GW said that there was going to be many things to come in the near future and here is our first teaser of things to come. Armageddon shadow war is going to be a boxed game, similar to their other recently released boxed games that have been pretty darn good, that is a skirmish game set in the hives of Armageddon. Sound familiar? Well if you are new to the hobby, GW used to have tons of specialist games, but discontinued them a while ago, with them only returning in the last year or so. Necromunda was one of the most popular, set in the myriad hives of the Imperium, with small gangs fighting over turf. It was a small skirmish game. This appears to be its spiritual successor.
Initial info is that it will see Blood Angel Scouts facing off against Ork Boys, but from the 40K facebook page, they are hinting that the game won't be limited to just these factions in the future. I have to say, I did not expect this, though in hindsight this should have been plain as day that they were going to do this.
Calth, Prospero, Deathwatch Overkill, Lost Patrol, Execution Force, Space Hulk, Bloodbowl! Do I need to continue? These 40k board games are really a brilliant strategy. Lets face it, most of our family and friends are not going to be picking up 40k, sure we have a gaming buddies, but I know most of my family and friends have no desire to spend the money and time to get into the hobby. This is where these board games come in. Board games are easily accessible, and far more people play them than table top miniatures. While my family has little interested in playing 40k, they are more than happy to play board games. These cross that gap, creating a bridge.
They are not cheap, but they aren't aimed at casual family board gamers. They are aimed at you, with nearly all being a good price for the models included and the game itself. So you get some models, and you can get your friends a family to play a little table top without them even realizing it. Its a brilliant strategy when you think about it.
And as to this one in particular, Necromunda was massively popular back in the day, so getting a successor to it is something that I am interested in, as I love skirmish level games, but unlike kill team, these are kept somewhat within the realm of board games, thus easier for non table top players to swallow.
I'm looking forward to hearing more, maybe some Steel legion are in the works, though hinted by the 40k community team, that may just be a little smoke and mirrors, either way I am excited to see what else is in store.
Also, check out the warhammer tv twitch page thursday, I think they go live 1500 GMT, as they have been talking about new releases and other community related things the last few weeks. Fridays they do 40k games as well. Weds are for Sigmar fans.
Cadia Stands!
GG