Sunday preview from the Warhammer-community team!
Welcome back! Grab a cuppa and settle in for your look into the next week in Warhammer! There are more pre-orders coming, including the highly-anticipated next wave for Aeronautica Imperialis. Fans of both Kill Team and the Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game also have some handy gaming aids to look forward to. Plus, new Black Library fiction! Watch this for the highlights.
Aeronautica Imperialis: Skies of Fire
This new starter set pits the T’au Air Caste’s advanced aircraft against pugnacious Imperial Navy and seconded Astra Militarum flyers.
You’ll get absolutely everything you need to fly your first sorties, including a set of five aircraft for each side, a game mat and rulebook, dice, reference sheets, tokens and a transfer sheet. The T’au force includes three Barracudas and two Tiger Sharks, each with a wide array of weapon options. The Imperium’s forces consist of two Valkyrie Assault Carriers, which can alternatively be built as Vendettas, plus three Lightning Strike Fighters, one of which can be built as a Lightning Fighter.
The Imperial Navy and Astra Militarum craft are fully compatible with your existing collection, which makes this box a great choice for both new and current players.
Taros Air War Campaign Book
The T’au Empire took a sleepy Imperial mining world into its fold, and now the Imperium of Mankind wants it back. As the ground war grinds on, the T’au Air Caste attempts to fend off the Imperial Navy and Astra Militarum across engagements in the upper atmosphere, dangerously close to the surface, in rolling canyons and even deep underground!
Learn all about the T’au Air Caste’s role in the rigid social fabric of the Empire and discover their sleek, high-tech aircraft. You’ll also gain insight into how seconded Astra Militarum planes operate in the overall hierarchy of the Imperial Navy. All of this is set against the backdrop of a vicious war between the vengeful Imperium and a haughty, entrenched T’au Empire.
Taros Air War is a packed campaign book that includes the full game rules, stats, rosters and upgrades for a host of new aircraft, plus special rules and scenarios that will thrill any fan of Aeronautica Imperialis. It’s a must-have reference for new players, or existing ones that want to mix up their games, and it will be available in both hardback and ePub editions.
Now let’s have a closer look at those planes!
Imperial Navy Lightning Fighters
Faster than the ubiquitous Thunderbolt and armed with powerful laser weapons, Lightning and Lightning Strike Fighters make excellent interceptors and escort aircraft.
Lightning Fighters will soon be available to pre-order in boxes of six. We’ll take a closer look at them in an article later this week, so keep an eye out for that. And we’ll have another for these…
Astra Militarum Valkyrie Assault Carriers
The aircraft of the Astra Militarum have a very different role from the Imperial Navy proper, but in your games of Aeronautica Imperialis they open up new tactical options.
With the ability to hover, alongside transport capacity and heavy firepower, they’re the ideal craft to land or rescue ground forces. You’ll be able to pre-order the new planes in boxes of four from this Saturday.
Build a mighty fleet of Astra Militarum aircraft, or add wings of fighters to bolster your Imperial Navy squadron!
Now what would the Imperial Navy be without a worthy foe?
T’au Air Caste Barracuda Fighters
Sleek. Deadly. Droney. The T’au Empire relies on Barracudas to form the backbone of their Air Caste’s forces.
With versatile weapon hardpoints and drone bays, they can be tailored to take on a myriad of enemies effectively, and each includes a bay of missiles built right into the wings. You’ll be able to bulk up your squadron with boxes of six, giving you loads of options. And then there’s their big cousins…
T’au Air Caste Tiger Shark Fighter-Bombers
More of a missiler than a bomber, these larger and tougher ‘flying-wing’ aircraft sacrifice a bit of speed and manoeuvrability to mount more and stronger guns than Barracudas.
Just like their smaller counterparts, they can be armed with a variety of tactical loadouts to trailer their battlefield role, including deadly Seeker Missiles! They’ll be available in boxes of two, including a range of weapon options. Now, don’t confuse the Tiger Shark AX-1-0-2, AX-1-0-3, or AX-1-0-4 with this next plane…
T’au Air Caste Tiger Shark AX-1-0 Fighter-Bombers
The heaviest of the new T’au Air Caste aircraft, these airborne assassins trade versatility for truly massive weapons.
Kit them out with a monstrous pair of heavy rail cannons or heavy plasma accelerators. Both of these options add huge damage potential to your T’au Air Caste squadron, and you’ll get two to a box so you can try out both weapons. And where will these trials take place? How about over the…
Taros Area of Engagement Board
This pair of double-sided 19-by-18 hex boards are larger and sturdier than the mat that comes with Skies of Fire, allowing you to play bigger games without feeling cramped – sort of. More on that in a moment.
One side depicts The Furnace, a T’au Empire military outpost in the mountains, including a space elevator that become the focus of fierce fighting. The other side features the awesome Grand Reservoir, a subterranean water purification system large enough that aircraft can engage in tense dogfights entirely underground.
Gaming Accessories
Looking for a way to show your dedication to the Greater Good? This set of T’au Air Caste Dice will do nicely.
Keep track of all the new aircraft, high-tech upgrades, weapon options, ground defences and ace pilots with the Aircraft and Aces – T’au Air Caste Cards.
Of course, Imperial commanders will be able to pre-order their own Astra Militarum-themed Imperial Navy Taros Dice Set, complete with desert camo.
A new campaign book and starter set means there’s plenty of material to fill a deck of Aircraft and Aces – Astra Militarum and Imperial Navy Cards. These new items are fully compatible with your existing Imperial Navy collection, so you’ll want to pick up a deck if you’re adding any of the new goodies.
We’ll have loads more to say about all these awesome Aeronautica Imperialis releases throughout the week, so check back often!
Kill Team Cards and Dice Set
Fans of skirmish warfare on the 41st Millennium will be eager to order this handy set of fillable cards and themed dice this coming Saturday!
Not only do you get enough blank cards to keep track of your Leader, specialists, and other warriors, but you also get a cool box to store them in. That same box has room for the black and orange dice, so you can roll up in style.
Talking of cards…
Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game™ Card Packs
This coming weekend sees the release of card packs to help you stay organised and smooth out your games. There’s one each for Isengard and Moria, the Free Peoples, and Elves and Dwarves.
All of them include blank profile cards for your own heroes, cards to remind you of your army bonuses, and reference cards for the heroes and warriors of various factions. These packs make it easier than ever to quickly find the information you need during your games, so you can pay attention to the action!
Looking for something new to read? We’re catching up some of the digital releases with physical books this week.
Vaults of Obsidian
Authors like Darius Hinks, Nick Kyme and Guy Haley have braved the dangers of the Blackstone Fortress. They told bizarre and exciting tales of forbidden technology, untold riches and the lengths explorers will go to attain them. Now, 12 of those stories have been collected into a new anthology.
Clocking in at well over 400 pages, this book will add even more depth to your games, as it explores people and places rarely addressed in the 41st Millennium. Don’t want to wait for the physical book? You can pick up the Vaults of Obsidian ePub and start reading straight away.
Ghoulslayer
The latest Gotrek Gurnisson novel is also getting a paperback release to add to the digital and audio editions that are currently available.
Darius Hinks tells us just what conspires when the vengeful duardin sets out to Shyish, seeking out the Lord of Undeath himself. Fans of the series will not want to miss Gotrek’s first full-length novel in the Mortal Realms.
Heralds of the Siege
If you’re after new tales set in the Age of Darkness, this anthology brings sixteen of them together from authors such as John French, Guy Haley and Chris Wraight.
Each of these stories explores events prior to the Siege of Terra, adding depth and nuance to the final miniseries. Previously available in ePub and MP3 editions, this book will keep you turning pages for ages – 432 of them, to be exact!
This Week’s Hottest News
Not only will we be exploring Aeronautica Imperialis with articles throughout the week, we’ll have a lot more to say about the new edition of Warhammer 40,000 too.
Stop back each day to learn more about the future of gaming in the grim darkness of the far future.
As usual, our Warhammer Live lineup will keep you entertained with a growing number of shows each and every day. Here’s the schedule if you want to pencil in your faves.
Exciting times are ahead for all fans of Warhammer! We hope you’re staying safe and loving all these new releases as much as we are.
And remember, Frontline Gaming sells gaming products at a discount, every day in their webcart!
