Great things may come to those who wait,
But only the things left by those who hustle
~ Abraham Lincoln
White Dwarf has been absolutely smashing it these past 6+ months. When I went to tidy out my hobby area a week or two back, I found that every single issue had multiple reasons why I just couldn’t ditch it. I’m probably going to have to revert to 14-year-old nerd status at some point, and keep a ring binder of my favourite articles, because there really are some fantastic features.
So what are we gonna do with the news that White Dwarf Issues 453 is (understandably) delayed?
We’re going to assemble our own magazine of (mainly) community content, that’s what we’re going to do!
Like most people, I am always delighted to get a shout out from other blogs or podcasts (I’m only human!), so I’ve taken the liberty of rustling together some excellent articles from around the interwebz for everyone’s enjoyment.
If you are the author of one these pieces, and would rather not be included here, please reach out to me and I will remove the link; otherwise, please enjoy the curated content, and please do let me know if there are any great pieces of writing that are worth a wider look.
Rules of Engagement
The thoughts of Jervis are often the first thing I flick to when I get a new issue of White Dwarf in my hands. One that stood out in my mind was his piece on how garage gaming was something to aspire to, and in many ways the pinnacle of the hobby, accompanied by a really interesting Battleplan.
In many ways this sections forms the heartbeat of Red Giant, so we’ve doubled down on a couple of articles here that are too good to miss out on.
Darren Watson: Understanding Your AOS Playstyle
Darren will be familiar to many of you from his outstanding List Diaries on The Honest Wargamer. What puts Darren’s output over the top for me is his fluent communication, searing honesty and a mind that crackles and fizzes with original thought. Enjoy.
https://thehonestwargamer.com/self-analysis-understanding-your-aos-playstyle-and-build-preferences/
Chuck Moore: Battletome Banter
This article from the excellent Strength Hammer blog is one year young, but still very relevant. Complete mastery of your favourite faction is something everyone can relate to and aim for, and reading this article for the first time just a couple of weeks ago has inspired me to try and do well with every Warclan in the Orruk Warclans book.
https://www.strengthhammer.net/2019/05/battletome-banter-daughters-of-khaine.html#more
Nico Narwhal: Activation Wars Part 2
AOS Shorts may well be the best and most popular AOS fan site out there. Dan is tireless in his work for the community and this article is a great resource for everyone playing the game today. Nico is an accomplished competitive player with a string of excellent results in the cauldron of the UK scene, and being an actual lawyer, it’s refreshing to have someone chiming in who actually knows their arse from their elbow.
https://aosshorts.com/nicolab-the-activation-wars-part-2/
Paint Splatter
Ian Hannam: Marked for Destruction
Ian has an excellent hobby-focussed blog, which offers some highly practical advice. In this article, Ian helps those interested in taking their painting of Orruks one step further.
https://warhannam.wordpress.com/2019/10/21/marked-for-destruction/
Batrep
Rune Axe Wargaming: Warclans vs Mawtribes
Gabe is a stalwart of the Australian competitive scene and TO of Australia’s main team event; his Rune Axe blog is one of the major reasons I started up this site. No issue of White Dwarf is complete without a Batrep, so let’s all enjoy hearing about Pat Nevan getting riggidy riggidy rekt.
http://theruneaxewargaming.blogspot.com/2020/04/195-cancon-game-4-ironsunz-vs-undergut.html
Short Story
To Truly Excel
The Malign Portents series offered up some little gems, and this tale of some Liberators doing some “Liberating” might be the best of the lot.
https://malignportents.com/story/to-truly-excel/
Echoes From The Warp
Grimdark Filthy Casuals: Orks Review (Saga of the Beast)
It’s fair to say that I’m less plugged in to the 40K community than I am with AOS, but I did get a lot out of this review of Saga of the Beast. Nicely structured, and offering some good value-added analysis, this one may well have you clicking through to a lot more of their articles.
https://www.grimdarkfilthycasuals.com/orks-review-saghaz-of-the-beast/
Glory Points
Can You Roll A Crit: Warhammer Underworlds Online
Big news in the Underworlds! The game has gone live on Steam, and who better to talk us through that than the great John Rees, winner of multiple Grand Clashes, and the first person in the world to win Glass with every Warband?
https://canyourollacrit.com/2020/04/28/warhammer-underworlds-online/
Temporal Distort
Plastic Craic: 2019 Review
Eh, while we’re doing shout outs, how about I plug one of my own articles? Here’s my wrap of the year that was.
https://plasticcraic.blog/2019/12/06/2019-a-year-in-plastic/
The Final Word
I hope you’ve enjoyed those articles as much as I did. Let’s leave the final word to Beard Bunker, who published perhaps the two most timeless blog posts I have ever read. I’ve been back to both of these a few times now, and they choke me up every time.
Vale, Mark.
http://beardbunker.blogspot.com/2019/10/the-great-squig-in-sky.html
http://beardbunker.blogspot.com/2019/11/totally-worth-it.html
Plastic Craic 