I always like to explore how one activity relates to another. For example, Basketball and Football seem to be very different games. Round ball, hardwood, vs not round ball, and grass. When you play the game, one key statistic comes to mind. Don’t turn the ball over. In American Football, turnovers indicate how a team performs over a season. A similar stat also shows in basketball.

Magic the Gathering and Warhammer are very different games with very different rules. Their only similarity is knowing and understanding your army’s various phases, strengths, and objectives precisely the same as in a Magic deck.

Magic the Gathering Background
There are two key ways to be a better magic player for newer players attempting to be competitive. 25 years ago, Mike Flores published the following article. https://articles.starcitygames.com/articles/whos-the-beatdown/. I recommend all wargames read the article. The gist of the article is understanding in Magic, two decks are trying to win by doing 20 damage to the opponent. One deck will be more aggressive and attack with creatures and spells than the other deck, no matter what.

This distinction is usually apparent; sometimes, it is less obvious. One key to Magic is that players can use a sideboard after the first game. Think of it as if you can swap out your cavalry for archers if you are facing an army of pikemen. A typical competitive Magic deck has 60 cards and a 15-card sideboard. Understanding what cards to sideboard and your role in the matchup is crucial to giving yourself the best opportunity to win.

The second way of improving at Magic is understanding the archetypes of each Magic deck and how they interact. We will explore this later.

Warhammer Who’s the Beatdown
Many Warhammer players who struggle to win consistently need to understand this concept. When to charge, when to hold back, when to go all in, and when to focus fire are crucial to winning. This relates to the role in the matchup. Word Bearers will most likely always be the beatdown or the aggressor. Their role is to kill the opponent. Could that change in round 4? If you already have objective superiority, it might be better to make the Tau break their gunline and come to you. Understanding each turn in a shell is basic and then applying that shell to the master scheme.

The beatdown role is also list-dependent. Necrons with lots of immortals and doomsday arks operate differently than a Necron list featuring flayers and wraiths. Space Marines would be the classic example of a force that can do either possibly but neither well. It is essential to know when it is your time to attack as a space marine player. A Ravenguard force filled with Assault Marines is most likely the beatdown in most cases vs an Iron Hands player.

A neat trick in magic if you are unsure about who the beatdown is, look who gets the first turn. If you are first turn it is most likely you, if it is your opponent it is not you.

A similar article I found while researching this article was posted in 2018 regarding Age of Sigmar. https://www.tga.community/blogs/entry/1731-4-whos-the-beatdown/

Why does the beatdown matter in Warhammer to winning
There are legit 60 armies in Warhammer between AOS and 40k. The newer gamer can’t understand the intricacies of each. Especially if you don’t play in every army all the time. Understanding what your primary path to victory comes easier when you know if your job is to attack or hold back. This brings us to the next phase.

What is your archetype
Magic decks tend to fall into four categories. Aggro, Mid-Range, Control, and Combo. The archetypes play well together in a rock-paper-scissors style to determine the Magic Metagame. Aggro decks usually beat control decks, mid-range decks usually beat control decks, control decks beat mid-range decks, and combo decks work as a wildcard.

Aggro deck’s job is to do as much damage as quickly as possible with small, fast creatures and damage-dealing spells. Mid-range decks tend to try and deal with the small creatures by killing them, making the opponent discard those cards, or putting a creature that is too big for the aggro decks to kill with their small creatures after the aggro deck runs out of resources, the mid-range deck takes over and goes for the kill. Control decks like to control all facets of the game using counterspells and spells that kill all creatures, but it generally takes until turn four for them to stabilize enough to have control, Aggro decks want to kill the opponent by turn four so it often becomes a race. Combo-decks attempt to win on the spot by assembling a series of two or three cards, casting those cards to create a combo of damage or creature creation that is unbeatable by the opponent.

It is a simplified version of Magic strategy, but it works for our purposes. Part of being the beatdown is understanding what type of deck you are running. This works very similar in Warhammer.

Warhammer Archtypes

Warhammer, as most of us know, also has a series of archetypes. Assault, Counter-Assault, Gunline, Combined Arms, MSU Spread, Glass Cannon, Parking Lot, Bulwark, Horde, Castle. Many of these archtypes can be confusing or overlap. For example to me a Gunline and a Castle function exactly the same with the same goals.

https://www.tacwargaming.com/newplayers/playstyles

Most armies fit nicely into the MTG archetypes, but it depends on the list. Necrons can easily be a horde army with 150 warriors on the board, they can be an elite army with the C’tans, or they can work as an all-purpose.

Armies like Genestealer cults or Leagues of Votaan have a smaller unit roster and aren’t as flexible in the various archetypes. Votaan will almost always be a gunline. Custoedes will always function as an elite army.

Combining Archtypes

I propose that in Warhammer, we consider our archetypes in the same Rock Paper Scissors format as Magic. Many competitive Warhammer players build their list with objectives and army roles in mind. This is the same as Magic when building. A Tau list with three riptides wants to defend said riptides by building a castle, letting them deal out damage while not taking any. I would consider this Tau list to be a control-type list. A control list would also be a different Tau list with crisis suits that want to move quickly around the board working on objectives.

Another example, Drukhari would be classified as a combo army, they want to put multiple buffs and auras on their units to make them more potent than their points suggest. In Magic, you would either counter said spells or discard their cards. In Warhammer, you eliminate the units, boost them or make them commit units elsewhere.

A new Warhammer player would better serve by understanding the archtypes in the game. If you think of your army as aggressive, you know your role is to kill as much of the enemy as possible. While mathematically, you would be best served to charge your orc boyz into a smaller unit of Termagants. If a Hive Tyrant is also within charge range and is buffing several units around it, the Tyrant is a better target, even if you don’t get the kill. To come to this decision, you, A, must understand that the Ork player is the beatdown, and B, the Tyranid player, is a combo player, and you must eliminate the combo pieces. The rest of the army crumbles once the Combo enabler is removed from play.

Facing the Same archetype

What happens when two forces have similar builds or archtypes? This is where, in Magic, you make your money as a pro. When two control decks face-off, one must be the beatdown.

In Warhammer, how do you decide? If two gun lines are facing off, unless the two armies are identical, one will be better at shooting than the other. Know if that’s you or not. You don’t want to be the player sitting back and shooting at your opponent when they are better at it than you are.

My last post looked at how I did in 2024. Now, what can I do in 2025?

For one thing, I want my goals to be more direct.

Projects that will be done this year
The following projects are with various painters or will be with them.

1. Lumineth Realm Lords
2. French Bolt Action
3. Death Korps of Kreig
   

Building Goals

1. Eliminate all the piles of shame. I did most of this last year, but getting rid of it would be huge.

Army Goals
1. Paint AOS Ossiarch Bonereapers (I own every AOS faction; less than half have paint)
2. Paint a 40k army. (Potentially more Tyrnaids, leagues of Votaan, and dark Eldar are also options for 3,500 points)
3. Paint a 15mm Byzantine force. (my next campaign idea is Wars of Justinian following Belisarius)
4. 5 Small groups (Harry Potter, MCP, Kill Team, Warcry, Necromunda, Malifauxe, Bloodbowl)
5. Paint a Fantasy Army (leaning towards high elves, could do Skaven 3,500 points)
6. Paint a Battlefleet Gothic Fleet. (ad mech most likely 5,000 points)
7. Paint a Middle Earth army 1k points

Terrain Goals
1. Inventory Terrain
2. Properly Store Kallistra
3. Paint my Industrial Complex Terrain

Game Goals
1. 26 games throughout the year, battle report worthy. These can be home games or public games
2. Pick up a new game system, One Page Rules seems likely, so does Mortem et Glorium

Skill Goals
1. Paint brighter colors
2. Try new paint techniques, went blending in particular
3. Inventory some forces (an entire game system first would be good)
4. Complete and publish a ruleset or campaign.

I am very excited. My FLGS is going to start a new escalation. I am so excited that I purchased five sets of terrain and 200 odd models and have begun the process of painting them all.

Tyranids, bugs, the hiveswarm. This will be my first time piloting the army. I have gone with this list for the 500-point game. League rules state that unless I use whatever units I start with, I must keep them throughout.

My paint scheme will start with a desert tan base coat (aka wraith bone). Hit them with a solid red oilwash that gets wiped off. Do the carapace armor with a color-shifting paint. Most of the weapons and claws will be acid green.
I went to Hobby Lobby and purchased some alien looking plants and rocks to really push the models out of this world.

My final list will be as follows. I wasn’t originally planning on Raveners and Zoanthropes, but I had to make the leader work in my army. I think we will see the neurolictors go away. They seem a little underwhelming.

Another thrilling engagement for the Horus Heresey Series. It took me too long to get this particular game in.

The Ravenguard started off aggressively and with ample destruction. However, clever maneuvers to negate the Lord of War Fellblade and strike a crucial counter-attack doomed them by Turn 4. The Word Bearers were victorious, and this plays nicely into scenario 4, where the Ravenguard is backed up by a river in a desperate struggle for survival. The battle played out very similarly to the Bolt Action version, where each side picked a flank to focus fire and efforts . The strength of the deep strike played a major role here, just like the flanking assaults in Bolt Action.

Conclusions and Thoughts

It was my first time bringing out the Gal Vorbak; wow, they impressed me.
The terrain was a little thick which negated the Fellblade, the three turns it got to shoot, something did die. They just were not the optimum targets.

The Scenario
As with the Bolt Action Version, there is a small river separating a subdivision of the city. The Word Bearers have been ordered to push back the Ravenguard, while the Ravenguard have been ordered to seize both sides.

Forces get 1VP for each unit on their opponent’s side of the river and 1VP for each unit destroyed.

Army Lists

(The lists were equal when I originally built them)

List Choice

Both sides used assault marines to move across the river. I also felt the gunship could help transport that Gal Vorbak to a crucial space. The Ravenguard pushed with their land speeders, emphasizing their speed, while the Word Bearers wanted to counterattack when holes opened in the Ravenguard lines.

Deployment

The Word Bearers needed to limit the Fellblade’s effectiveness, as they had little that could even dent it. 14 Armour with 12 HP is a challenge. I placed the Gal Vorbak inside the warehouse. I think thematically having the Ravenguard “surprised” with the new mutants would be a little shocking.

The Ravenguard wanted to get their heaviest units across the board and hold them while using their two units of assault marines and a single unit of furies to disrupt the situation.

Turn 1

The Ravenguard Fellblade knocks out the hammerfall bunker. I wanted to make sure there were options to get the assault marines in the backfield. It was also one of the only units in line of sight. I could have taken out a sabre tank instead. There were very few casualties and most units were just positioning, and checking sightlines.

Turn 2

Heavy shooting here, the Fellblade knocks down the Gunship. The Ravenguard Landraider destroyed the Sicaran. The Ravengaurd are very aggressive with their land speeders and have dropped in their assault marines. They have also pushed with the Rhino carrying the Deliverers. The Word Bearers countered the tactical marine advance on the railroad bridge with their own terminators and they moved their own land raider into position to cover the bridge along with the daredeo dreadnought.

Turn 3

The Word Bearers have turned the corner. With some clever movement, the Word Bearers took the Fellblade out of the game; the Fellblade did not have a line of sight with its lascannons and had to take a hopeful shot against the Deredeo Dreadnought but missed. The Word Bearers destroyed most of the speeders for the Ravenguard, destroyed an entire assault squad, and pinned the unit of tactical marines as they tried to cross the railroad bridge. They also destroyed the command rhino attempting to deliver the Deliverers. Finally, they landed 20 assault marines behind Ravenguard lines. The Ravenguard didn’t really do anything helpful.

Turn 4,

After this turn, I called the game. I could not see a path forward to victory for Ravenguard. The Ravenguard lost their Land Raider, lost all their assault squads, and did zero damage to the Mhara Ghal Dreadnought who tied up both Contemptors. The Ravenguard did manage to kill a Sabre, a tactical squad, and, maybe a terminator.

Why I Called It

The very best turn imaginable would have been the following, Fellblade destroying the Daredeo +1 25% chance (no line of sight to the 2nd Sabre), the two contemptors destroying the Mhara Ghal +1, 4% chance, the Dark Furies landing on the far side and living +1 66% chance, the 2 remaining space marines winning combat on bad initiative and forcing back the terminators and praetor -2, <1% chance, which would have resulted in a +1 win for the Ravenguard.

The Word Bearers would have responded with, focusing fire on the basilisk, 75% of destroying it. +1, using the Land Raider and Tactical Squad to Destroy the Dark Furies 33% chance +1 and -1. The Ghal Vorbak charging the damaged dreadnought 18% +1 and -1 chance of destroying it. Killing the remaining 2 tactical marines. 85% chance.

Age of Sigmar 4th edition has been out for about a month, and I finally played my first game.

Conclusions

Pros
– The gameplay is faster, especially compared to 40k or 2nd edition
– The new app is a significant improvement over the old
– Armies feel different
– New command point structure and reactions
– Consequences for double turn

Cons
– New detachment rules will be challenging as new books get released
– Simplification leads to a lack of depth
– New missions were a tad confusing

Other Thoughts
– Fly is a big deal
– The game is about Hero’s and monsters
– Know your army’s rules!!!

At first glance, the game was the same as in the prior editions. Most things will be the game you remember. I think the changes that were made helped differentiate AOS from 40k. The new list-building rules, the reactions, how command points work, and losing VPs for taking the double turn all add up to a unique game.

Since the 8th edition, 40k has always felt competitive and gamey rather than beer and pretzels. While I love a good league and competition, I would prefer to roll dice and make pew noises on a summer Saturday afternoon while trying to pull off a ridiculous combo. Age of Sigmar gave me that beer and pretzels vibe.

Using the app during gameplay was easy once you did it a few times. I would prefer one less touch of the screen when going from unit to army and vice versa, but it felt natural once you did it a few times. I have always thought that you should be able to add your opponent’s force and have a dice rolling function in the app, so if your unit A was shooting at his unit B, with this buff, here is how many casualties. I understand why they don’t. In competitive games, they want there to be skill involved in Mathhammer.

I did glance through several individual armies’ various rules, and at first, they appeared very well balanced. I am fearful that as new army books are released, we will see classic power creep, and every couple of months, it will be about the newest army.

Battle Report
My friend was interested in getting into AOS, and I was itching for a match. He was looking at purchasing either Nighthaunt or Idoneth. I brought both to our battle. I built the lists based on what my friend wanted to buy rather than what I thought would be good. I honestly hadn’t even opened my 4th edition rulebook and knew nothing about the army’s special rules. Of our 3-hour session, 1.5 was spent looking up rules.

The entire game took less than three hours, from mission selection to set-up, 5 battle rounds, and tear down.

We used a random card from the Skaventide box. After looking through the GHB missions, we found that they were all a little rule-heavy for what we were looking for today, so we just said kill.

In what ended up being a very close game, my friend did just a bit more damage to my Nighthaunts than I did to his Idoneth. My black coach’s failed 4″ charge into his reavers would have changed the game. He also had an additional unit that would have been a beneficial screen.