Warhammer & Son podcast, Episode 1

A father and son duo discuss their love for Warhammer and share their thoughts on the upcoming Warhammer Fest. They talk about their favorite factions and models, as well as their expectations for the new Tenth Edition. They also discuss the changes to characters, new unit attachments, and improvements to the morale phase. The conversation ends with their excitement for Warhammer Fest and the possibility of purchasing the new box set. They also mention the return of Warhammer Fantasy Battles in the form of Warhammer: The Old World. Warhammer and Son. The Grimdark as a family lark. Hello and welcome to the first episode of Warhammer and Son. I'm Tim. And I'm Daniel. And we're going to be walking you through our lives in Warhammer, travelling the Grimdark as a family father and son. How does that sound, Dan? Oh, I think that sounds great, Dad. Yeah? Come closer to the microphone then, because otherwise people will only hear me. Right, OK. So, let's start with a few introductions. So, I'm Warhammer. And, er, well, Tim really. And my favourite faction at the moment is Wotan. I've got collections of Tyranids and Eldari, but Wotan at the moment because they're so unpopular. How about you, Dan? I like Thousand Sons and the more psychic powers they have, though I do have armies of Space Freeds and Tau. Awesome. OK, so, we'll tell you a bit more about ourselves in future episodes, but this week, ahead of Warhammer Fest coming up at the weekend, we just want to sort of chew the cud on Tenth Edition, what we think might be coming in the boxes, and what we're looking forward to about it with all the leaks and releases that have been coming out of the Warhammer community. So, I'm going to kick it off with what I've seen that's most excited me, is I think, this is hot take, Daniel, you don't even know this before I say it, I think I'm going to start collecting Space Marines. Is that just because they're in the meta? No, no, it's not the meta. No, I'm not a meta chaser, you know that. I am not a meta chaser. So, it's actually because the new miniatures look absolutely sick. They look absolutely sick. So, that Terminator looks really good that they did recently. The Terminator librarian that they announced last week, was it the week before last? Oh my goodness, that figure alone makes me want to do it. I saw Lionel Johnson when they did him a few weeks ago, and I was like, oh, I love that figure. But I'm not going to do Dark Angels, because that would be meta chasing right now. But I think with Tenth Edition that will change. You're whispering Blood Angels, what's Blood Angels? Go on, hit me. So, the new Blood Angels chapter master, he's like an angel in the sky. Dante? Yeah, Dante was it. His new model is amazing. Yeah, that's not bad. I mean, Lionel Johnson's better, but I don't think, I mean, I never go for major chapters anyway, but some of those figures are awesome. And the other thing is there's new ones coming. There are definitely new ones coming. Because on the leak about, which one was it, characters, you know, they're changing the rules for characters in Tenth Edition. And did you notice the sample data card they gave had a couple of redacted lines? That means new miniatures. At least I hope it does. Did you see that? Yeah, there was this personality can lead intercessors, this, that, blade guard veterans. They can be attached. Because now, Tenth Edition, you're going to have characters attached to units. And the example they gave had a couple of units that they weren't telling you that they could lead. And I don't think that's because they're existing units, they just don't want you to know that they can lead. I think that's units they haven't yet told you exist, which is quite exciting. Yeah, that's really exciting. But I think I'm really interested in the Bus 2 vehicles, because they haven't really been used much in competitions and such. So seeing them come back into focus will be really fun. Yeah, I think that'll be cool, because I like tanks. And definitely there's not enough tanks. We all like to make tanks and put them on the field. So it'd be good to have tanks in competitions, for sure. Yeah. I think they really need this toughness boost that they say they're getting. Like, a Rhino will have 19 toughness. So that's 2 up. Is that a 2 increase of 2? Yeah. We're making an assumption that the shooting mechanics will handle pretty much broadly the same as they do in 9th. But I think they will, from what we've seen. Yeah. I think the only change that I'm really worried about is the sidekick change, so that sidekicks extend every phase. I know that probably busts me because of Thousand Sons, but I just find that really interesting, and I have to try and get my head around it, which sidekick changes in which phase. Yeah. I think they will have thought this through at length, and definitely, as currently appreciating VOTAM, it'd be nice to have not a sidekick phase existing. But it makes sense to roll. From what they've leaked, it makes sense to roll it all together. Let's see how it works out mechanically in the real world, because if a more sidekick-dependent arm is like Thousand Sons, will you actually suffer for the change in that mechanic, or will it make actually little difference and just improve the flow of play? To be honest, I don't think it will, because, for example, I think all the busts happen in the command phase, if I'm not correct. But then, like, Dumult, which is a straight Mortal Wounds, happens in the shooting phase. So it's kind of like what they kind of feel like. Yeah, it compresses it down a bit, which is the whole purpose of what they're saying they're doing, which makes sense, I guess. I also like the new update to the morale phase, and that's just compressed it down. So instead of models running away, it's... I can't remember what it does, but it doesn't destroy the models. Let me look it up for you while we're talking. Thanks for looking at that. Yeah, so the morale phase is now developed into Battle Shock, which, instead of making models run away and die, it weakens the power of them in melee tournaments. So they have... Let's read it out here. Battle Shock. In this step, you must take a Battle Shock test for each of your units that is below half strength. Roll 2d6. The result is greater than or equal to the best leadership characteristic in that unit. The test is passed. Otherwise, the test is failed until the start of your next command phase. That unit is Battle Shocked. While a unit is Battle Shocked, the objective control characteristic of all its models is zero. If it falls back, you must take a Desperate Escape test for every model in that unit, and its controlling player cannot use stratagems to affect that unit. Yeah, I think that's really good, because for armies like Tyranids, where they're swarms, morale was almost as bad as a shooting phase. It really did destroy them. But for armies like Custodes, it will also weaken it out for them, and I think they'll be affected by this as well. I think the main impact there is that once you've... I see two things in Battle Shock that I think are interesting there. The first is that the main impact of that sort of loss of units and so forth is going to be your inability to control objectives with that unit anymore. So objective control goes to zero. So that means if you're trying to hold a point, you've lost the unit, you fail to leave the ship, and it's got zero value on that objective, your opponent could have just one scout marine on there, and it's got control. And I think the other thing is that the best leadership characteristics of the unit is how you measure it. So this goes back to the change in characters, and how characters have to now be attached to units, unless they're just free-flowing solo. The bus thing. So bus and characters are no longer about a radius and an aura, it's about what unit they're attached to, apparently. And so here, you're going to be able to boost the leadership of a unit. That's going to be an additional implicit buff of having a character in a unit, because most characters have a pretty high value. That's a good point, because does attached count as it being part of that unit? Yeah, that's our character thing with Tenth. As I understand it, characters will now need to be attached to units from the get-go, at the start of the battle. And they can't float between units. They are part of this unit of Marines for the duration of the battle. Now, not every character has to be attached to a unit. Some do, some don't, if I understand it. But I think those that don't, that are the kind of solo heroes out there, charging around doing stuff, no longer have aura abilities about them. So they just are powerful engines of destruction, or whatever, in their own right. I think this is really interesting. One of the things I saw was the kind of military hierarchy they had. So you can equip a lieutenant as well as a captain into one squad. I missed that. You can have a lieutenant and a captain in one squad. Huh. Well, lieutenant would be a very American way of going about it. Of course, we'd have a lieutenant and a captain in the squad. Right, okay. So, shall we move on? It's making this a short first podcast. It's a bit of a test episode. We'll see if there's any positive reaction out there to our inane ramblings. We shall move on to Warhammer Fest, coming on in five days' time now. That seems so fast. Yeah. So I am quite excited. Quite excited. Obviously, it may mean, depending on what comes in that box set, that I may start off with a new Space Marine Force. Oh yeah, that's a good point. You might have to go for the Tyranid half. I can have some of your Tyranids. There's Marines versus Tyranids this time around, and I've already got Tyranids. The new Tyranid models don't look bad. I just happen to really like the new Space Marine models more than I like the new Tyranid models. I think the new Space Marines models do look a lot cooler, and the highlight about Browning, the rooms he had in them is really good, like the detail. The more detail they've added, because you can see they've developed their machinery. Yeah, I mean, it's like, obviously I've been collecting Warhammer for longer than I care to imagine, but when I think back to the standard of miniature that I worked with when I was your age, and what there is now, just the difference is incredible. And it's so much easier with plastics than with metals to work with. At least I prefer working with plastics. It feels a bit safer as well. I think I was probably overexposed to lead in my youth, which is probably a sign of why I'm a bit mad. Okay, so schedule for Warhammer Fest, three days, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. We're only going on the Sunday, and I said to you that I thought they wouldn't be releasing the box for sale for 40k, because I thought the preview of what was in the box was on the Sunday. And I've got it wrong. I've just been looking at the schedule, and that is first thing on Saturday. So now, I'm like, I'm a little bit squeaky excited, because first thing Saturday, so as soon as Warhammer Fest opens, 9am, they're doing the preview of Warhammer 40,000, which means they're telling you what's in the box. And somebody somewhere mentioned to me that they thought that they'd be actually selling the box of Warhammer Fest, like that that would be what happens. And I said to you, no way. If they're announcing it on the Sunday, they're not going to be selling it, because people who go on the Saturday will be really gutted to miss out. But it's first thing on Saturday. So, like, anything's possible. They could be selling it this weekend. Do you think they'll be selling it this weekend? Yeah, so doing it first on the Saturday, yeah, that is my expectation now. Like, doing it first thing, right at the start, that's my expectation. Because they've got Saturday, Sunday, Monday. I really hope so. Now, my only thought there is hoping they have enough stock. Don't do that to me. Because everyone will buy one. I can just feel it. So now I've got excitement, and I've got fear. Oh, this is all, this is the emotional rollercoaster. But looking at this timetable, I can't see where Golden Demon is. Golden Demon's just running through the whole thing. Is it? So, okay, Golden Demon. Well, I presume you know that for Golden Demon, people have painted their entries already. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. They're not, like, painting on the weekend. It's not like a competitive... There is a competitive paint-on-the-date thing, I think, going on. You should say that. They'll probably be the Golden Demon winners, don't you? Yeah, well, exactly. I mean, look, yeah, no way. I can't get away with just drybrushing to win a competition. So, they'll have already painted. So, it'll be just on display for the whole weekend. So, they'll be able to go and see all the Golden Demon entries. It should all be on display. And I don't know when they're judging it, so whether when you go around, you'll be able to see who the winners are, whether they're already... I think they may already be judged. So, but, I mean, the standard of painting in Golden Demon is mind-blowing. Mind-blowing. I think I'm a little... Actually, one of the points I've received there is the fact that all the other gamers, like, the other big one will have a Sigma and Kill Team. Both of them aren't on the first day, their previews. So, and I think they were both getting some big releases. So, I don't know if... Yeah, but I don't think that they're, like... The money machine for games, of course, is 40k right now. And I think, like, Sigma and Kill Team and Blood Bowl, all the other games, they're... None of them have a big new edition release or anything going on. Oh, do they not? No. Oh, yeah, because they wouldn't all align, would they? It's more kind of new, maybe new factions, you know. There'll be... Well, they truly will be previewing, like, what's coming in those games rather than anything particularly explicit. So, what I'm interested in, though, is Warhammer The Old World on the Sunday. I know what that is. What's that? Knights and Peasants? Yeah, I think it was an old game mode, they said. And they're bringing it back, so it's like... I don't think it's like a Merlin, but I kind of think there's a Merlin. There's knights on horses. Bretonians? Bretonians. Are they called Bretonians? No. It just said The Old World. And then there's peasants. But, yeah, they did a release on it on the website. I really missed that completely, and I'm seeing it in the schedule here, and I'm thinking, my hope was, when I saw that, was that that might be... Because Sigmar is like... I suppose I've never played it, so this is from a position of ignorance, but it looks to me like 40K with spears and swords and shields. An earlier edition. It's earlier in the campaign. No, I know that. I know when it's set, but it has the look of a game that plays like 40K but with less shooting. It's loosely formed cohesion of units. They're just groups, hordes of people running at each other. And my hope with Old World was it might be a rekindling. I read this a while ago that I thought it might be coming, and I missed this release announcement, so I'm going to look it up straight after we've recorded this. But The Old World might be Warhammer Fantasy Battles relaunched. And you're like, what's Warhammer Fantasy Battles, Dad? And I'm like, that is what Games Workshop was all about before 40K. It is. I think it's set about 1600. I think it's set previous to us. And I think it's... You mean it's historic? Yeah, I think so. Is Warhammer Does History? I think so. Don't take me off on this. Oh, man, this is very confusing. I thought it was going to be Warhammer Fantasy Battles, which is like Age of Sigmar period, but everybody in units that are more like blocks, formal blocks of troops in rank and file and columns and marching orders. The bases are rectangular. I'm going to look it up. Let's see what we find. Alright, so, we took a quick pause there to look at Warhammer The Old World because I felt I needed to know something I didn't, and I am very excited. Bretonians are coming back, my boy. Do you think you'll start collecting them? Well, I don't know because I still have a backlog of Wotan. I'm saying I'm going to start Space Marines. And the whole system is... Those flying horses, those are something else. Do you call them Pegasi? They're Pegasi, yeah. I wasn't sure to call them that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, I see why you thought it was historic because there's knights and peasants. Yeah, I didn't get to start with the flying horses. That's the visuals. You don't have the context of having played Warhammer Fantasy Battle, but this is one fantasy battle coming back. Okay, that is a very exciting point on which to end for this first episode. We will be back. We'll record a post-Warhammer Fest episode probably next week. See how it goes. And hopefully we'll be seeing people there. I'm looking forward to celebrity meetings. Yeah, David Geller, Vic Vujay. Well, yeah, if we can disturb them from the tournament. There'll be David Geller, Vic Vujay there. And the Fanguard Tactics team. So, Stephen Box is going to be there doing a meet on Sunday. So, watch out, Stephen. We might come and find you. Yeah, awesome. All right, but thank you for listening to Episode 1, our inane ramblings in the grim dark. And hopefully you'll listen to Episode 2 when it comes around. Say bye-bye, Daniel. Bye. Bye. .