Every spring, in Milwaukee, WI, Adepticon marshals the miniature war gamers of the world for days of tournaments, painting competitions, promos and pre-releases, and, naturally, new game announcements. This past convention took place at the end of March and, now that the dust has settled, we’re going to take a look at some of the biggest games coming out of the convention and onto your tabletops. Or, if you’re anything like me, into your ever-growing painting pile.
Oh, and if you find yourself at Adepticon next year, keep an eye out for Noble Knight’s booth!
Warhammer 40,000 11th Edition
Okay, first things first – the biggest announcement, albeit one very much expected, is Warhammer 40k’s forthcoming 11th Edition. Arriving this summer, the world’s largest miniatures game gets a refining update meant to further streamline 10th’s big changes to the game. We’re talking a new ‘Hidden’ cover bonus, more flexible detachment rules, and standardized terrain sizes (which makes it easier for 3rd party terrain providers to get their stuff in the game). There’s a bunch more, but much of it takes small tweaks to the existing rule-set, eliminating edge cases and striving for a faster, more melee-focused, game.
To regular 40k players, these new editions, which tend to roll out every 3 years or so, are just the way Games Workshop does things. Any game with longevity needs refreshing here and
there to keep up with modern trends, address balance and rules concerns, and, naturally, offer an excuse to release big new boxes full of goodies. As ever, your models from prior editions remain playable, and 10th Edition data sheets count as current until an 11th Edition emerges for your faction (Tyranids, always). Any heroes deemed incompatible get splashed into the Legends rules, still able to make their presence felt on the battlefield. These touches help ensure your models are never out of style, even in competitive formats.
If you’re a lapsed player, or a curious newbie, I’d say the advice on how to get in remains the same: don’t worry about hunting new edition boxes, particularly the big ones. If you’re an experienced builder and painter, then adding a whole bunch of models to your workbench might not be intimidating, but otherwise, diving in with a big splash can lead to burnout and a pile of plastic sprues. Instead, attend a local Warhammer game night to get a feel for the game, learn some factions, and decide where you’d like to start. If you have friends wanting to dive in alongside you, so much the better – just aim for a community, because that’s where Warhammer shines more than almost any other game out there.
As for how to do that diving, I’m firmly in the Kill Team camp (Combat Patrol boxes work too, but it’s a bit more effort) when you’re taking your first steps into the 40k universe. We did a piece on it, but it remains a top-tier skirmish game with excellent narrative play, and the models there cross right over to its big brother. It’s cheaper, faster, and a much more approachable entry point to a wonderful high point in this hobby.
The Mandalorians Come To Star Wars Legion
Star Wars: Legion is in a neat place these days: its offerings have never been more exciting. A coming revised classic core set, four huge factions, a plethora of heroes, and a bevy of new announcements like the Jedi Council and the Mandalorian sub-faction mean we’re not wanting for fresh injections. The gameplay, too, remains stellar, with alternating activations and 
commands keeping gameplay moving while, and this is key, feeling like it’s moving. Fast, thrilling, like Star Wars was meant to be.
At Adepticon, though, Atomic Mass Games gave us even more reason to dive in – next year, Legion gets its first aerial units. That’s right – X-Wings on the battlefield. Adding a spacecraft dimension, a huge part of the Star Wars experience, is going to boost verticality and mix up a whole slew of new strategies, much like the Mandalorians and their jet packs. Moreover, it shows Atomic Mass isn’t slowing down on their flagship title. There’s ideas aplenty here, folks, so if you’re a Star Wars fan (and perhaps a little miffed at Shatterpoint’s wind-down), know that there’s a big home for you here.
Now, Legion doesn’t have a Kill Team equivalent, but its starter sets are excellent and hit a very friendly price point for miniatures gaming. Decide whether you want to play classic factions (Empire vs Rebellion) or Prequel (Clones vs Separatists) and dive in. What’ll hook you, though, is seeing Darth Vader out on the battlefield wreaking havoc, or Han Solo rallying rebel guerrillas to take an objective. It’s cinematic in all the ways you love.
All the Other Great Games
If Legion and Warhammer were two of the biggest games at Adepticon, they were far from the only games. Heck, even Noble Knight had a booth there! Still, there’s a ton of great and original miniatures games out there, many of them making splashes on the Adepticon floor. Here’s a few of my favorites:
Starcraft: The Miniatures Game
Oh boy – this one’s been coming for a while and it’s nearly here. Showing up in stellar release form at Adepticon, Starcraft: The Miniatures Game is a sci-fi clash that’s a must-try for any fans of the computer game series. Or, you know, fans of big robots and hordes of alien bugs mashing into one another in galactic warfare.
Where Starcraft makes its mark in how its designed the gameplay to feel like a real-time strategy game rather than a monster war game. See, you’ll start with a few units on the battlefield, then make choices as the game continues to build up your base and, depending on those choices, deploy additional units with upgrades and so on. The ramp up, and the ability to counter what your opponent is doing (or adjust to the battle) is a really cool concept that keeps matches moving briskly, as you’re not scampering 50 models around every turn, while letting you adapt on the fly. While Starcraft is early on in its life, the returns so far are promising, and you can get plenty of action from the starter set, which releases soon and can be ordered right here.
Trench Crusade
Look, the vibe of World War plus Sci-Fi Horror is really in vogue as of late – we talked about Konflikt ‘47 not long ago (they had a starter set in the swag bag at Adepticon too!), and, with games like Flying Pig’s The Long Road, you’re getting werewolves and monsters into hex-and-counter too. Trench Crusade started a few years back as a crowd-funded miniatures game with
3D-printed files as its core offering. In short, you’d pledge and get the files to print all the minis on your own (or use alternatives). But, fortunately for them and for us, the game blew up.
Trench Crusade is a fantastic, atmospheric adaptation of World War 1 pitting Heaven against Hell in a skirmish-level war game. With an emphasis on customizing your squad loadout (as opposed to zillions of fixed equipment miniatures), this is a modern evolution of the genre. Alternating activations and a simple 2d6 plus modifiers action system underpin a dark, entrancing setting dripping in evocative art and lore. If there’s one miniatures game to keep an eye on, it’s Trench Crusade.
Necromolds
A little clay and a lot of strategy – at first glance, Necromolds (which has been going strong for years now) is a gimmick. Buried in its clay-constructed armies, which you build on the fly, is real strategy. If your opponent goes huge, maybe you aim for swarm tactics, spreading your clay amongst numerous. Or maybe you go big too, angling for a big ol’ kaiju battle on the board. Easy rules make this a great intro game for young ones (plus, they won’t break any immaculate, painted plastic). Just fun all around.
The Silver Bayonet
I like historical miniatures just fine, but throw in a bit of magical mayhem, and you’ll have me hooked. Napoleonics horror-miniatures game The Silver Bayonet is one such wonder, and, as it’s miniature-agnostic, you can grab anything around 28mm and get to playing. The campaign mode, where your units evolve over several games, is a treat in its approachable length, meaningful narrative, and diverse play. Even if you have a pile of Warhammer minis sitting around and you want to try something different, make sure to give this Osprey gem a look.
Steel Rift
Take Battletech and give it a makeover, drop it on a small table, and you have Steel Rift, a mech skirmish game that puts a huge emphasis on customizing your force. It’s like Mech LEGOS, but when you’re done, the game is a blast and plays in under an hour. There’s campaigns and other modes too, which helps keep Steel Rift in the rotation as a quick play choice any night of the week.
Can you ever have too many mechs? No, no sir, you cannot.
