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And so we begin White Dwarf's supposed transition from glorified games catalogue to an actual hobby magazine. Let's see how they did...

Articles considered content will be shown in this colour
Articles considered advertising will shown in this colour

Pages 1 - 15: The usual miniature preview. Fantasy Daemon Players may interested to know that the content of the Battleforce is actually usable (20 Bloodletters, 5 Seekers, 10 Daemonettes and 10 Horrors) and costs £65.00

Pages 17 - 21: The usual "isn't this month's kit fanstastic" blurb with sprue overview

Pages 22 - 25: New rules for the Terrogheist (basically a big arse Bat Monster/Banshee, but not etheral) and options to include Banhsees and Cairn Wraiths as heroes. This latter section does not replace the rare option for Wraiths/Banshees as far as I can see.

Pages 26 - 29: "Look at our amazing new Garden of Morr kit! (which you have already seen on Pages 8 - 9)"

Page 30: Mysterious Terrain rules for the Garden of Morr

Pages 31 - 34: A mixture of actual adverts and the obligatory battle in progress picture showing all the new stuff

Pages 36 - 41: This month's "LoTR still exists" article focusing on the use of cavalry

Pages 42 - 51: "Hey, you can do crazy things with Storm of Magic rules" article

Pages 52 - 71: An Army of the Month Battle Report using The Release of Last Month's new rules which strangely doesn't feature the Terrogheist Crazily, Vampire's don't win (should have taken that Terrogheist)

Pages 72 - 73: JJ on disassociated games mechanics, mildly interesting

Pages 74 - 79: Adverts and Eavy metal (with no actual painting tips) look at the new SoM monsters

Pages 80 - 81: Is Hall of Fame an advert? I'm going to give it the benefit of the doubt

Pages 82 - 89: Modelling and Painting the new DE dragon. Ok, it's a look at a relatively new kit, but this is actually qute useful for those who buy it

Pages 90 - 103: The first part of Codex: Sisters of Battle. I haven't read it yet, but it is most definitely not an article for new miniatures

Pages 104 - 120: The usual adverts, events guide and store locations

Pages 121: Next Month - Ogres!

Verdict - Probably worth buying for VC and Sisters of Battle players but still no real change to the focus of the magazine.

Thanks for the summary Flash

I'm probably going to buy it today (I'll have to self flagellate when I get back home). I was flicking through some older White Dwarfs last night and it amazes me how much the content has changed - there was so much more writing back then (or so it seems) - I wonder how much the advancements of graphic design/software have detracted from the content - it seems so much time is spent on formatting and making it look pretty, there's little to no space for words - it'll be interesting to see an actual word count from the 170-190 era and today's, even though the magazine now has 40-60 more pages in it.

When's the last time they had a proper tactica? Or is tactics a moot point in 8th Ed Warhammer? I hope it's not just us being old.

This is slightly off-topic but hopefully provides some context.

Here's a similar breakdown for issue 170 (one of the first I remember reading) February - 1994. Olive is neutral.

Page 1: Contents - with an Adverts section at the bottom - total 9 adverts, most single page - they didn't count the Eavy Metal sections of new releases as Ads.

Page 2: New releases - straight up, no pictures - although most releases as single page Eavy Metal features, featured elsewhere.

Pages 3-4: Single page Ads for the 40k Painting Guide and Codex Space Wolves

Pages 5-8: Dark Millennium preview - the 'why's' and 'what for's' - contains actual information on stuff inside the box. You could call it informative advertising - I'm putting it in blue anyways

Pages 9-10 Eavy metal section and blurb on the Space Wolf scouts, follwoed by Ad for Bjorn the Fell-handed - I forgot Space Wolves was the first 2nd Ed 40k Codex

Pages 11-13: Rules and beackground for the Sqaut Cyclops for Space Marine (Epic to you young un's)

Pages 14-15 - A double Page Ad for the month long Mega Sale - Thousands of blister packs for £1 - entire games for £10, loads of deals and a colomn of all the GW stores at the time. Oh for a time machine

Pages 16-20: Rules and background taken from Warhammer Armies Skaven for Thanquol & Deathmaster Snikch, includes 2 pages of Eavy-metal for the Doomwheel, Thanquol/Boneripper and Gutter Runners - all new releases for that month - so informative advertising again

Pages 21-24 Ad for Golden Demon '94 - Buy 3 tickets, get 1 free - Buy 1 and adult goes half price. Reference to the Games Workshop Hobby - GW has always seen itself as its own hobby. Also the Golden Demon info and categories

Pages 25-28: Feature on a rather nice Dark Angels Army - akin to an Army Masters article today - discusses why he chose the army and scheme etc Is this an advert? You could argue all such articles are advertising the hobby, like all the rules are?

Pages 29-30 - Ads for Grand Opening of the Chatswood Store in Aus - with Buy 3 Blisters get 1 free and deals on Boxed games & Supplements, as well as 6 vouchers (2 25% off, 4 10% off) and an Ad for the Rhino kit.

Pages 31-33 - Rules and background for Hobgoblin Sneaky Gits

Pages 34-35: Ads for some Store Campaigns/Competitions, demonstrations of different games etc

Pages 36-37: Rules and background for basic Chaos Space Marine Squads, with an Eavy metal page showing the new minis, World Eaters and Plague Marines

Page 38 - Ad for the Liche Kings Chariot

Pages 39-45 - Massive in-depth article (collecting/unit choices/tactica) on Epic Eldar Armies, with only 10 pictures/diagrams

Pages 46-48 - Black Orcs Rules and background (no points costs), with a page of Eavy Metal paint jobs showing the new models. So 50/50 but I'm calling blue

Pages 47-48 Eavy metal showcase for the newly released Mummies & Ad for Skaven Armies book

Pages 50-69 - Epic Warhammer Battle Report (Chaos Dwarfs vs Wood Elves) including stories and background for the battle - lots of writing, some rules explanations - proper battle report, not showcasing new armies & certainly can't do a kids literacy skills any harm

Pages 70-89 - Mail order stuff, order form (no internet shopping back then) including pages featuring the models in the magazine, giving all part codes etc. Not strictly advertising but the only way to sell stuff

I know times have changed and all but I thought it would be interesting to do a comparison - although many of the rules are 50/50 with showing the new models - but that's to be expected. I think there is such a thing as positive advertising, including extracted rules/background with a release etc

I wouldn't call the 'new releases' section advertising because, think about it, how else would they tell you about them? There's a difference between news (ie. "We now sell this!") and advertising (ie. "Holy gak look at all this stuff we sell!!!!!!!!!ZOMG!1") and GW Advertising (ie. "Isn't amazing that [New Army of the Month] with the [New Releases of the Month] won this month's battle report! So unexpected!").

Flashman wrote:Pages 36 - 41: This month's "LoTR still exists" article focusing on the use of cavalry

Hahahah!

Very witty.

Pages 90 - 103: The first part of Codex: Sisters of Battle. I haven't read it yet, but it is most definitely not an article for new miniatures

I guess that's the part which will interest me most.

It's an okay issue, nothing too far removed from previous issues, high on fantasy and that stupid Storm of Magic stuff, but okay overall.

@ warspawned and H.B.M.C. - ok the neutral approach for the front and back sections sounds fair.

The battle report is Empire and Daemons vs Vampires. Yep, you read correctly. Empire and Daemons. I suppose that as Daemons also have a new release included in the line up (Tzeentch Herald), you could say that one of the Armies of the Month did actually win

Sisters of Battle Codex is written by Rob Cruddace and Mat Ward. Run for the hills! Thought it odd that the Penitent Engine isn't classed as a Monstrous Creature given that it's basically the same principle as a Dreadknight.

I'm tempted to pick it up to read the rules for the terrorgheist, I won't lie.

I picked up Wargames Illustrated recently, and it has ads, but the amount of content is easily quadruple an issue of WD, for less money.

Flashman: Maybe the battle report is an alternate history "If Archaon Had Conquered Middenheim", with Vampires as "mankind's" last best hope against Chaos?

The thing with WI is that their ads are for other, (useful to the hobby) companies that show off great new stuff.

Though it does seem that WI are slowly increasing the BF content.

The issue I had showed a majority of certain companies miniatures, certainly. But I'd consider those shown to be the best on the market, so I guess it makes sense.

Personally, I could do without the battle reports. I'm sure a bunch of folks like them, but to me it's just filler and I never read them. I look at the pictures and then skip to the next section. Just takes up too much space.

I do like seeing the new releases though, but just the first couple pages like it is now. I do also like when they show new models with every bit painted and labeled so you know what they are, but I would rather see that on their website as part of the product page, instead of taking up space in WD.

I could do without the "Don't you love this new model that you just saw 2 pages ago?" articles.

Take out that stuff, and there's plenty of space to devote to useful articles. About tactics, army collecting, whatever, for armies that are brand new and 8 years old, more community things like armies on parade and stuff like that. I care more about the army some guy out in East Jabip just painted than I do about the new models I'm not gonna buy.

Necros wrote:Personally, I could do without the battle reports. I'm sure a bunch of folks like them, but to me it's just filler and I never read them. I look at the pictures and then skip to the next section. Just takes up too much space.

Well, I don't read the battle reports now, but when I bought my first WD I didn't know the games* and I really loved the battle report that they published there. Well, actually it had two battle reports, because they also reported a game of Blood Bowl. But I still read that same magazine sometimes So maybe for newcomers they are actually good.


* I had only played MB's Hero Quest, I didn't even know that there was a game called Warhammer out there. When I saw the dwarf and the GW logo in the cover of a magazine I was like wtf? I skimmed the magazine, drooled with the models, and that was the beginning of the end xD

Now that I'm thinkig about it, after reading that WD I wanted to buy a blister of Eldar Swooping Hawks, who were a great unit in the battle report. I read in the WD that in my city there was a store selling that stuff, and I went there. They were out of stock of Swooping Hawks so I bought a blister of Eldar Rangers. Who were present in the battle report too.

That was 1995. It's 2011. 16 years later I'm still here. Maybe the battle reports work, after all...

Anyone know where I can get it without going into GW? Smiths don't stock it anymore and looks like my local Tesco doesn't anymore...

With reference to where you can buy it, have you tried your local newsagents? You can ask them to order it for you every month if they don't stock it. WH Smith do still stock it, I think, but in very limited numbers indeed.

I still see it every month in my local newsie's ( a Martins McColls).

Necros wrote:Personally, I could do without the battle reports. I'm sure a bunch of folks like them, but to me it's just filler and I never read them. I look at the pictures and then skip to the next section. Just takes up too much space.

I do like seeing the new releases though, but just the first couple pages like it is now. I do also like when they show new models with every bit painted and labeled so you know what they are, but I would rather see that on their website as part of the product page, instead of taking up space in WD.

I could do without the "Don't you love this new model that you just saw 2 pages ago?" articles.

Take out that stuff, and there's plenty of space to devote to useful articles. About tactics, army collecting, whatever, for armies that are brand new and 8 years old, more community things like armies on parade and stuff like that. I care more about the army some guy out in East Jabip just painted than I do about the new models I'm not gonna buy.

In the format they are now, its confusing as all hell to understand whats even going on. I try reading them and its just weird with the comments placed in different sctions and no real pictures to show you whats going on.
I remember reading my first ever battle report, Adrian Wood versus some space marine guy who liked tanks, battling it out in a Blitz mission with Adrian being the defender. Really inspiring stuff, especially his Dreadnought surviving every shot that came at it.
The battle report was detailed for each player and what they thought, had pictures to show the highlights of the battle and was clean and easy to understand.

Looking at it now just makes me skip the Batrep entirely

Da Boss wrote:I picked up Wargames Illustrated recently, and it has ads, but the amount of content is easily quadruple an issue of WD, for less money.

Unlike GW though, those adverts are paid for, so in part support the magazine and I imagine help keep the cover price down. Also, you get a variety of things advertised from many companies. So as far as adverts go, they have their uses.

The adverts in White Dwarf are free advertising for their own product, they get no revenue from that and seeing as most people are familiar with GW products the result is that they are little more than padding in the magazine.

Asuron wrote:I remember reading my first ever battle report, Adrian Wood versus some space marine guy who liked tanks, battling it out in a Blitz mission with Adrian being the defender. Really inspiring stuff, especially his Dreadnought surviving every shot that came at it.
The battle report was detailed for each player and what they thought, had pictures to show the highlights of the battle and was clean and easy to understand.

Looking at it now just makes me skip the Batrep entirely

my first battle report had Adrian Wood and his Orks too, versus Jake Thornton, who played Eldar.

Thanks for letting us know about the latest WD.

I usually buy them for the painting section and that's about it. Since it has no painting section, no need for me to waste money or time looking at the magazine.

what is a disassociated game mechanic?

So in other words GW was lying out their asses again and it's the same old White Dwarf we've come to hate, and the talk about more "content" was just that.

ivangterrace wrote:Thanks for letting us know about the latest WD.

I usually buy them for the painting section and that's about it. Since it has no painting section, no need for me to waste money or time looking at the magazine.

It has a painting section on the DE dragon. I mentioned that

chaos0xomega wrote:what is a disassociated game mechanic?

A disassociated game mechanic is when you give a rule to a unit for gameplay purposes rather than it being reflective of the unit's background. Apparently.

I actually bought it. And it does have more content than they've had in a long time. It's not back to 3rd edition level but there is official rules to add units to VC for fantasy and the first half of the sisters codex. Those alone put it head and shoulders above the most recent issues.

I had a flick through it in the local GW and its a step in the right direction.

I agree.

I have bought June's edition and the new one and have to say the step up in content is noticeable.

This could also be because oif the following reasons:

I have an undead army and am unconsciously biased toward some of the content?

I have also not seen allot of the new releases before, even some of the ones that are clearly remade in finecast releases so it seemed like allot of new stuff to me.

I am in love with the garden of Morr, seems like a great deal of gear for £25 (or perhaps I am too used to GW prices?), look pretty too (especially once you dremel half the skulls off).

notprop wrote:

I am in love with the garden of Morr, seems like a great deal of gear for £25 (or perhaps I am too used to GW prices?), look pretty too (especially once you dremel half the skulls off).

Remarkably, GW terrain is priced very well compared to other companies. I like it a lot too, and can see uses for it in 40k.

I bought it at Chicago GD for the Sisters "mini-dex". Not too terribly impressed with it otherwise. I'll give it another read tonight but I'm not seeing any reason to start a subscription.

Sidstyler wrote:So in other words GW was lying out their asses again and it's the same old White Dwarf we've come to hate, and the talk about more "content" was just that.

Sidstyler Trix are for kids!!! Now here is your kool aid and let grandfather nurglekirby sit you on his unclean lap and tell you bed times stories about the false emperor.

Read the WD Not impressed with the WD and I agree with your assessment.

It's a bit harsh saying that the attempt to return to having meaningful content in White Dwarf failed because it doesn't have content that appeals to everyone.

Even in the good old days, there was very rarely a white dwarf with all encompassing content that everyone was interested in. I remember skipping over a good many because they simply didn't appeal to me.

Just considering the Fantasy content - totally new rules for two existing units, rules for a completely new unit, and a tweak to the rules of a much maligned item in order to bring it down a peg or two in power, it some good Fantasy content. Obviously it mostly appeals to VC players, but also fantasy players in general.

While it's not a complete reverse to what White Dwarf was, it's a step in the right diretion. As long as they keep making improvements with each issue, it should be worth buying again.

I'd love to read the Dragon painting guide as I'm just finishing building mine, but alas, I've still not received my subscription issue this month, is this a taste of things to come? Subscribers used to get it up to a week before, now we get it after it's available in the shops? The only real benefit is that it saves £1.50 an issue. Sigh

Flashman wrote:

ivangterrace wrote:Thanks for letting us know about the latest WD.

I usually buy them for the painting section and that's about it. Since it has no painting section, no need for me to waste money or time looking at the magazine.

It has a painting section on the DE dragon. I mentioned that

chaos0xomega wrote:what is a disassociated game mechanic?

A disassociated game mechanic is when you give a rule to a unit for gameplay purposes rather than it being reflective of the unit's background. Apparently.

I must have missed it, sorry.