Can you feel the energy? AOS4 is backerer than ever! Since the last monthly recap we’ve had a full suite of Scourge of Ghyran updates – the power level was all over the place (classic GW) and the armies that needed the most help didn’t always get that. But what it did bring back was flavour, and in a lot of cases, listbuilding options. That’s a great start.
This new GHB looks set to be an absolute banger – people keep accidentally referring to it as a new edition, and it does feel that way. Battle Tactics have been totally redesigned (thank Gork) and there’s a lot of cool missions too. The first year of AOS4 was pretty lackluster but it feels like finally we’re in business.
So welcome to our monthly roundup of what’s been going on in the game generally and the Craichouse in particular, with a rundown of what’s been published here on the blog and a look ahead to July. But first: we’ve got the first event win for our writing team under the new GHB to boast about announce.
Let’s hear it for Pat Nevan, who took first place in a one-dayer at the Gaming Arena in Melbourne. This was Melbourne’s first event under the new GHB and a red-hot field, so it was a good one to win. Well done mate, and hopefully that’s the first of many.
Indexhammer: June ’25
We kicked off the month with a reflection on where shooting is at in AOS4. A lot of people went into total meltdown over the new Obscuring rules, but as they actually play some games, they will work through The Stages of Disagreeing With Pete and come to realise that you might actually have to move around the board and get onto objectives to score the odd point or two. You can’t just camp on Obscuring all day.
Next up I took a look at the universal Mani lores. Armies like Ogors don’t have much choice in the matter, and AORs will usually want to take one of these rather than the gimped faction Manis, so it’s worth reflecting on which ones are worth paying for and when – plus the pick of the freebies.
ROCKMAN got straight down to business with his NH, playing games and taking names. This NH tech article was backed up with a piece on Patreon that went into detail on his list:
I took a very rare detour from AOS coverage to fap wax lyrical over 2000 AD in general, to mark the end of Warlord Games’s 2000 AD range and to recognise Paul Sawyer’s legacy in particular. There’s a reflection on the significant links between 2000 AD and Games Workshop and a reading list for anyone keen to have a crack:
…And then we were straight back down to business with Calvin’s celebration of list writing under this GHB. Calvin presents a new list for ever Order faction, aiming to centre the new Scourge of Ghyran updates along the way:
Around the Craichouse
Thank you and welcome to our latest Patrons, who all joined since the last update:
- Nick Cuevas
- James Dolan
- Medium Matt
- Martin Clarke
- Noel Paroz
- Andrew Charlton
We’re rapt to have your support, and we’ll keep working hard to give you the best dedicated AOS coverage we possibly can.
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The Plastic Craic Book Club has wrapped up reading Know No Fear by Dan Abnett at the end of June, so now we’re ready to get going in the discussion channel of our Discord over the next week or two:
We’ll leave a month or two’s gap before the next Book Club selection, and maybe step outside of Black Library for that one. Either way, we’ll throw it over to the Patrons to choose.
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As mentioned last month, we’re launching a joint project with our friends at Woehammer to put forward the unique charactersfrom the AOS setting that you’d love to see in the game, and write appropriate Warscrolls for them. We took nominations and votes from our Patrons, and announced the winners, so keep an eye out for an article here on the main site in the very near future that will officially launch the project – and then we can crack into it.
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And we’ve finally got to grips with Discord bots, so we’ve added a few “vote for roles” and server reacts. If there’s anything else you’d like to see, let us know, and we’ll make it happen.
Patreon articles
We do try to give our Patrons some value through the articles we publish on that platform, and I reckon there were a couple of good ‘uns in June. We already mentioned that ROCKMAN followed up his Nighthaunt tech article with a write-up on the list he’s been running, so that’s a nice 1-2 punch for the fans of the spooky ghosts. I reckon they’re set to be an absolute menace in this GHB.
I wrote a couple of technical AOS pieces myself: firstly reflecting on the Predator battlefield role, and secondly a trick you can pull with Aetherwrought Machineries.
And in terms of the broader tabletop insustry, I took a look at the woes at CMON, and my own exposure to them.
So What’s Next?
Here’s a few things that you can look forward to in July 2025:
- We’ll be launching our joint project with Woehammer to write warscrolls for the unique characters that we need to see on the tabletop.
- I’ll force myself to write the Farewell to Bonesplitterz that we’ve been sitting on for a while.
- On the Patreon site: I’ve been back in touch with the creator, so we’ll follow up our piece on The Lost Wargame with the full rules document.
Our biggest hope is to give our Patrons something worthwhile to read every week, and hopefully this program for July and beyond will deliver that for you. Our Discord is for Patreon members and writers only (No Dickheads Policy), and membership is priced at a level that everyone can afford – so if you want to join us, you know what to do.
Have a great month, nerds – see you on the other side.
If you’d like to help us continue our work, we’d love to have your support. All Patreon Tiers include Discord access, exclusive articles and regular contests. Our Tiers are priced to be within everyone’s reach, so please click here to join us today!
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