Learning the rules for 40K but only getting in a game every few weeks, makes for very slow progress, so assistance was needed, as the 4th circle of hell that’s a GW retail store was out of the question. White Dwarf battle reports are not what they used to be, and GW have no real online presence, aside from the new painting guides, so where is a functional gamer going to observe some games? God bless the internet.
YouTube is full of battle reports, mostly filmed on mobile phones with quality ranging from abysmal to passable, so when I found the MiniWarGaming channel, I felt like the Big E himself had blessed me. HD, steady camera work, great audio, questionable humour (STC for nerds), but best of all, clear and concise commentary as they plough through a game. It’s quick, they’ll get a 1500 point game done in an hour, so you will inevitably get errors with the introduction of 7th ed rules, but you see it as it happens. Other channels have games that takes 2 hours, or just do an end of turn recap, so this really hits the spot
They have a great deal of free content, with access to more if you sign up to the vault (which I’m about to take the plunge), as it’s only a few quid a month. I’ve found Banter Batrep and Beat Matt Batrep to be the best shows, as the main dudes, Dave and Matt, have gone it down to a tee. It’s not just 40K though, they feature Warhammer Fantasy Battle, Infinity, Warmachine, X-Wing, painting guides, tutorials and campaigns too, so an abundance of cool content. GW really are missing a trick, so this fills the gap nicely. Check out their website, and find them on Facebook and Twitter
On a related note, this is the slickest online battle report I’ve ever seen, so I’ll be keeping an eye these dudes