The 8th Edition Challenge

So, of course I'll start with the last thing first. Earlier this month my friend Jeff challenged me, and a group of mutual friends, to a Warhammer Army Building Challenge. The details of the Challenge can be found on Jeff's blog here.

The summary, however, is we basically commit to painting a new(ish) Warhammer army for 8th Edition over the next eight months or so, then gather from across the country for a round-robin tournament. The idea is to give us all something concrete to aim for, and something to discuss with each other online (as we're all spread across the country now).

Anyway, I'm going to build an Empire army (no real surprise there), and it looks like I'll be adding another 200 or so models to my collection of Empire models that already exceeds 1000.

What can I say? I love the idea of the stoic human fighting desperately to survive in the brutal and chaotic Old World. This time around it'll be a Marienburger army, taking a bit of a mercenary feel and mixing it with some opulence (from the coffers of a wealthy Merchant Prince). I also hope this means I can mix in some of the fun stuff that has already been revealed for Warhammer Forge (particularly that Land Ship).

So, what am I pledging to build? The current list looks something like this:

Troops

• 40 Spearmen w/command

• 40 Spearmen w/command

• 30 Flagellants w/command (I'll have a Warrior Priest in the list)

• 30 Free Company w/command

• 10 Handgunners

• 10 Handgunners

• 10 Crossbowmen

• 10 Crossbowmen

Specials

• 30 Greatswords w/command

• 5 Outriders w/Champion

• 5 Outriders w/Champion

• Great Cannon

• Great Cannon

Rares

• Helstorm Rocket Battery

• Helstorm Rocket Battery

• Helblaster Volley Gun

Should be a lot of fun (and a lot of work).

To represent the Merchant Prince, I've decided to use the model of Marius Leitdorf. This figure is suitably foppish, but I'll have to come up with a more appropriate name for him.

I'm thinking of a Turquoise, Black, and Gold scheme, with the occasional splash of Red and Bone included. The bases will be as seen above, the Temple series from Dragon Forge Design, painted as the cobbled streets of Marienburg.

Wish me luck, I think I'll need it.

Cheers

Dave