Hobby Lookahead
Filed Under: Hobby
2023 has arrived and… oh, it’s already starting to pull away from the platform. Here’s a (slightly late) vague set of things I’m looking forward to in the hobby this year.
Goals and Resolutions
Things I wanna do!
Game a Week
I want to play one game per week – on average. It can be a game of anything, as long as it meets the incredibly vague definition of “miniature wargame”.
I’m at 5 already! Two games of Age of Sigmar, two of Frostgrave and one of Warcry. Let’s go!
Kings of War
I’ve been wanting to try Kings of War for years and with the mustering of my small force of Ogres I am almost ready to play. I guess my aim is to play a few games, end up with about 1000 points of the big red folk and, if I enjoy the game, maybe end up with more.
Or start a second Ambush-sized army, perhaps?
Terrain
I have a big backlog of terrain projects that I’d like to focus on for a bit, starting with some classic Citadel terrain pieces like the Eternity Stair that I snagged off Ebay. Then I want to make a forest, so I’ll have to acquire lots of trees…
Events/Leagues
Along with hoping to play a lot more games I am also hoping to take part in a lot more meetups, tournaments, and that general sort of thing.
- For the first few months of the year I’ll be participating in the Edinburgh and Lothian Gamers Age of Sigmar league, getting lots of games in.
- Hopefully the trend of playing Warcry in the office after-hours will continue.
- At the end of February we’re having a mini-RMRO at Knightly Games in Bathgate, a whole two days of gaming.
- In the summer we are vaguely planning to have a big proper RMRO also in Bathgate. Hell yeah!
Upcoming Releases
There is so much cool stuff coming down the pipe this year, like:
Gloomspite Gitz
I love goblins, but their rules in AoS have always been pretty bad – a dreadful combination of weak and unfun – which has meant I’ve hardly ever played with my Gloomspite Gitz, nor had much impetus to expand my collection. There’s a new battletome for the army dropping very soon, and hopefully it turns the corner and I get to enjoy playing with my grots.
Expanding the army should be made slightly easier by the next item:
Stormbringer
Oh no. Another Warhammer partworks magazine. I am so fucked.
The previous one, “Mortal Realms”, which ran from late 2019 through 2020, was stuffed full of Stormcast and Nighthaunt. It was also possible to pick up single issues via Forbidden Planet. This made for the most affordable way to collect Age of Sigmar models probably ever. I would not have a Nighthaunt army without it!
Stormbringer contains a mixture of new Stormcast, old Stormcast, Sylvaneth, Kruleboyz and, most importantly, Gloomspite Gitz. It’ll be hard not to pick up a smattering of issues.
Cities of Sigmar
At some point this year we’re getting a new Cities of Sigmar battletome. Whether or not this will include the prophesied Dawnbringer Crusades (whatever those are) remains to be seen. Whether or not they will squat another swathe of old kits (like my beloved dark elves and the wicked Collegiate Arcane models I keep meaning to pick up) also remains to be seen.
I think Cities is one of the most important factions in Age of Sigmar, presenting the most recognisable and relatable mortals in the setting: just brave humans, aelves and duardin, struggling against the forces of Chaos, Death and Destruction. Getting them right is important. I love the faction’s current iteration as a haven for Old World leftovers, but I admit that it’s not the best it could be. Modern, exciting model kits for Cities of Sigmar, that really belong in the new setting, would be a huge win for the game as a whole.
At the same time, however, there’s a risk that some of the delightful cosmopolitan-melting-pot feel of the faction’s current unit selection could be lost. I want to continue to tell the story of Nuloren, my own homebrew Free City, for as long as Age of Sigmar continues. I’ll be very sad if I’m no longer able to tell that story through playing with my current army on the tabletop.
There’s a lot to be fearful about, but also a lot to be excited about. I’ll just have to wait and see.
Twilight Kin
Mantic have been teasing their own twisted dark elves, saying they’ll release them near the end of this year. The aesthetic is a cross between classic dark elf and the excellent Nightstalker range. If the Armada ships are anything to go by, we’re in for a treat. We’ll see how things shake out, but if they shake out well, perhaps we could be looking at my second Kings of War army after Ogres.
Magewinds
I have big hopes for my little game this year. I sketched these out over on the Magewinds blog, so I won’t repeat them here.