Road to ArcFest 2025 | Part 3

Death Guard speculation, ArcOpen appoints Head of Photography, Hobby Homies talk Deth Wizards and more

Word Tweak

Apr 22, 2025

G’day!

Progress is slow with my Plague Marines Kill Team entry for ArcOpen. But! Progress is being made nonetheless.

Only another 12 or so days to go …

Slow and steady is on point for these sons of Mortarion.

Dawn of the Death Guard

Speaking of my Bubonic Boys … Games Workshop has teased new 10th edition rules for them to hype the upcoming codex release.

From what we know so far it all sounds very promising.

Pretty much the same as before but affected units/models become ‘afflicted’. Image: Warhammer Community.

More of the familiar contagion shenanigans with -1 toughness as well as a choice of one additional debuff. Image: Warhammer Community.

Warhammer Community teased some of the detachments as well.

Here are seven things I’d like to see roll into the 10th edition codex:

Effective Blightlord Terminators. In the current index they’re slow and don’t wallop like you’d expect. Here’s to hoping a tweak to their unit ability and armaments make them a more viable elite option.
Robust Rhinos. Dedicated transports in their current iteration aren’t worth the points. Why rush your marines to the mid-field only to be wiped in a single shooting phase? They lack resilience and the tools to keep their passengers safe. New tricks and a slightly sturdier exterior could make all the difference.
Daemon-engine detachment. The 9th edition codex had one, and I have loads of drones and crawlers, so it it would be a convenient return to form.
Really malicious volleys. I’d like to see a player rewarded for bringing all the bolters rather than min-maxing special weapon loadouts in their squads.
Nurgle Garden decorations. Remember that bong fortification thing? Gimme more of those. Let the Adeptus Astartes have their Drop Pods and I can field a variety of oddly-shaped terrain pieces that totally evoke ‘Rule of Cool’.
More special characters. It’s ironic that I once collected another Chaos army full of heroes (Dark Angels …) and the Death Guard are bloated with specialists, too. This is probably more of a narrative Crusade thing but I’d love the option to take a unit with a hefty leader profile but for it to be a generic version of say Typhus or even Morty. I mean, those guys can only be in so many places at once.
Havoc equivalent. Dudes strapped with entropy cannons would be such a delight.

ArcOpen welcomes Head of Photography

A familiar face at the Melbourne Figure Painters Collective (MFPC) – Adrian Prada – has joined the ArcOpen team.

Adrian Prade at The Gaming Arena. Image: Arc.

Read the official announcement.

The next MFPC meeting, by the way, is Sunday 27 April 2025. I might see you there.

Quarmageddon II is coming soon

Good news everyone! More details about the next This Quar’s War event in Werribee, Victoria, should be available shortly.

If you missed my coverage of the first event check it out.

In the meantime, I need to politely ask my bro-in-law to print a Coftyran tractor …

Deth Wizards: Hobby Homies

Weekly tabletop podcast Hobby Homies continues to bring the goods.

In this episode, Fox and Shane discuss Deth Wizards, a game from Snarling Badger Studios (Adam Loper AKA Uncle Atom of Tabletop Minions and mini painter extraordinaire Vince Venturella).

This Baron’s War Second Edition

Behold! This revised ruleset is reported to build on a strong foundation and transforms it into a truly polished experience.

People just living in the moment without their phones. Image: Wargames Atlantic.

What’s happening in the worlds of BattleTech?

I’m finally getting around to painting my Alpha Strike mechs. Woohoo! It’s mostly blue overspray from working on those Plague Marines, haha.

The BattleTech universe is fun. I’ve said it here before – my parents waged war Classic style (before I was born) and I spent my formative years playing some of the video game adaptations.

I’ve played a handful of Classic bouts over the years and even tried some basic Alpha Strike with my girls.

Looks like I might be gearing up to play Alpha Strike properly in the near future.

Last month, Catalyst Game Labs unveiled an alternate universe for the franchise – BattleTech: Gothic.

Humanity fights The Endless War since the fall of the Golden Age. Familiar, but different factions take up arms against each other and Abominations, horrible creatures of amalgamated flesh and steel. War-torn worlds have been burned, resulting in barren wastelands that humanity still seeks to conquer.