In August 2022 Game Workshop gave us a new edition to Warcry with the Heart of Ghur box. This time Warcry landed on the Realm of Beast in the region of Ghur. An area filled with foul nature ready to rip you to shreds.
If you haven't played a game from Games Workshop and have an interest in skirmish games (and maybe branch out to larger games in the future) then this is a great way to start.
Warcry is a good starting point for all ages, rules aren't to difficult l, games last somewhere between 45-60 minutes and you don't need to much to start.
What do you need?
- A table to play on ( 22" x 30")
- A set of D6 (12 should be sufficient)
- A warband
- The Core rules
(free to download)
- A measuring tape (inches
- Some terrain
- Warband Compendium/Tome
(free to download)
Now to start you could get everything or use your fantasy or buy a starter box. Personally I recommend getting a starting box as it contains everything you need to start (besides from paints and hobby tools).
Current Warcry 2.0 starter boxes
- August 2022: Warcry: Heart of Ghur
Current Price range: 140 - 180€
This box is no longer available on GW website.
Contents:
- 160-page softcover Warcry: Core Book
- 64-page softcover Warband Tome: Rot and Ruin
- Warband: Horns of Hashut
- Warband: Rotmire Creed
- Gnarlwood scenery – 18 terrain pieces
- A double-sided 22" x 30" folding gaming board
- Warband stats cards
- Game tokens
- Battleplan cards
- A set of dice (18 x D6)
- November 2022: Warcry: Sundered Fate
Current Price range: 145€
Contents:
- 160-page softcover Warcry: Core Book
- 64-page softcover Warband Tome: Stealth and Stone
- Warband: Jade Obelisk
- Warband: Hunters of Huanchi
- Gnarlwood scenery – 10 terrain pieces that go
well with the previous box
- A double-sided 22" x 30" folding gaming board
- Warband cards
- Game tokens
- Battleplan cards
- A set of dice (18 x D6)
- February 2023: comming soon
- May 2023: comming soon
So its this game for you?
It all depends on a few things. If you like fanatsy games where dice control the outcome and you can use any model of a chosen Faction you desire within the point limit, then yes this might be a game for you.
Main rules are easy. Grab the Compendium or Tome of your chosen Faction, choos the models you wish to use at a min of 3 and a max of 15 upto a point limit of 1000 points.
Besides these small rules there is also a rule where it says you can have a max of 3 heroes. 1 of the 3 heroes has to be a leader of your Faction, the other 2 slot can be filled up with one of the following.
- Heroes from your faction
- Allied heroes from the same Grand Alliance
- Monsters and Thralls
Games Workshop has a number of Warbands generic to the game but you can create a warband from any of the Grand Alliences and factions from Age of Sigmar.
The only limit you have in choosing any Age of Sigmar models is that most big and named models are not represented in Warcry. (Ex: The Great Unclean or The Megaboss on Maw-Krusha). If you are not sure about a model if you can use it, just check the corresponding Tome and you are set.
Ways to play
Warcry has 3 different ways to play like most Games Workshop games. All 3 types od modes are explained in detail in the core rules but I'll briefly run over all 3 modes
1. Open play: this is a games mode you will most likely play your first time to get to know the rules and a good way to play anyway you want. Open play is a "play like you want it and agree on it with your opponent" style, keeping the core rules intact. You want to play with a warband of 1500 points? Sure why not...
2. Narrative play: This is a story based game play where you start with a small fraction and by completing "quests" you get an extra perk for your next battle.
3. Competitie play: This are the games you look forward to in the end. Preset terrain, victory conditions and deployment and if you are lucky to win a tournament (official one) you might even go home with some rewards.
Another option is a 4 man game play called Triumph and Treachery where 3 to 4 warbands enter the battlefield and fight to the death, but... maybe... yes maybe the person left of you sneaks you a little note asking for an alliance against the other 2, but... can he or she be trusted and are you to be trusted? Anything goes in this game mode. (I personally have done this mode a few times and loved it, even with 6 people but we had to double the size of the game board).
So I could go on about this game but I won't try and convince you that this game is for you or go into more detail about the rules, abilities, terrain,etc.
If by now this article has sparked a little fire in your soul and you wish to learn more about it then I would recommend you visit the
Warcry website and read the core rules. If you are still intrigued by the game make contact with your local Games Workshop store and ask if they can provide a Demo Game for you (it's free). If you don't have a local Games Workshop store nearby, then Facebook and Reddit might be a good option to find a Local Game Store or Club.
Here are some pages I found interesting when i first started with Warcry.
Another page i would like to highly recommend is a
Reddit post made shortly after the release of Warcry 2.0. A Reddit user by the name of
Xeroxjager started creating Fighter cards with an online tool. These cards contain all the stats on a simple layout that can be printed on paper or if you are like me on photo paper. I downloaded the images from this person and rescaled them to 2.5" by 3.5" (height x width) and cut them out and placed them in some card sleeves I still had from my days from Magic the Gathering. These cards can be used as a reference during your games and with the latest point changes the author did update the cards. If you are new to Warcry I recommend looking into this
Google docs from
Xeroxjager and download the cards you need for your faction.
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https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZkGdmvs-9ssg2OB0Vq22Yfg6E6ZsNzZTNUJ8xi6ixVo/edit#gid=337438514
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