With the Carcass Front box having dropped, the world event Operation Leviathan in its closing stages, and the October Rules Review breathing new life into the Court of the Seven Headed Serpent, it’s about the right time to start looking at the next round of product releases right around the bend.
This week Factory Fortress unveiled the first of these, the Prussian Yeomen.
“These fearless fighters are the backbone of Warbands from the Free State of Prussia, holding objectives, providing covering fire, and generally supporting their brutally efficient allies.”
This is a new, plastic release that looks to be arriving on November 2nd (EU and UK) and one week later for those of us in the rest of the world.
Not only that, but the announcement also offered a small teaser for Heretic Naval Raiders and Procession of the Sacred Affliction players, exhorting them to “hold yourselves ready for next month.” Given that these are the two warbands represented by the Carcass Front box, it remains to be seen whether this will simply be Carcass Front units made available independently, or if new miniatures will be rolling out to augment and supplement the existing ones.
Or perhaps…
Here’s to hoping!
Mapping it All Out (Redux)
Two weeks ago, you may recall I spent a little time looking at the cartography of Jared Blando, whose Embattled World: A Map of Trench Crusade is one the (presently) small number of officially licensed, non-miniature products for Trench Crusade.
Well, I couldn’t resist getting one for my study wall. As I mention in the video, sometimes still images just don’t do justice to how something looks in real life, so despite not being a “video person,” I’m sharing a look at it here.
Enjoy!
Getting By with a Little Help from His Friends
It’s not often you’ll find a feature I can put in all three of the Weeklies here on the Wordforge, but the news this week about an upcoming campaign to help artist Karl Kopinski certainly hits the trifecta. That shows the incredible reach and influence he’s had over the length of his career.
Beyond being a studio illustrator for Games Workshop from 1998-2005, Kopinski’s art was a mainstay in the Black Library’s foundational Inferno! magazine, helping bring the worlds of Warhammer to visual life each month. His work also has graced role-playing game books from Rogue Trader’s Lure of the Expanse to Deathwatch’s Mark of the Xenos, and he’s illustrated more than two hundred Magic: the Gathering cards over the years.
Sadly, Kopinski’s health in recent years has been deteriorating. He’s been battling myeloma for several years before strokes and a heart attack left him unable to work for a time, and the road to recovery has been long and difficult.
Now, Factory Fortress is spearheading a campaign to help. “Karl is my friend as well as my housemate during my GW days,” noted Tuomas Pironen, “so I am so glad we can help him and his family.”
Joining them is MyMiniFactory and a large roster of contributing STL creators for a campaign that is preparing to launch. Amongst the other goodies you can receive in return for your support is a brand-new and exclusive Trench Crusade model, making this one of the best kinds of offers: one where you can do well by doing good.
Miniature of the Week
This week’s build is a pair of Sniper Priests, both from the Sniper Priests box.
The Unseen Priests of the Long Rifle or, as they are more commonly known, Sniper Priests, are a breed apart from typical servants of the Church. The supreme exemplars of their deadly craft, they slay their foes from afar with unerringly accurate bullets from their precision-crafted rifles. What makes these warriors of God unique from other sharpshooters in the war against Hell is that each has ritually blinded themselves as part of their devotions in preparation for taking up the Black Scapular of the Passion.
As you can see this was another detour from Carcass Front, as I opted instead to build both miniatures from the Sniper Priests box. I had a lot of fun with these; the multiple options and modularity of the two models gave me a nice array of choices- plus lots of little leftover goodies for the nascent Trench Crusade bits box.
ICYMI
Here’s what’s been going on this week for Trench Crusade content!
Trench Crusade Official
Each Friday during the worldwide campaign, the Trench Wire has been bringing reports from Decisive Battles from games all over the world. This week’s- the last one (for now) with Operation Leviathan drawing to a close- included conflicts from Devon to Bavaria.
Results from Operation Leviathan are also being reported by Andy Chambers and Sammie Dae. The latest dispatch saw the Faithful on the verge of victory, but as they say you can never count the devil out. The full results will be out next week.
Mentioned in Despatches has been running every week throughout the duration of Operation Leviathan. Curated by Peter Hairston, MiD the column brings you some of the most striking Trench Crusade miniatures, terrain, and tables that have been shared across social media. Here’s this week’s, and for those who have particularly enjoyed this slice of community life there’s even more good news- it looks like this feature will be continuing beyond Operation Leviathan and become an evergreen staple!
Don’t forget, the game’s first-ever worldwide campaign Operation Leviathan will run until 19 October, and will leave its mark on the world forever. Make sure to get your results in while you still can!
Wargame Content Sites
Tabletop Battles does an amazing job covering the game, with a new feature every week. “We are diving headfirst into the moshpit that is The Drowned Choir,” noted this week’s installment. “Prepare for the battle onstage as these Choristers gaslight and gatekeep their way to stardom.”
Community Content
We were hardly the only one to take note of the upcoming Kopinski fundraiser, and Tim Linward of Wargamer had a particularly good writeup with a bit more context and insight. While I hit the main beats above, I’m never going to miss the opportunity to highlight good journalism in the gaming space. Simon Berman of Bell of Lost Souls also did a nice job here as well, and it’s great to see this worthy cause getting so much attention.
Podcast Saints and Sevens offered up a deep dive this week, delving into the Court of the Seven Headed Serpent. With the October Rules Review (with its Court revamp) just a week in the rearview, the timing couldn’t be better!
Meanwhile, Trench Scribe Podcast went in on the Heretic Naval Raiders this week with a look at how they perform on the tabletop. From the warband list to strategy, tips, and more, it’s a nicely crunchy half-hour.
You might recall from last week that HeresyBrush was featured on the Trench Crusade site for its Observer painting tutorial. This week they’ve got a follow-up piece focusing on painting true-metallic metal!
Coming Attractions
Here’s a list of the known upcoming physical releases from Trench Crusade based on the available preorder information we have.
This section will be updated weekly in this column, with new or updated info presented in boldface.
Trench Crusade Rulebook (hardcover, 11/30)
That’s it for this week, see you again in seven days’ time!