Warhammer: Island of Blood

This review is more about 8th edition in general and not just the Island of blood.

Gameplay – I have played Warhammer off and on from 4th edition, so I have seen many rules come and go and many changes for good and bad.

8th Edition is quite and overhaul and not merely an incremental update like the change from from 6th to 7th. The basic fundamentals of the game are still there and overall I feel the game was very much streamlined and most parts of the games that caused rules ambiguity or arguments have been removed or refined. This also overall speeds up the play of the game in my mind and is a good thing. The stat line is the same, the phases of the game and their order didn’t change despite the rumors that it would, but a couple of simple rules changes have drastically changed the way the game is played in my mind. These two things are measureing anytime and true line of sight.

Being able to measure anytime takes out the time and thinking where players would hem and haw about whether they wer 9.75 inches away from the target or 10.25 as it could make a big difference in the game and risk/reward would need to be wieghed on either outcome. Now a player can measure anytime and more easily make a decision based on this information. It also makes it easier for new players that don’t have 20 years of guessing distances between toy soldiers ona 6 by 4 foot table.

True Line of Sight on the other hand I think will cause the game to have more arguments and slow the game down a lot.

Another controversial change is random movement for charges. Some people claim this takes all the strategy out of the game. I do agree that there will be a game you will lose on a bad die roll, but that is going to be very rare and one should always plan to miss the charge unless they are in guaruanteed range.

Always striking in initiative order is another big change to the game. Before getting the charge to strike first was really important and initiative was a fairly forgotten stat, but in the new edition low initiative units will always be striking last unless their opponent’s are low initiative too or have great weapons and now great weapons always strike last even on the charge.

The new magic rules are a big change to the game as well and the new lores seem to be pretty darn powerful. The consequences of miscasting are worse now though too. I really think some of the old magic items give some of the races a pretty big advantage in this phase and it will be interesting to see what GW does with these magic items in the new books.

Speaking of magic items. One of the coolest part of the new book I think is the new common magic items. There are like 80 of them and these new items have really refreshed some of the stale character builds and boosted some of the armies with weaker magic item lists.

Now attacks are made with two ranks instead of just the front and units of 30 wide can add a third rank in close combat. All ranks beyond the first are called supporting ranks though and only get one attack regardless of their profile or other special rules.

Although I am not happy with all of the changes, I believe the new edition breathes fresh air into the game and has got me excited to try all sorts of new things.

I feel that the gameplay in Warhammer 8th Edition deserves 10 twin tailed comets out of 10.

Look and Feel – The looke and feel of the game didn’t really change much with the new edition. GW is still putting out some top notch miniatures with a fumble here and there.

The actual rulebook itself is quite and amazing site. It is over 800 pages of beautiful full color. It has a nice ribbon in the middle to mark pages, but could use about 12 of them. The special collector’s edition one does have more ribbons and is even more gorgeous.

With the release of the new edition GW also released some neat player aids and special skull dice that are not necessary, but all look pretty cool. I picked up the engineer’s ranging set as well as the markers, battle magic deck and the special collector’s range figures. All are very nice!

The look and feel of this game earns Warhammer 8th Edition 9 twin tailed comets out of 10 coins.

Overall Score – 10 twin tailed comets out of 10.

Final word – The review might be a bit fan boyish, but 8th ed has really reinvigorated my spirit for playing Warhammer. In most cases the new rules streamlined things and are overall a much more clear rule set. There are a few things from the previous edition that I miss and there are few things from the new edition I wish weren’t there, but all in all I am really excited about playing Warhammer right now and want to keep trying new things with the new ruleset. On an almost daily basis I have a new idea I am inspired to try for my armies.

Perfect addition to your armies or starter for your new army. Unfortunate that the story does not mesh with the new editions, but it is a great period piece to play in.
High Elves and Skaven armies are both perfect in that they exhibit aspects of the original warhammer world that epitomized the feeling. From the haughty yet majestic elves to the steam punk Skaven, players get far more than the previous expansion of Orcs vs Dwarves.