If you want to build a gun-line you can! If you want a full cavalry army you certainly can! Each faction has a unique army wide ability and particular strengths and weaknesses but you can build your army in any playstyle!

“Warfront is played on a roughly 24 by 36 inch battlefield and, with two players, can be fought in less than 45 minutes. It also fits in your pocket so it’s the perfect lunch time or travel game.”

Now that I’ve wet your whistle, let’s take a quick trip down memory lane…

Humble Beginnings

It was on a school trip to a heritage museum in 1998 that I first laid eyes on what would turn out to be a lifelong hobby and passion. Nestled between the replica Roman coins and gemstones were boxes of Warhammer Fantasy. I picked up a box of chaos dwarfs, clearly even at a young age I had impeccable taste.

Fast forward 25 years, the hotly anticipated release of Warhammer The Old World is rapidly approaching and, as I mused over the recent increase in scalpers and the very real chance I would miss out on a release box, an idea began to take shape.

What if I could just buy a proxy army but instead of plastic models the units would be printed on a deck of playing cards. A Google search uncovered that whilst not a novel idea (see ONUS! Or Battleground: Fantasy Warfare) there wasn’t a dedicated proxy card product out there.

With a bit of trial and error and some calculations, I found that if I reduced the base sizes by three-quarters, I could quite neatly fit a unit of 20 to 30 models onto a single standard-sized playing card. Larger models were more of a challenge but with some imagination, they could also work. I may be onto something here, I thought. However, as with most projects, the more you iterate the more you deviate. And, as I adapted additional units, I began to realize that I had an overwhelming urge. The kind of urge that keeps tapping you on the shoulder until finally, it smacks you over the head. I realized that I had a golden opportunity, an opportunity to do something I had dreamt about for years. I could create my own fantasy war game.

“Warfront isn’t designed to compete with the miniature hobby, I still buy and paint tons of models. Its purpose is to get dice rolling more often and with more people. It has been designed to help build a bridge for those that are put off by models but want to war game. And it’s the perfect entry point to introduce a friend or family member.”

At a crossroads, I now had a decision to make, stick with the safety net of a proxy product for a popular franchise or take the leap, and create my own fantasy adventure. Clearly the latter prevailed, and truthfully it wasn’t a very long deliberation.

In earnest, I began creating lore, crafting the setting and characters, setting the stage for the conflict to come, and many more conflicts down the road. And so, Warfront was born. My own personal tribute to the fantasy wargames that I continue to love and treasure.

The catalyst for the journey months prior had been a concern about the availability of products and the hole that had seemingly been dug by Games Workshop, caused by their release practices. And that theme has held true throughout the development of Warfront, a pushback against the endless releases and FOMO, an inexpensive wargaming alternative whilst the cost of living, never mind gaming, spirals beyond control. A yearning to play more games, particularly with my fiancé who won’t touch the complexity of most miniature games with a ten-foot pole. A drive for simplicity without sacrificing depth or strategy. All these concepts are at the core of what Warfront is; a rules-light strategy-heavy budget-friendly fantasy wargame.

In a box of Warfront, you get two opposing armies. This first iteration contains the Righteous Zenith Guard, your classic shiny good guys decked in gold armour and sporting an array of complex, solar-powered weaponry (did somebody say lasers?). And encroaching into Zenithia are the vast and terrible forces of the Corrupted Legion, a rabble of savage tribes, fearsome beasts, and worse… Who will prevail in this bloody conflict?

The Story So Far

“The Kingdom of Zenithia is a bastion of light in an otherwise markedly dingy world. Following the victory by the great alliance of the humans, elves, and dwarves nearly 400 years ago, Zenithia took up the Northwestern territories of the newly formed Treatylands.

They built an immense golden city upon the fossils of savage settlements. The once numerous tribes driven North across the treacherous Umbral Spine mountains and into the Veiled Steppes by the advancing allied armies.

The kingdom soon became a technological powerhouse, further augmenting their
already powerful military capabilities. Their solar engineers learning to harness the power of the sun’s rays with ever more advanced machines and weaponry.

And not a moment too soon, as like a waxing tide, the displaced tribes began to surge back into the golden kingdom with worrying frequency. Alas, with a newly bolstered military, the Zenith Guard pushed back all invaders, securing their lands and bringing peace to the region.

Many years have passed and perhaps the kingdom has become complacent. For a threat, the likes of which has not been seen since the great war, has amassed in the Northern lands and is marching South with terrible intent.

The brave men and women of the Zenith Guard must gather their courage and face this threat head-on!

In the savage and inhospitable Veiled Steppes, reside many scattered and feuding tribes. Only the most ruthless survive in such a place, constantly under threat from neighbouring tribes and all manner of twisted beasts.

The land itself is cast into perpetual shade by the towering mountain range to the South. So massive is this wall of rocks and ice that it is almost completely impassible save for a single mountain pass.

For hundreds of years, any daring warriors that made the journey were soon caught and despatched by the vigilant Zenith Guard.

Now, united under the burning eye banner of Belzen the Corrupter, a thousand tribes are moving with the same goal. To breach the pass and claim fertile grounds beyond the mountains. Accompanied by a menagerie of terrible beasts, monsters and worse, this legion of corrupted warriors marches South.”

The impending conflict will reach its apex in the Northwestern region, but the Treatylands are managed under the shared rule of the human, elven and dwarven
alliance, each with their own territories. As the war for Zenithia sparks, allied forces are diverted as more threats begin to present themselves. On the Southern coast an almighty armada of pirate rats has made landing. Led by the ruinous Screech Blacktooth, a cruel captain of unmatched power. Once a rather unremarkable upstart, Screech was quickly beaten, and his ship sunk to the bottom of the ocean along with his crew. Only Screech survived, returning from the black abyss with an otherworldly destiny. Bestowed with dark abyssal powers of unknown origin, Screech quickly brought his rival captains to heel and formed the first Pi-rat armada.

Upon making land, the fleet of ships has been promptly dismantled and fashioned into ramshackle artillery and weapons platforms. Why a pirate captain would destroy his own fleet is, yet a mystery.

In response, the Elven Kingdom of Thalor dispatches their ariel defence force, the
Seaward Talons. The young, and newly promoted, Commander Calandir utilises unconventional and unproven tactics, favouring the speed and manoeuvrability of the native sea eagles to strike with brutal results. And with a point to prove will he underestimate the tactical skill of the invading Pi-rat Captain?

To the west, Princess Kara has defied her father’s orders and led an elite attack force deep into Goblorc Underkhan territory with the intention to root out the infestation. The Stoneshaper Dwarves are elemental masters of stone, rock, and earth. Using runic powers, the Stoneshapers can alter the properties of stone at will to make it flow like water or be as light as cloth. For the last decade Princess Kara has led innovation in military application, and it is with these prototype inventions that she sets off into hostile lands.

Beneath the ground, in the endless network of tunnels that worm within the Hollow Plains, reside the subterranean territories of the Goblorc Underkhans. Once this land was free of these pests, and a much safer place for it. Since the Goblorcs were driven from the Eastern lands some 200 years ago they have spread into every crevice and hole. Upon arriving on the plains, they found that the dominant fauna were a variety of mole-like species filling every biological niche imaginable. There are slow-moving herbivorous moles, predatory pack-moles that hunt like wolves, and even gigantic behemoles weighing close to 10 tonnes. Quickly these animals were subjugated by the Goblorcs and have become formidable mounts and beasts of burden, ridden whilst on raids and set loose to wreak havoc behind enemy lines.

Making constant incursions into the grand Stoneshaper halls and tunnels beneath the mountains, the innumerable Goblorcs have drawn the fiery wrath of youth that may lead to their ruin.

Each of these three conflicts make up the Treatylands Saga, the first planned saga in the great Warfront adventure. Each army is compatible with all past and future releases, and with many more sagas in development Warfront is poised to be an expansive and thematically rich war game that belies its simplicity.

Design Pillars

“There are currently three ways to play Warfront: ‘Clash’, ‘Area Control’ & ‘Survival’ – each with their own challenges and win conditions. And, we have created various army building formats including a ‘Draft’ format where players draw units at random and must try to succeed no matter what army they end up with!”

How best can I emulate and respect my favourite wargames whilst creating something unique and specific to the card format I had arrived at? Two design tenets I kept in mind were simplicity & strategy.

Strategy is the easier of the two to explain so let’s start with Simplicity. I’ll give you an example, wounds! In Warfront wounds are tracked through statuses and each unit has the same four statuses. They start as ‘Resolute’, degrade to ‘Shaken’ upon losing a wound, then to ‘Damaged’ and finally to ‘Broken’. A ‘Resolute’ unit has full wounds whilst a ‘Broken’ unit will be removed from the battlefield at the end of the phase.

With this simplification not only is the condition of each unit easier to track (using our handy status-tracker cards included) but it also opens opportunities to have units and abilities interact in different ways depending on a given status.

Right so that’s wounds nailed, what’s next? Saving throws?

In Warfront a unit rolls a dice in response to every ‘hit’ and must roll below its defence value. An expendable unit of barbarians, poorly armoured and not particularly interested in self-preservation, has a defence value of two and so will fail its defence roll two thirds of the time. A resilient unit like the Steam Crawler, a
walking tank, has a defence value of four and so will statistically lose one wound for every three hits.

It is with this defence value that we can represent inherent toughness, durable armour, natural evasiveness, or sheer numbers without the need to overcomplicate. Yes, there is less granularity but we’re here for a good time not a long time!

And similar time-saving simplifications have been made across the board, hooray!

Before you go clutching those pearls, I need to tell you about glory. The glory of separating an opponent’s head from his shoulders with one swing of your axe, the glory of a perfectly loosed arrow into an eye socket or the glory of a perfect death, one that will be spoken about for generations!

In Warfront, glory is king. Whenever you roll a natural six in shooting, attacking or defending you will collect one glory point. Each point can be spent to activate the abilities of your units! This resource management system means that decision-making is key, and abilities can be clutch. It also means that you need to carefully manage your actions to ensure you have enough points available to pull off that fancy manoeuvre or cast that devastating spell. Sometimes you might need to charge into combat and sacrifice a unit just to generate the glory points to then blast an enemy unit off the objective.

So, there you have it: simplification plus strategy. And we needed an art style to fit. A fun, quirky style with bags of character. Shout out to André (@alkmerlin) who has brought these units to life and is an absolute joy to work with. His enthusiasm and passion for the project has blown me away and he deserves all the kudos.

Our future plans are ambitious. We expect to release the first Saga, that’s three releases and six factions, in 2025. These future releases introduce new types of terrain with different interactions. There will be persistent spell cards that can be interacted with on the battlefield and give powerful effects. And we are working on powerful artifacts and renowned weapons for your leaders to wield.

Beyond that, we have the second saga in development already. Eagle-eyed followers might have an idea where that adventure will take us.

We’re really striving to make sure that Warfront becomes your next favourite fantasy game.

Our first release will come to Kickstarter in November 2024, we’ll see you there adventurer…

Old School Orcs Up On Kickstarter

The classic ‘Western’ Orc in loose fitting rudimentary clothing and a hood (it could be disguising hidden chainmail) is a staple of fantasy.

So, I am pleased to offer you a new range of 20 figures which with the separate shields and in many cases weapons, should give you plenty of that Satanic Panic hallmark, variety. If you look at my other ranges, you can use so many other weapons and shields that a totally unique army is a realistic possibility.

So, here are the 20 models. I’ve left weapons and standards off the command figures to allow you to really go to town and not be stuck with a single banner design.

Advantage/Disadvantage Dice Up On Kickstarter

I want to introduce a new method of rolling for advantage or disadvantage. Rolling two different dice is fun. However, rolling this new type of dice brings an exciting new element to the mix. Seeing that second internal dice break through the swirling glitter is magical.

Wasteland and Post-Apocalyptic Minis Up On Kickstarter

My name is Aniello Rivieccio , but no one call me Aniello, everybody call me just “Nello”. I am a digital artist with a past in the old school made of putty, wire and wooden tools to carve and modelling.  I have been a professional modeller for a lifetime,  achieving awards all over the world in the most notorius and important competitions , expecially in the historical military miniatures. The two important awards that still make me proud even today are the MFCA ( miniature figure collectors of north America )  Grand Master and the World Master Award from the international miniatures world committee . Despite I am considered almost only an historical’s miniatures artist , I always loved the fantasy world. This love, brought to life this COMMAND MINIATURES project, that I really hope with all my heart will fulfill the commitment. My efforts were made keeping in mind only to enjoy all of you.

Whatever will be the result of this campaign …I will always THANK YOU SO MUCH

Broken Anvil Studio Paint Up On Kickstarter

We are excited to announce our first introductory set of paints, The Essential Palette–available at an exclusive discount through this Kickstarter campaign.  For nearly two years we have actively developed these paints, testing consistency, saturation and application to bring you what we know will be one of the best paint lines for both casual hobbyists and competition painters alike!

This campaign allows us to immediately begin production of our range of paints, meaning no additional development or waiting will be required before fulfillment.  With the feedback we’ve already received on these paints from members of our painting community, professional artists, streamers and Youtubers, we believe we’ve created one of the best lines out there. We can’t wait to get them on your palettes!

In the sections below you’ll find all the information you need to know about our paints, including videos and photos showcasing the amazing results you can achieve with Broken Anvil Studio Paints.

Electric Melon Dice Available From Kraken Dice

The sweetness is unparalleled to anything on Earth: past, present, or future! You likely never taste anything like it, but from what I’ve experienced through this little piece of heaven, it has easily earned that crown. Simply a luxurious treat that any fan of melon treats in general must try at least once in their lifetime! Words alone cannot convey the feeling of bliss this treat will give you. Please treat yourself to them and see for yourself.

Shadowdark RPG allows players of all ages and backgrounds to create a back-to-the-future moment for tabletop roleplay. Old-school gamers will enjoy a gritty dark adventure akin to the gaming of their youth, while newer gamers will love the retro feel and modern features that streamline the gaming process.

“This has been a lifelong dream of mine, and now it’s coming true,” said Kelsey Dionne. “I wanted to capture that moment that is the magic of when you fall in love with gaming. You are young and falling into a world where you can do anything, and being the hero of your own story is just everything. Here it is. Shadowdark is that game.”

The game features familiar elements of classic fantasy gaming but is not a retro-clone. A lot of new game design ideas have emerged in the last 50 years, and Shadowdark RPG brings together the best concepts into a nostalgic-but-new adventuring system. Torchlight only lasts for one hour of real-time gameplay, which forces characters to make decisions quickly. Darkness is dangerous, and total darkness means no dark vision, making it harder to navigate the game.

Other features of the game include the four core classes, a d20-based, roll-high system, treasure grants XP, and tracking it is simple. The game also features roll-to-cast spells, always-on initiative, and low hit points for fast and deadly combat. Shadowdark RPG features a black, digest-sized hardcover with 330 pages of full rules for characters, gameplay, and GMing, 239 classic monsters, 85 iconic spells, and 97 mighty magic items. There are also dozens of robust roll tables for just about everything, handy reference charts on the inside covers, and spectacular black-and-white art.

The game’s Kickstarter campaign also includes a premium version of the game, bound in basilisk skin (it’s actually dark-green leatherette — no basilisks were harmed), with a silver-foil imprint of Mordanticus the Flayed, the greatest enemy of The Ten-Eyed Oracle.

Shadowdark RPG has received praise from industry experts, including New York Times-bestselling author and award-winning game designer Matt Forbeck, who said, “Feels just like the ideal version of a game I was playing forty years ago, but forty years better.” Designer of QELONG & consultant on DUNGEONS & DRAGONS 5e, Kenneth Hite, also praised the game, saying, “With beautifully creepy old-school art and plenty of wonderful random tables, SHADOWDARK is one hell of a tasty cookie.”

For those who want to try the game out before pledging, a free quickstart kit is available for download. Shadowdark RPG is a fantasy adventure game that is both classic and modern, allowing players to delve into buried ruins, lost cities, spider-infested forests, and fearsome dragon lairs in search of gold and glory. The Shadowdark is any place where danger and darkness hold sway, daring fortune seekers to tempt their fates. Whether you’re a seasoned veteran or a newcomer to tabletop gaming, Shadowdark RPG promises to deliver a thrilling and immersive experience.

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The first five books in the series are now available in paperback, with books six and seven to be published in May. The series will continue to be published throughout 2023 and 2024, with definitive editions that include additional background material and expansions contributed by the Lone Wolf fan community.

Gamebooks are interactive novels where readers take on the role of the hero and are given choices that affect the outcome of the adventure. Each book can be played many times, and new paths can be discovered. The Lone Wolf gamebooks take place in the same fantasy world, Magnamund, and each book provides a piece to an overall epic saga. With the recent revival in popularity of fantasy roleplaying games such as Dungeons & Dragons, a new generation is discovering the series, including the children of the original readers.

Ben Dever, who is co-authoring the final book, The Light of the Kai, with Vincent Lazzari, has been working hard to continue his father’s legacy. Although he initially had no personal interest in the Lone Wolf books or fantasy gaming, he left his work as a music event director to immerse himself in the world of Lone Wolf and its community of fans. The series is published by Holmgard Press, and the first five books are available now in paperback at all good bookshops and online booksellers.

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The campaign got off to an incredible start, with Forsaken Isles funding on day one in just 30 minutes. Since then, the project has continued to exceed expectations, with 19 stretch goals already unlocked, including the addition of a brand new character, The Merchant. The team behind Set a Watch is now hard at work on another new character, The Halfling Cavalry, which backers can help unlock by following the campaign on Instagram.

Set a Watch: Forsaken Isles is a standalone expansion to the popular cooperative adventure puzzle game Set a Watch. With a new Doom mechanic and a new “short game” mode, Forsaken Isles offers players 60-90 minutes of challenging gameplay. The expansion is fully compatible with the original game, allowing players to mix and match creatures, locations, and characters from any game in the Set a Watch series.

Set a Watch: Doomed Run, on the other hand, is the ultimate Set a Watch experience. Combining content from the entire series with plenty of new material, Doomed Run takes players on a thrilling campaign through seven different realms, as they attempt to stop a mysterious cult from resurrecting the Unhallowed. Along the way, players will complete side quests to unlock new adventurers and their mythic items, but be warned: other adventurers will permanently perish until you attempt a new doomed run.

The Set a Watch: Forsaken Isles & Doomed Run Kickstarter campaign has been a huge success, thanks in part to the dedication of the game’s passionate fanbase.

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“March of the Machine” is the culmination of more than a decade of Phyrexian machinations, which will fundamentally change the Multiverse. The Phyrexians have everything they need to complete their great work, including an army the likes of which no plane has ever seen. However, unexpected allies have now joined the heroes’ fight against the Phyrexian onslaught.

Players can stand with the greatest heroes of Magic from virtually every plane we’ve visited in the Multiverse, including Chandra, Hope’s Beacon, Yargle, Multani, Ghalta and Mavren, Thalia and the Gitrog Monster. The Phyrexians have opened portals in every corner of the Multiverse, and even seemingly innocuous places such as Bloodfell Caves and Dismal Backwater are not safe.

“March of the Machine” will have five Commander decks, and there will be ten different Planechase cards in each of them. The set will be available in various booster packs, including Set Boosters, Draft Boosters, Collector Boosters, Bundle, Prerelease Packs, and Jumpstart Boosters.

In addition, a small set called “March of the Machine: The Aftermath” will focus on the story, showing what happens after the events of “March of the Machine.” This is a set for those invested in the story, the characters, and what comes next. “March of the Machine: The Aftermath” is a set of 50 new Standard-legal cards sold in five-card boosters.

The Phyrexian invasion is coming, and no corner of the Multiverse is safe. “March of the Machine” will hit stores worldwide on April 21, 2023. Players can preorder the set online at Amazon and at their local game stores.

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The new cards offer more tools to support the playstyle of ceremonial magic, including a new alteration spell, ready spell, and addition to the “Chant” arsenal. The Corpse of Viros is set to be a monumental new set, with more previews of the expansion to come.

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More undead horrors are coming to tabletops in Warcry. Get a look at some of the new vampire miniatures that will be in the new box set, coming to pre-order this weekend.

From the article:

Soulblight vampires spend every night of their immortal lives with a persistent hunger for blood gnawing away at them. Some, like the Askurgan Trueblades, do their best to restrain this rapacious hunger, going so far as to entomb themselves with terrified mortals to prove they can go a whole night without so much as a nibble.*

These ascetic fellows are a touch unusual compared to the many other types of vampire in the Mortal Realms, who run the gamut from nightmare stalkers to debauched aristocrats who rule whole kingdoms. With this new gang of pointy-toothed pariahs on the way, we’re taking the opportunity to compare them to other famous vamps.

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From the article:

Things are about to get much bloodier in the Gnarlwood. The next Warcry expansion hits pre-order this Saturday, and it brings an ascetic sect of beast-slaying vampire monks into conflict with a baying horde of Khornate murder-cultists. 

But that’s not it for Warcry goodies this week – two other warbands are getting their first standalone release. Make way for the silent-but-deadly Hunters of Huanchi and the idolatrous Jade Obelisk.

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