White Dwarf Issue #96: Archaon Everchosen

White Dwarf reviews operate differently than other Blood of Kittens Reviews. The goal with these reviews is to place a value for each issue. The rating system is one to four stars, each star represents $1 in value, to a max of four dollars. The review values are also Warhammer 40k based; Age of Sigmar dedicated issues will still be reviewed, but valued for Warhammer 40k players. It means you could see many low valued issues, with the general Games Workshop hobbyist actually valuing more. Keep this in mind when deciding if a particular White Dwarf Issue is good for you.

Contents: New Releases

As you can imagine from the title of this issue, it is all about Archaon and his amazing new model. This champion of Chaos is the Abbadon for Warhammer Fantasy. He is responsible for the End Times and destruction of the World That Once Was. The new model has him riding a giant three-headed demon steed called Dorghar, which use to a be a Horse of course. The model is one of the best multi-plastic kits every created by Games Workshop, so you can see some reason for GW to dedicated time to it, but an entire White Dwarf issue I am not so sure.

The other releases are expansion sets for Age of Sigmar, with some savings, but you have to want them in the first place of course. The Tau also get a bundle deal with the Retaliation Cadre. The best release though goes to the Leviathan Pattern Dreadnought from Forge World. The model’s weapons look amazing, with the model itself being is a little too Iron Man Hulk Buster armor for my tastes. We also get a Black Library release with the intriguing The Beast Arises book series, which starts with I am Slaughter an Imperial Fists novel. Lastly, Warhammer Visions Issue 23 is coming out next week with a free pin to go along with Betrayal of Calth.

Contents: Paint Splatter

Paint Splatter is dedicated to recreating the paint scheme shown for the new Archaon model. Not much new here, but the color palette for wings and skin looks to be useful for other models.

Contents: Parade Ground

We get a good assortment of cool looking 40k models with this issue of Parade Ground. The descriptions though are about the backgrounds created around the models and less about the artists who created them. It makes me think these are studio models, and not hobbyist submissions.

Contents: Everchosen

The section gives us the history of Archaon. His ascension to Everchosen of Chaos and bringing about the destruction of the Old World, then goes into detail about what plans he has for the new world in the Age of Sigmar. You get some mediocre art assets along with the rules for playing him in Age of Sigmar.

Contents: The Week in White Dwarf

The Week in White Dwarf is more of the same, Archaon, Archaon, Archaon including the best way to assemble him. We also get some hints about the upcoming Advent Calendar which looks to be very Chaos intensive, which is an odd choice for the Holidays don’t you think?

Next Issue Hint: From the Varnspire They Come, The Champions of Chaos

Final Verdict

Issue #96 is a terrible issue, it is nothing more than an multi-page advertisement for one model, which granted is amazing, but for a game quickly going no where. Even if you love AoS you would find this issue sorely lacking in any meaningful content. With the only respite comes from some a few pages of player painted models.