The time has finally come! I’ve been counting the days to March 1st for two grand reasons. First, I’m embarking on a much-needed, well-earned one-week vacation—because even warriors must rest. But far more importantly, this blog for the entire month of March is going to be fully devoted to Warcrow, Corvus Belli’s latest foray into the realm of miniature warfare. That’s right, war gamers—March is Warcrow Month!
Warcrow Adventures gave us a taste of the setting, mechanics, and miniatures that would pave the way to the miniature war game. All I can say as first impressions go, these miniatures are impressive!
What is Warcrow? Who are Corvus Belli? And Why Should You Care?
If you’re familiar with the legendary skirmish game Infinity, then you already know that Corvus Belli, the Spanish masterminds behind it, are among the best in the business. If you don’t know that…well now you do!
Corvus Belli’s reputation is built on the quality of its products and stellar game design, especially its Infinity miniature war game that boasts outstanding artistry and some of the richest war game mechanics you’ll find anywhere. I would personally argue few miniature lines can compete with giants like Games Workshop, but Corvus Belli I think would be on the shortlist in such a competition.
Where Infinity brought us into the high-tech, cyberpunk future, Warcrow, Corvus Belli’s latest venture plunges us into the heart of a brand-new fantasy world—the world of Lindwurm. This isn’t just a skirmish game; it’s the gateway to an entire setting, filled with breathtaking miniatures, deep lore, and even a cooperative adventure game that introduces the setting in all its mystical glory.
Infinity is no slouch in the artistry of miniature and miniature war gaming. I mean come on, a bear marine swinging a war hammer, that is badass!
This is a big deal because when it comes to the fantasy genre in miniature war gaming, while there is a lot of selection available if you look a little closer at what is happening in the miniature game business you will realize that it’s actually pretty slim pickings out there. You have GW’s Old World which is essentially an old relic unnecessarily revived and their gonzo fantasy Age of Sigmar, I would argue a watered-down version of Warhammer 40k. Beyond that, you have a whole bunch of games that are already dead or dying as products. Strictly speaking, in the fantasy space there is not much to hang your hat on, so for Corvus Belli to step up and deal themselves into this market, given their reputation for quality products, it’s a big deal.
While infinity minis are mostly metal, Warcrow is exclusively plastic miniatures. This is a big plus in my book, I’m not going to go so far as to say I hate painting metal miniatures, but plastic has so many advantages and none of the drawbacks of metal.
How Did We Get Here?
From the moment Warcrow was announced, my local gaming group has been enthralled. We dipped our toes into the world with Warcrow: The Adventure Game, and from the first dice roll, we were hooked. The evocative setting, the stunning miniatures, the whisper of forgotten magic—it all coalesced into something special. That passion has only grown, leading us to this moment—the full release of the skirmish game itself and an opportunity for a fresh start in a new, modern miniature war game.
When a game generates this much hype in a group of seasoned hobbyists like us, you know something magical is brewing. Not only has it fueled our get-togethers and gaming nights, but it has also ignited a fire in me as a blogger.
Hype is great, but long-term support matters more. Our club once embraced A Song of Ice & Fire the miniature game, only to be let down by CMON’s poor management of the game. For a game to thrive beyond the excitement of novelty, the company must nurture it well after the initial buzz fades.
A Sponsored Review
One of the unique privileges of running this blog is having a voice in the community. Every so often, that voice catches the attention of game companies looking for exposure, sending review copies in hopes of coverage. While I appreciate the offers, I always remind my readers and would-be sponsors that I’m not a professional critic, nor is this blog a business. I write purely out of love for the hobby, driven by an insatiable need to spill my thoughts onto the page.
This is usually enough to discourage would-be sponsors but Corvus Belli is a very different kind of company and they very politely insisted. I believe this is because Corvus Belli is a company that doesn’t just want hype, they want to ingratiate themselves with gaming groups and clubs, serving the culture and fans just like you and me. Corvus Belli is a company made up of gamers, making a game out of the sheer love of the hobby and it shows.
Thanks to Corvus Belli’s support, the local gaming club is already putting miniatures on the table, building the momentum that we will need for successful adoption by our members. Even as I write, this battle is taking place!
That’s why Warcrow Month is happening, I feel very privileged to have a great company like Corvus Belli sponsor our local gaming scene, and seeing how excited everyone around here is for Warcrow, I accepted their very generous offer of providing review copies and I’m happy to make a big show of it in my local scene and on this blog.
Warcrow March – Overview
For the entire month of March, this blog will be dedicated to Warcrow—from the thrill of unboxing to a final verdict on Winds of the North and the various supplements released so far. Expect battle reports, deep dives, and plenty of tactical musings as we journey through the world of Lindwurm.
My first mission this week is to review the core rulebook, though I have to come clean I have cheated and already read it cover to cover. I couldn’t wait. First impression! sooooo good….
But this isn’t just my adventure. In a rare and welcome twist, members of my local gaming club are volunteering to join the writing expedition! Some of them will be penning their own articles on this blog, sharing firsthand experiences and insights. This means you won’t just get one perspective—you’ll witness a full-fledged campaign of discovery as we put Warcrow through its paces.
Now, let’s be clear: we’re excited, but we’re also gamers—and gamers are a critical bunch, especially my rambunctious crew. No promises of favoritism have been made to Corvus Belli. This is not a sales pitch. We’re here to test the game, explore its strengths and weaknesses, and see if Warcrow truly delivers on its promise.
It seems this blog has been overrun by the tendrils of the Great Devourer, but can you blame me? Right now, my time is consumed by Warhammer 40K—reading, painting, playing, and of course, scheming. The Tyranid Hive Mind has sunk its claws into my thoughts, and today I want to share my experiences piloting this ravenous xenos swarm over the past month.
The Growing Hunger: My Tyranid Army
My Tyranid force has been gestating for quite some time, but I’m finally at the point where I consider it battle-ready. With approximately 3,000 points amassed, I have more than enough chitinous horrors to field a devastating army. Of that, I have 1,200 points fully painted—my initial goal, now achieved. Victory, however, is fleeting, and there are always more biomorphs to birth from the spawning vats.
It’s worth noting that I am a casual player—one of the many who enjoy Warhammer 40K outside the cutthroat world of competitive tournaments. My local gaming group shares this philosophy; we play for the spectacle, the narrative, and the thrill of the dice roll rather than a rigorous adherence to the tournament meta. Some of our armies might not even be fully legal by the cold scrutiny of Matched Play, but we don’t care. We field what we think is cool, and we revel in the carnage that follows.
Warhammer 40K tournaments and competitive play are an alien concept to me; I find them as bizarre as competitive D&D or speed reading. I feel like people are missing the point of the activity. Not to disparage those who play competitively—I just don’t get the attraction
That said, there are some things I’ve observed while commanding the Hive Mind that contrast with the prevailing wisdom of the online discourse. Consider this a perspective from the battlefield trenches rather than the sterile halls of theory-crafting.
The Devourer Hungers: Tyranids Are Strong—Perhaps Too Strong
If you look at the cold data, Tyranids boast a modest 51% win rate in tournaments—decent but not overwhelmingly dominant. And yet, in my hands, they feel far more oppressive than those numbers would suggest.
This isn’t just about strong stat lines or army synergies. It’s about the sheer aggressive, suffocating nature of the Tyranid swarm. When I craft my lists with even a modicum of min/max intent, I find myself creating something monstrous—not just in lore but on the tabletop itself. If I truly optimize my lists to prey upon my opponents’ weaknesses, the ensuing games can become one-sided massacres rather than balanced engagements.
Take, for example, the Vanguard Onslaught detachment—an absolute nightmare for any force unprepared for early-game aggression. This build emphasizes hyper-lethal infiltration tactics with units like Genestealers, Von Ryan’s Leapers, Deathleaper, Lictors, and Mawlocs. These creatures are cheap, fast, and capable of flooding my opponent’s deployment zone on turn one. If I seize the initiative, I can eliminate entire units before they even get the chance to act. This level of pressure fundamentally alters the flow of the game, forcing my opponent into damage control rather than strategic play.
The Broodlord on a tactical surfboard is a decent unit, but when paired with the vanguard onslaught detachment and a unit of genestealers, the combination is lethal. Finding such optimized combinations is easy, but resisting the urge to spam them to create killer lists is hard.
Even in the best-case scenario for my opponent, my initial wave is just the beginning. Those early sacrifices are a blip on the Hive Mind’s tactical awareness—mere biomass expended for board control. The true monsters lurk in the shadows of my deployment zone, ready to emerge once the enemy’s cohesion has been shattered. And by that point, I’m often so far ahead in points that the rest of the battle is merely a formality.
I believe most if not all armies in Warhammer 40k have the potential to create that killer list and you have to be careful when exercising this type of optimization.
This leads me to my first major realization:
Lesson One: The Pitfalls of Min-Maxing in Casual Play
One of the most common complaints about Warhammer 40K is how it can feel uncompetitive—where games devolve into brutal, one-sided affairs that aren’t enjoyable for either player.
This is hardly unique to Warhammer. I’ve played many games that, while well-designed, can be easily “broken” by min/max tactics. Dungeons & Dragons, for example, allows for highly optimized characters that can trivialize encounters, just as Magic: The Gathering has decks that can steamroll casual playgroups. Warhammer 40K is no different. Its asymmetrical, complex game design means that if you want to push the mechanics to their limit, you can—and if your opponent isn’t operating on the same level, the game will feel unfair and frustrating.
And so, the simple solution: Don’t do that.
There is a lot of youtube content dedicated to narrative play and lore, in fact, it’s mostly that. I believe the reason for that is that most players are seeking “the story experience” inherent in Warhammer 40k. It’s instinctual for gamers however to want to play to win, driving the game down a road of optimization and the inevitable and often incurable discovery that the game is easily broken.
If you’re playing in a casual environment, recognize the expectations of your gaming group. If people are building for fun rather than optimization, then bringing hyper-efficient, min/maxed lists is going to drain the joy out of the experience. The game isn’t “broken”; it’s just not designed for that kind of play at every level. Adjust accordingly, and Warhammer 40K remains the grimdark battlefield it was meant to be—one where the struggle is thrilling, the battles are memorable, and the dice gods decide the fate of the Imperium.
Tyranids at 2,000 points
Another realization I’ve had—one that was strongly reinforced by my recent battles—is that 2,000 points is simply too much.
For comparison, I recently played a 1,000-point battle against an Aeldari player in my group, and it was an absolute blast. The game took about three to three and a half hours, featuring dramatic momentum shifts, tactical plays, and the thrilling uncertainty of victory until the very end. It felt right—tense, engaging, and well-paced.
Then, I played a 2,000-point game against a combined Adepta Sororitas and Deathwatch army, and it was an entirely different beast. The match dragged on for nearly seven hours—a grueling, exhausting endeavor. While I certainly enjoyed it, there was no additional benefit to the experience—no grander strategic depth or heightened excitement. It was simply the same game, but twice as long.
Lesson Two: 1,000 – 1,200 Is the Sweet Spot
The verdict, at least for me, is crystal clear: Warhammer 40K is not a 2,000-point game. It shines at 1,000 points, perhaps 1,200 if you want a bit more heft. Even for truly epic engagements, 1,500 points should be the absolute cap. I have zero interest in ever playing a 2,000-point match again.
At 1,000 points, list-building is more of a challenge. You can’t just pile in every overpowered unit to create an unbreakable force. You’re forced to make tough choices, include suboptimal units, and rely on actual battlefield tactics rather than just raw power. The result? A game that emphasizes execution over list optimization.
At 1,000 points you are going to fill a table with units, but you are going to have to make a lot of concessions, which is true not just about Tyranids but any army. Baseline units become a lot more relevant and you are going to have to pull from your codex units you might not even consider otherwise.
I won’t go as far as saying Warhammer 40K is better at 1,000 points, but it is certainly more challenging—and in my experience, that makes for a far more rewarding game.
Conclusion
My recent gaming experiences with Warhammer 40K have been enlightening—not because the game itself has changed, but because my perspective on gaming has evolved.
I’ve come to realize that Warhammer 40K, much like Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering, is a far better game than I sometimes give it credit for. My past critiques often stemmed from failing to distinguish between playing for fun and playing purely to win.
Warhammer 40K can be a miserable experience if you exploit its easily abusable mechanics—just as D&D can be ruined by power-gaming and Magic: The Gathering can be broken with over-optimized decks. If you go out of your way to highlight a game’s flaws, you’ll find them. But if you approach it with a more relaxed, narrative-driven mindset, the game truly shines.
This, I believe, is the secret to Warhammer 40K’s enduring success. Many miniature games are designed with a clear win/loss structure in mind—similar to board games. But Warhammer 40K belongs to a different tier of games, where the experience itself is what truly matters. D&D is about storytelling, Magic: The Gathering is about deck-building creativity, and Warhammer 40K is about immersing yourself in an epic, cinematic sci-fi conflict.
Youtube is filled with people making content about how to make the best D&D character builds, building the most killer Magic: The Gathering decks, or creating the perfect X army list in 40k. In my humble opinion, these sorts of approaches to the game are self-defeating because the same people that create this content, also create the “D&D is broken” content.
Yes, it’s a wargame where victory matters, but winning isn’t the point. It’s about the lore, the unpredictable turns of battle, and the sheer spectacle of massive armies clashing on the tabletop. When you embrace that, the game transforms into something far greater than just another competitive wargame—it becomes an experience.
And with that realization, I find myself more enamored with Warhammer 40K than ever before. It’s as if I’ve finally discovered the game for what it was meant to be, and I was simply missing the point before. This revelation has been nothing short of eye-opening.
The Hive Mind is always hungry—but now, so am I… for more battles, more stories, and more unforgettable moments on the battlefield.
When I sat down to write my last article—an update on my renewed relationship with Warhammer 40K since it came back into my gaming rotation last year—I found myself reflecting on the challenges I’ve had with the game. I started wondering: Could I fix some of these issues myself? Maybe through house rules, borrowed mechanics from other systems, or even a fresh approach to gameplay?
That question led me down a rabbit hole of research, where I started noticing patterns between my own table habits and the frustrations they created. But what really surprised me was the solution. It didn’t require complex rule tweaks, homebrew mechanics, or drastic changes. With just a few small shifts—nothing outside the official rules—I suddenly found myself realizing that having a much smoother, more enjoyable Warhammer 40K experience was a matter of setup rather than rules changes.
It was a lightbulb moment, and naturally, it led to another 40K article. So today, let’s dig into the question: How can we make our 40K experience better?
The Issues With Warhammer 40k
Now, let me be clear—I’m not claiming these are theissues with Warhammer 40K, just my issues with the game. That’s an important distinction. I can only speak from my own experience, though I suspect plenty of players might relate.
For me, the challenges boil down to three key areas—each interconnected and deeply tied to the game’s history and Games Workshop’s business practices. These are: Battle Size, Gotcha Rules, and Terrain Count.
Let’s break them down.
The Battle Size Problem
My first major issue with Warhammer 40K today is the battlefield itself—specifically, how claustrophobic battles feel and how terrain and distances lack real strategic impact.
Marketing shots like this are great because they show off the amazing miniatures from the Warhammer 40k universe, we love it, but if your actual games looks like this, it’s going to be a very boring “shoot out” with no strategy, tactics or relevant gameplay. It just becomes a dice-chucking roll-off where the best dice odds are most likely to win. That’s not a miniature game, that’s Yahtzee!
There are three key reasons for this, and to understand why it feels so different to me compared to how it’s supposed to, you have to consider how much the game has changed since the last time I played seriously (back in 6th Edition) compared to today (10th Edition).
The Battlefield Has Shrunk
First, the battlefield has physically gotten smaller. The standard play area used to be 6×4 feet. Today, the recommended size is 44” x 60”—a reduction of 4 inches on the short side and a full foot on the long side.
The adoption of a 44×60 table has become this presumption about what is standard going so far as people creating guides on how to convert your 6×4 table into a 44×66 table. The obvious decision to shrink the minimum table size is a marketing ploy so that GW can tell you “hey – you can play 40k on a kitchen table”, but the reality is that this is the absolute most minimum space you can play on and a minimum sized table create a minimum sized experience. 6×4 is still the standard table size for 40k, don’t let anyone tell you differently!
Now, here’s something I didn’t even realize until I saw it in a YouTube video pointing it out: 44” x 60” is not the standard table size—it’s the minimum table size. There’s no official rule stating that this is the “proper” or “official” battlefield size, only that it’s the absolute smallest table you’re allowed to play on. You can, and arguably should, play on a larger surface.
But the battlefield itself isn’t the only reason for the cramped feeling.
Army Sizes Have Increased
The second issue is army size. Over the years, the cost of fielding a Warhammer 40K army (in terms of points, not money) has steadily decreased. The changes from edition to edition may have been subtle, but when you compare 6th Edition to 10th Edition, the difference is staggering.
Take Hormagaunts, a staple of any Tyranid army. Back in 6th Edition, each model cost 10 points, meaning a unit of 10 was 100 points, and 20 would set you back 200 points. Today? A unit of 10 Hormagaunts costs just 65 points—nearly a 35% reduction.
And it’s not just direct cost but indirect cost as well. Consider Zoanthropes—back in the day, a single Zoanthrope cost 34 points, so a squad of three was 102 points. That might sound close to today’s cost (100 points for three), but in 6th Edition, you also had to pay an additional 25 points per model if you wanted to equip them with Warp Blast, effectively doubling their cost. Now? That ability is free.
This a modern Tyranid at roughly 1,000 points. It’s a pretty big army and is going to take several hours to resolve a battle with this many units.
This kind of points compression is consistent across every faction and every unit. If you add it all up, a typical 2,000-point army from 6th Edition is roughly equivalent to a 1,000-point army in today’s game. In other words, players are fielding twice as many models as they used to—and on a smaller battlefield to boot, adding to the claustrophobic feeling of the battlefield.
And here’s another thing: Back in 6th Edition, 2,000 points wasn’t even the standard game size, there was no standard size or even recommendation—point size was presumed to be between 500-2,000 points, and 2,000 points was considered a large, long game. In fact most missions published were well below the 2,000-point mark. Looking at tournaments and other events from the era as well, most games were played at between 1,000-1,500 points, with 2,000 points being seen as “a major event”. If you adjust for today’s point scaling, that would mean a 750-850-point game would provide a similar amount of miniatures on the table.
Army Construction Rules Are Looser
The final factor is the way armies are built. In older editions, list-building was more restrictive—you had to follow a structure with minimums and maximums for different unit types:
HQ (Leaders)
Troops (Core units)
Elites (Special forces)
Fast Attack (Speedy units)
Heavy Support (Big guns)
You couldn’t just spam your strongest units or cheese the system with hyper-optimized lists. You had to build a more balanced force. Today, those restrictions have been loosened significantly, allowing for much more extreme list-building strategies.
So why did all of this happen?
Spoiler alert: It’s because Games Workshop wants to sell more models. I get it—it’s a business. But when you look at how these changes impact the game, and more importantly, if you simply acknowledge that this is happening, the solution is surprisingly simple.
I get it, Games Workshop is in the business of selling miniatures, but the thing is that even if you can afford a huge army, most of us are looking for a game that can be played in a reasonable amount of time. More models, mean longer games. With the constant increase in model count and army size, Warhammer 40k is quickly reaching the 5-6 hour mark to complete a game that is about 2-3 hours too long and there is a marked reduction in the quality of the games rather than an improvement.
How to Fix It
Fixing this issue—and getting a much better gaming experience—is surprisingly simple. After making a few adjustments, I was shocked at how much more enjoyable my Warhammer 40K games became. Here’s what worked for me:
Play on a 6×4 table (or larger). A bigger battlefield changes everything. With more room to maneuver, units are spread out properly, and movement becomes a real tactical factor rather than an afterthought. It makes the game feel more strategic and immersive—as it should be!
Play at 1,000-1,200 points. Lowering the point cap drastically improves the game in three key ways:
Less to track – With fewer models and abilities in play, it’s easier for both you and your opponent to understand what each army can do. No more “gotcha” moments because you forgot a rule buried in a sea of datasheets.
Faster games – Cutting back on unit bloat speeds up turns, making for a smoother and more dynamic experience.
Better use of terrain and maneuvering – With fewer models and a larger table, movement actually matters. Cover becomes important, flanking is viable, and armies don’t feel crammed together from turn one.
Limit non-Battleline units to one copy max. This was the hardest change to implement—but also one of the most effective. Limiting non-Battleline units (i.e., elites, vehicles, monsters, and specialist units) to one per army prevents spamming, one of the most common balance-breaking issues in the game.
Want a Rhino? You get one.
A unit of Zoanthropes? Just one squad.
No doubling (or tripling) up on power units for maximum efficiency.
This forces players to diversify their lists, leading to more balanced, engaging, and fair battles. It also eliminates “cheese lists” that rely on stacking the same overpowered unit, making games more tactical and less about who can break the system better.
Making these small adjustments completely changed my 40K experience—for the better. If you’re feeling the same frustration I was, give them a shot. You might be surprised at just how much of a difference they make.
The “Gotcha!” Problem – A Paywall on Knowledge
One of the most frustrating aspects of Warhammer 40K today isn’t the game itself—it’s Games Workshop’s business model. Specifically, the way they lock critical game knowledge behind an expensive paywall.
If you want to fully understand how the game works, you need to know what every army can do. But legally, the only way to access that information is by buying every single codex—a ridiculous and financially unrealistic expectation for most players.
Sure, buying the codex for your own army makes sense. But unless you’re willing to spend a small fortune on all the other codexes, you’ll always be flying blind against other factions. And that lack of information leads to one of Warhammer 40K’s biggest gameplay issues:
The “Gotcha!” Problem
Picture this: You make a strategic move, thinking you’re about to pull off a clever play—only for your opponent to drop a totally unexpected army rule, stratagem, or unit ability that completely shuts you down.
You wouldn’t have made that move if you had all the information. But because key mechanics are locked behind expensive rulebooks, you’re left playing a guessing game—one that your opponent already knows the answers to.
Now, some might argue, “Well, you should know the rules to the game.” And they’d be right—if the rules were actually available. But Games Workshop intentionally hides them behind a massive paywall, forcing players to buy their way into understanding the game.
The Impact on Gameplay and Community
This leads to a terrible gameplay experience and fosters a toxic play environment where veteran players can easily take advantage of newer or casual players. The result?
Unfair, one-sided games
Frustration for new or casual players
A shrinking player base as people give up on the game
In fact, I know plenty of people who refuse to play Warhammer 40Ksolely because of this issue. And the worst part? The game itself isn’t the problem—it’s Games Workshop’s sketchy business practice that creates this artificial barrier to entry.
The sad thing about 40k 10th edition is that it was a considerably better game before the Codexes dropped because at the start you had much better visibility of the rules of the game thanks to the release of digital indexes for all the armies. As codexes were released, the indexes were removed, slowly resulting in more and more hidden information. Today, players are flying blind!
The reality of Games Workshop rules for Warhammer 40k is that to get a complete set of rules today for competitive play it will cost you around 600 dollars and that covers you for approximately 3 years. That is neither a reasonable nor honest service level.
How to Fix It
The options here are quite limited and I’m just going to answer this question with a simple quote and leave it at that.
Piracy is the act of honest people solving a problem in response to dishonest people.Provide a reasonably priced service and you will discover that most people are honest, fail to do so and you will discover that there is no such thing as an honest person.
Do with that what you will.
The final issue—and one of the easiest to fix—is terrain count.
Warhammer 40K doesn’t provide particularly strong guidance on how much terrain a battlefield should have, nor does it offer clear recommendations for placement. The game defines different terrain types, and there’s an example battlefield in the rulebook, but when it comes time to set up for an actual game, most players are left guessing.
The Problem: Too Little, Too Symmetrical
In my experience, the most common issue is not enough terrain. And even when terrain is placed, players tend to mirror the layout in an attempt to be fair. While this seems reasonable, the result is often a static, predictable battlefield where terrain has limited impact on gameplay.
Terrain is a big barrier to entry, another major paywall to miniature games and Games Workshop makes the most expensive terrain by a margin so big you can expect to pay 3-4 times as much for official terrain. Thanks to 3d printing however and plenty of companies out their making quality pre-painted terrain, it’s getting cheaper every day to field sufficient terrain for Warhammer 40k.
The worst-case scenario? A game that feels like a shooting gallery, where units just line up and fire at each other with nothing breaking sightlines or forcing tactical movement. This kills the strategic depth that terrain is supposed to bring to the game.
How to Fix
After experimenting with different setups, I’ve learned a few simple terrain fixes that dramatically improve gameplay. The key is making sure you have enough terrain and placing it properly.
Use More Terrain – A well-designed battlefield should be at least 25-30% covered in terrain, meaning that you roughly need 20-25 pieces. This ensures that movement, positioning, and cover actually matter.
Ditch Symmetry – Real battlefields aren’t symmetrical. Instead of mirroring terrain, create natural-looking battlefields with varied sightlines and areas of strategic importance.
Mix Terrain Types – Include a variety of line-of-sight blocking structures, dense cover, and elevated positions to make movement and positioning just as important as firepower. Be sure to use all the different types of terrain, there should be a strong mixture and it’s often better to have more pieces rather than large blockers. You need some of those two, but you want to make sure that the benefits of cover shots are far more common than clear shots. In fact I would argue unless 80%-90% of shots are with the benefit of cover, you don’t have enough terrain.
Invest in Terrain – If you don’t have enough terrain, it’s worth investing in some—or better yet, making your own. Terrain can be kitbashed from other games or built cheaply using household materials. More is always better.
Conclusion
Let’s be clear—miniature wargames are inherently imperfect. No amount of tweaking will guarantee a perfect experience every time. There will always be anticlimactic moments, disappointing dice rolls, and the occasional frustrating matchup. But at its core, Warhammer 40K is a fun, cinematic, and immersive game, and with the right approach, you can make sure the good games far outweigh the bad.
One of the biggest keys to improving your experience in my opinion is separating game design from business decisions. Warhammer 40K isn’t just a game—it’s a product, and Games Workshop makes choices that prioritize sales over gameplay, for which I do not fault them. Still, many of the issues that make the game feel frustrating—cramped battlefields, bloated army sizes, and gotcha mechanics—aren’t necessarily the result of bad game design, but rather business-driven design. Recognizing this distinction empowers you to take control of your own gaming experience and fix the experience. You don’t have to go down the shallow road of listening to Games Workshop advertisement-based decisions about how the game should be played. They want to sell you as much crap as possible, but you don’t have to be a fool and buy into it. Beneath the exterior is a very good game and simply taking the reigns of control is sufficient to have a vastly improved gaming experience.
At the end of the day, Warhammer 40K is your game, your table, and your experience. Fewer units on the battlefield, a larger play area, smarter terrain placement, and limiting army spam may not align with Games Workshop’s profit goals, but they absolutely make the game better. The goal isn’t to feed a corporation’s bottom line—it’s to create fun, balanced, and rewarding battles for you and your friends.
I hope you found this guide helpful – Happy wargaming!
If I had to sum up my entire childhood in one word, it would be… HE-MAN! Nostalgia is a powerful thing, but let’s be honest—trying to recapture the magic of our youth often leads to crushing disappointment. I’ve walked this road before, diving into old franchises through games, and while a few hits (looking at you, Star Trek: Fleet Captains) have blown me away, most experiences remind me that some things are best left as cherished memories.
The Masters of the Universe toys were more than just my childhood, they were very much my introduction into the world of fantasy that would culminate with Dungeons and Dragons. In a way, it paved the way for my love for fantasy and science fiction.
Enter Masters of the Universe: Battleground. I approached it with cautious optimism—expecting “meh,” hoping for “fun,” but what I got was an absolute knockout of awesomeness. Holy crap, this game surpassed my wildest expectations!
Now, let me be clear—this is just my gut reaction after a single playthrough, specifically the “learning” starter game. I didn’t think I’d have much of an opinion after such a brief introduction, but Masters of the Universe: Battleground is bursting with nostalgic goodness and mechanical brilliance.
The miniature replication here is fantastic, with clear tributes by fans for fans. Every character in the starter kit was instantly recognizable and it was clear that the point of the game is to tap into the 80’s kid still living inside you.
First off, the game looks fantastic on the table. The miniatures are high-quality, the plastic terrain—while basic—is functional, and the grid board sets the perfect stage for battle. It’s not the kind of visual feast that will blow your mind, but it’s more than enough to put a smile on this old He-Man fan’s face. However, where this game really shines is in its gameplay.
What I expected to be a simple, nostalgia-driven experience turned out to be a streamlined, deeply tactical, and combo-heavy battle of wits. Tough decisions, nuanced moves, and strategic planning take center stage. The mechanics clicked effortlessly from the get-go, offering a multitude of options and interactions that scream replayability. It all comes together to deliver an authentic, action-packed He-Man cartoon showdown.
Between the exploding dice, card-driven play, and clever dice manipulation using mana and special powers, every moment felt like a thrilling push-your-luck gamble. There are no guarantees, but the game gives you plenty of tools to tip the odds in your favor. The heroes feel powerful, but far from invincible—you need to position them carefully and make the most of their unique abilities.
The starter set is chock-full of content, it’s quite astonishing what they squeezed into a miniature game under a 100 dollars. There is no question that this is the best bang for your buck I have ever seen in a published game. I don’t know how they did it, but ordinarily, with a kick-starter like this, I would expect to pay in excess of 200 dollars for a set like this.
Precision is key in Battleground, and while we were a bit sloppy in our first game, by the final round, my gaming partner and I were already buzzing with excitement over the possibilities. We couldn’t stop talking about what we should have done, what we could do next time, and the sheer potential of the list-building system.
While playing the base starter game was fun, this is a game that is all about list building. The structure here is super clear and straightforward, but there is a ton of combos not only in the interaction between various equipment and powers but also between the different heroes. I love the fact that it’s crystal clear what everything is for, it’s one of those miniature games that doesn’t obscure the advantages and disadvantages in the minutia of the rules, it’s all very plain to the eye.
The real kicker? I wanted to play again. Immediately. And that’s always a good sign. In fact, I found myself eagerly browsing expansions the moment I got home. What I expected to be a one-and-done experience turned into something I suspect will see a lot of table time in the near future.
So, if you’re a fellow child of the ’80s—or just someone looking for a solid tactical game—Masters of the Universe: Battleground might just surprise you. It certainly did for me.
Miniature gaming, role-playing games, and board games are becoming more and more difficult to neatly categorize these days as we see more and more cross-over hybrids. Warcrow Adventures, the latest take on the adventure game genre from Corvus Belli has been my gaming group’s latest obsession, and for good reason as this hybrid adventure game has a lot to offer.
Warcrow Adventures is based on the new miniature war game of the same name (Warcrow), using the same setting background and actual miniatures for the miniature game. An app-assisted story-driven dungeon crawler, players take on the roles of adventures using the classic Dungeons and Dragons formula in which they follow along a branching storyline, make decisions, fight monsters, find treasure, and level up!
Corvus Belli, has an outstanding reputation for producing fantastic miniatures and Warcrow is no exception. Dynamic poses, highly detailed, and a good chunky size all contribute to the wonderful quality of these mini’s.
This game borrows from quite a few different gaming genres, but the attraction is the D&D DNA-inspired treadmill. It boasts a lot of very streamlined mechanics that are deceptively simple yet impactful. Every choice you make in the game, every task you complete, and every interaction you have unveils part of a unique story while creating hurdles for you to jump through in a pretty challenging risk vs. reward structure.
I will be doing a full review of Warcrow Adventures once my group completes the adventure, but beware that this is very much a legacy-style adventure game that will take many sessions to complete.
App-assisted games are becoming more and more common and the production values of these apps are improving with each new generation. Warcrow Adventures app delivers fantastic voice-overs, a simpler interface, and a very organized structure that makes it easy to use at the table.
Already now however I can tell you that if you are a fan of adventure games, if you love Dungeons and Dragons, this is an outstanding platform for bringing that classic dungeon crawl feeling to the table.
The hybrid nature of the game, being part miniature game also offers the opportunity for everyone to do some hobby painting. Know that these are not “board game pieces”, these are actual, fully detailed miniatures, and well worth your time to paint. In fact, every miniature in Warcrow Adventures is getting a full profile and will be used in the Warcrow miniatures war game so if you are already collecting and playing Warcrow the miniature game, the adventure game has the side benefit of giving you new units for that game as well.
The Warcrow miniature game on which Warcrow Adventures is based has also indoctrinated itself into my gaming club largely based on the already well-established reputation of our beloved Infinity (the other Corvus Belli miniature game we play). We just can’t help it, one look at these amazing miniatures and you know you just need to own some!
My group immediately got to work painting these mini’s and not only has it built up the excitement to play Warcrow Adventures, but it’s got us all buzzing about Warcrow the miniature game as well the setting itself. If there was ever a setting that deserved to be an RPG, this is it!
In either case, whether you do or don’t get into the miniature game, Warcrow Adventures as a stand-alone product is already proving to be a great time, Corvus Belli has done a fantastic job building an atmosphere with its amazing setting and building a story I think any role-player would enjoy sinking their teeth into.
I’m no master miniature painter, but great minis inspire great paint jobs and I have to say, I’m pretty proud of this one!
Look for a full review shortly, but for now, if you are on the fence about Warcrow Adventures, I can tell you here and now, it’s a fantastic package!
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