Is Spearhead a good deal? While it’s generally not offering the same eye-popping value as certain Stormbringer issues, it can still be a really cheap way of picking up specific kits, especially for those of us here in Australia. The big factor here is that Hachette charge the actual price at the actual exchange rate plus the actual shipping costs, so there’s effectively an extra discount between the magazine price and what GW chooses to charge us.

Sprues and Brews have run some numbers on the overall package in UK pricing, and although their piece seems to be trying to steer you towards the idea that you get great value by signing up to the whole shebang, it only succeeded in convincing me of the exact opposite. Quite apart from the fact that you’ll end up with a lot of random shit you’re not interested in, the saving isn’t all that compelling: across the main run you’d basically be paying GBP 900 for GBP 1,050 of product, a mere 10.5% discount for committing to the package. I dunno about you, but that’s not enough to get my balls tingling.

So I’d suggest that most people will get way better value from cherry picking the best kits at the best value. Here in ‘Straya I’ve had a lot of success doing that through my local newsagent: they can order the precise issues you want after they come out, often in multiple copies. I got a few units of Loonsmashas and new Ardboyz that way myself. I also learned from Sean Tufnell that you can call Hachette directly and pick up specific issues that way, too.

So my suggestion would be to focus in on the issues you want, and this article will aim to be a tool to help you with that, without being slathered in adverts. So we’ll start out by looking at which factions are covered, then listing the contents of each issue, updating the article as the issues are revealed.

The Armies

Back Row:

• Sylvaneth
• Seraphon
• Gloomspite
• OBR

Middle Row:

• IDK
• LRL
• SBGL
• Nurgle

Front Row:

• Cities of Sigmar
• SCE
• Skaven
• S2D

The Issues

Issue 1: Lord-Veritant and Gryph Crow, Warlock Engineer, Grey Seer. Rating S Tier

This one is extra cheap (GBP 2.99, probably AUD 7.99 and you can fill in the blanks for USD) and for that reason alone it’s hard to walk past. I don’t even play these armies but I’ll pick one up for painting and bits alone.

Issue 2: 3x Rat Ogors. Rating S Tier

Mid-priced at GBP 6.99, sitting inbetween the “First hit is free” issue 1 and the normal GBP 10 / AUD 22 pricing. Another stone-cold bargain. Rogors are devalued slightly in Australia purely because of the sheer number of free Skaventide boxes GW dumped into the local market – I know people who ended up being given 5 or 6 boxes from attending various events – but outside of the 1% of people in the hobby who actively attend competitive events, the other 99% will love this issue. Sexy new kits at an eye-popping price.

Issue 3: 5x Liberators. Rating C

It’s a full unit and they are surprisingly expensive to buy at retail, so it’s a great saving if you happen to want them. I just feel like most people who are remotely interested in SCE (and even a lot who aren’t) will already have a lifetime supply of Libs.

Issue 4: A couple of paints. Rating D for Don’t bother

Issue 5: Karnus the Seeker. Rating S Tier

Yeaaahhhhh boi! The trademark Issue 5 Unique Sculpt, one to pounce on! An exclusive Lord Celestant, he’ll just use the Lord Cellie’s rules but this model is one to look out for. Great for collectors, nice tournament swag for the TOs out there and no doubt scalpers are gonna scalp.

Issue 6: A couple of paints. Rating D for Don’t bother

Issue 7: 10x Clanrats. Rating D for Dick Move

Urgh, they’ve split a basic-ass unit of 20 Clanrats across two issues. Yuck. Bodes ill for the 20 Moonclan Stabbas we know are coming down the track. Particularly shabby when just a couple of months ago you were getting 10x Ardboyz in Stormbringer Issue 73 – you can see why people see Spearhead in general as offering weaker value for money than Stormbringer.

Issue 8: 10x Clanrats. Rating D for Dick Move

Issue 9: A couple of paints. Rating D for Don’t bother

Issue 10: 3x Prosecutors Rating A for Fuckin’ Ay

New Prozzies are in the same bucket as Rat Ogors: seductive new sculpts that some people won’t need due to the whole Skaventide landfill thing, but which will appeal greatly to most of us. These things are ruinously expensive at retail (like AUD $100 at Aussie discounters) so it’s a great opportunity to fill yer boots.

Issue 11: Lord Vigilant on Gryph Stalker Rating B for Be My Guest

One of those pseudo-centrepiece, middleweight mounted heroes that they love putting in starter boxes. His rules aren’t bad so there’s worse things you could do with twenty bucks.

Issue 12: A couple of paints. Rating D for Don’t bother

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We’ll keep this up to date as we go along. If there were a lot of S and D ratings in the first batch, don’t worry, my keyboard’s not stuck: there’s plenty of mid stuff coming down the track, but in the first wave there are clear winners and losers. Issues 1, 2 and 5 stand out to me so I’d rather load up on those rather than subscribe for the full run.

Have a good weekend, nerds. See you on the other side.

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