiger on an objective, denying crucial points from the Alpha Legion and their allies before World Eater reinforcements were able to hurry to the fray. The end score was 4-2 in an intense clash, brilliant game against a great and sporting opponent who went on to win the Best Painted for Loyalists faction.

Game 3 - World Eaters vs Ultramarines and Imperial Knight

A perfect game to end the day, Kill Points and a single objective in the middle, fought against old mate Teemu Juselius! This game was essentially about hobby chat, a good laugh and banter as well as us both learning each other's lists and Legion intricacies. The city board provided a neat visual theatre for the bloody affair where Ultramarine characters in particular produced amazing feats, most notably the XIII Legion Champion taking my Warmonger Warlord's head in the challenge. Loyalists were not able to hold their formation together and lost most of their scoring capacity on turn two, so there was no comeback to report good news to Macragge - World Eaters pushed the Ultramarines all the way back for the 18-8 end result.

As the dust settled Ollie had recorded the Best Painted Traitor award with the newly-finished IV Legion, whereas my World Eaters were crowned with the accolades of the Best Traitor General and the Best Traitor Sportsman! We'll carry this inspiration to the fall painting sprees and hopefully recurring games, as Ollie finally has a tournament-sized list to direct!

The 308th Void Assault descended on city-guarding Ultramarines on the last event round. The Praetor of the XIII acted an epic last stand on the lone central objective, a command squad banner firmly planted on top of it, valiantly fending off ravenous assault troops closing in from all directions. Ultimately, despite the heroics, the day belonged to the scions of the Red Angel!

Civil War Rising

It's the Civil War season and the big day is a mere month away! Our annual "main event" for War Head crew's internal bragging rights and shared hobby inspiration is played on Saturday 28th of September. The occasion is very much already messing with our heads - is there enough time to prepare all the secret schemes, what wicked plans others might be cooking, and how are the exciting games going to unfold as it's finally time to deploy?

The Civil War event pack including the Patrol army building rules, scenarios and multiplayer special features are described below in the Civil War VI Player Primer - we encourage everyone to try out the compact "grassroots skirmishing" with compressed Horus Heresy rosters in good company! We've quite enjoyed the low threshold it introduces to building new, thematic armies in a reasonable timeframe, as well as the refreshing scale of patrol gaming where the Tactical Marine is the king.

+ Civil War VI Player Primer +

+ Past Civil War Coverage +

Wild Riding

The implacable Wraithlord

The latest in the completed commissions department is this detachment of Saim-Hann Craftworld Aeldari, assembled and painted for a playing customer. The compact army includes some signature Jetbike troops, some elite Aspect Warriors and a contingent of Wraith constructs led by a pair of Spiritseers. With these we tried out a restricted palette, building nearly every colour (including red) over Citadel Incubi Darkness, giving a deep, cold hue to contrast the flaming red primary colour of the force.

In the leaders and elites we flipped the scheme around to feature the red merely in the accents and based their palette mostly on blues and whites. The HQ shine in white robes, whereas Aspect Warriors have a dark "commando" look in their panoply. We feel it's important to maintain a cohesive look in the army, so same colours have been used throughout the detachment in different combinations. Basing has been kept ascetic according to the customer's wishes.

Wraithlord, Wave Serpent and the Guardian Support Weapon Platforms were also made with interchangeable weaponry, different options allowing differing battlefield roles during gameplay. The Jetbikes are also not glued to their flying stands to allow manual repositioning for display and gaming.