Warhammer: Design Decisions

I set several priorities and rules for myself in designing this army: 1. Since there are strict deadlines for completing each phase of the army in the Slow Grow League, I will not bog myself down with any conversions or scratch building other than some simple kit bashing. 2. To wash away some of the dirty feeling of playing a GW game I will use non-GW models for all of my Heroes. 3. Other than the Heroes, I will only use standard GW plastic kits for the rest of my army. 4. The army must have class and style.

Now, the last one is tricky because GW and I have very different definitions of style. For me it means sexy women, confident men, and most importantly models that evoke attitude and emotion. For GW, on the other hand, style means models that appear both awkward and uncomfortable. For GW, femininity is measured purely in the size (and sometimes the number) of a woman's breasts, and a masculine man typically has fists that are larger than his head, slender shoulders, and (most importantly) a really big hat.

So to make a sexy and stylish Empire army, while avoiding unnecessary conversions, requires non-GW models for all the important parts. As a result I have been scouting other miniatures companies to fill the Hero roles in the army. To start is the leader of my army: Brunhilde von Konigsmark from Raging Heroes. This fantastic model evokes the exact attitude of wealth and arrogance that I am looking for in my army, and has been a great source of inspiration.

Next is my master Engineer, another model from Raging Heroes, and another beautiful piece that perfectly captures the style that I want my army to evoke.

After that comes my Warrior Priest. As I get into higher point values I am planning on adding a unit of Greatswords for my Halberdiers to follow into battle. With a Warrior Priest to lead the Greatswords this means that I'll have three units that are all Stubborn and have Hatred. Although GW's Warrior Priests are actually not that bad, I found this one from Avatars of War that is even better.

And finally, I wanted some Wizards with an exotic appearance that hints at Marienburg's connections with Araby and Cathay. I spent a long time looking for the right models for this part of my army, and so far I've only found one. The White Dove from Vesper-On Games has the perfect mix of style, exotic allure, and the gold mask of a Lore of Metal Wizard.