Yet More Superhero Wargames Armies Ideas

I can stop anytime I want, I swear. It's just that I think people could really benefit from these army ideas, even if these are some of my worst-performing posts. Something I can do just for me, right? Like I can get these damn ideas out of my head so that I'm not tempted to make them myself, even if I did end up buying most of the Space Knight Heroclix recently for gaming. 

If you're not caught up by now, the idea behind these infrequent pieces is to discuss ideas for bringing a superhero-inspired Miniature Wargames armies into existing games if your FLGS or local club isn't keen on the genre. Whilst I try to not keep the ideas focused on any specific game or set of rules, I do have a vague idea of something along the lines of Warhammer 40,000 in mind, at least in terms of army size and variety of units.


The Brotherhood (Marvel)

Concept: Based on the representation of the "Brotherhood" army in X-Men 3, the entire concept of this force boils down to Magneto saying "In chess, the pawns go first". Despite probably being powerful enough to take Alcatraz by himself, Magneto doesn't want to run the risk of losing, so he brings an army of disposable minions to his side to do the dying for him. With his core group of more powerful mutants to back him up, Magneto is master and commander of a very dangerous rabble. The similar army Magneto builds in Ultimate X-Men is probably worth a look here as well.

Army Building: This one seems pretty straightforward, with mobs of weaker mutants making up the bulk of the force and a small number of elite and powerful members to provide the real punch. As most of the "lesser" mutants don't need to have really specific powers, they could be grouped in "squads" that serve functions. For example, mutants with strength and claw mutations for close combat, chameleon and climbing mutants as scouts and psychics scattered here and there as "radio operators" mean you can fill out a decent sized army pretty easily. Juggernaut and Phoenix fit easily as Dreadnought like vehicles and "monster" infantry, and plenty of games allow for powerful solo characters like Pyro and Kid Omega. 

Models: Honestly, I'd be looking at Heroclix for most of this, just as a way to keep costs down and to scale well with other games. There are plenty of thugs and criminals in other ranges if you want a look closer to the film for your mobs of disposable mutants. I could see using Knight Models or Crisis Protocol for Juggernaut to get something big enough, but I know from past experience that getting enough models in the right scale to match is pretty difficult and expensive.

Red Ribbon (Dragon Ball)

Concept: A mercenary army dedicated to conquering the world, Red Ribbon not only has troops, tanks and planes, but also robots, monsters and ninjas; what else could you want in a wargames army? Probably the only truly recurring villains in the Dragon Ball franchise, the Red Ribbon forces have brought everything from mercenary soldiers to Perfect Cell against Goku and friends over the years, giving plenty of scope for a fun and unique army build. Plus much of the naming scheme is colour-based, so you can have fun with naming things, like Colonel Taupe, Major Heliotrope or Sergeant Aqua. 

Army Building: The spread of troop types and characters means you can never really run out of ideas on this one. You can have plenty of Red Ribbon soldiers, tanks and planes to fill out the rank and file, of course, but do you need an elite unit? How about robots, or maybe ninjas? An elite assassin? Tau Pi-Pi is ready to go. Hell, there's even the Androids and Cell if you need something of an otherworldly power scale. For this concept, I'd probably be working backwards, deciding on a game and army, then finding stuff in the Red Ribbon catalog to fit. 

Models: Sadly, the amount of Dragon Ball miniatures on the market is rather low, but don't give up before you start. Most of the major characters can be found as a 3D print, and there is a great line of model vehicles that vary in scale from 28 to 40mm for pretty cheap. For the soldiers, there are plenty of lines of Cold War Chinese and Soviets that fit the bill quite well, and scale alright with some of the Girls Und Panzer tank models that are a bit more rounded and "cute" in style, for that Anime look.


Free Armies of Mongo (Flash Gordon) 

Concept: What happens when the heroic Flash Gordon of Earth turns the citizens of Mongo against the foul Emperor Ming? The Free Armies of Mongo are born! Mostly taken, in concept, from the King's Watch and King's Quest comic series, this idea works for pretty much whatever version of Flash Gordon that you happen to prefer. Hawkmen, Lizard-men, Tree People and whatever else you feel like are ready to go fight for their freedom against the evil empire!

Army Building: This army falls into the "Halo Covernant" or "How the Tau should work" category, in that each unit will have a very different look, perhaps even being a different species. It's pretty straightforward from there, really, Hawkmen are a "jump pack" unit, Aborians are commandos, Lizard-men are scouts, and so on. The various characters like Flash, Dale and Vultan are ready-made commanders and squad leaders, and there are plenty of rockets to fill out all of your vehicle needs. 

Models: There are plenty of "Not-Flash Gordon" miniatures available with a quick search online, I own some from Reaper and Dirk Garrison myself and they suit fine. Bringing together several different ranges may be necessary, depending on how big you want your army to be. The rocket ships may be a little harder to get, but I've seen a few good 3D print examples around with a good "retro" vibe.

Foot Clan (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)

Concept: It's a Ninja Clan with some comic book extras, not much more to this one. An ancient Ninja Clan, transplanted to New York City, embraces both mysticism and advanced technology in order to further its agenda of accruing power and influence. Most often led by the mysterious figure of "The Shredder", the Foot includes everything from Mutants, to inter-dimensional mercenaries and even robots depending on the source material, but there are always plenty of Ninjas to throw at the enemy. 

Army Building: I'd by lying if I said I hadn't been considering putting together a Foot Clan force for my wargames club's Samurai League, but I thought better of it. The Foot just kind of work really well for a lot of games, because you can have as many ninja as you want or need, then just add in whatever else is required for elite units and characters. Personally, I'd be using a mixture of elements from different incarnations of the Foot, from Rock Soldiers and Krang to Karai and Mousers, because that would give me more variety and more options to choose from. 

Models: There are plenty of Ninja models avaiable, which should fill out whatever you need in terms of "squads"; even the TMNT Heroclix Foot Clan Ninjas are pretty nice, though the weapons can be warped and often need replacing. Naturally, Heroclix have all of the characters you'll need, most are pretty affordable on the secondary market as well, but there is the IDW Board Game if you're one of those people who cannot abide Clix. Mantic does a great tunneling vehicle in the Warpath range too.

My First Superhero Wargames Project

My first introduction to Superhero Miniatures Gaming was Heroclix, which I played for a while with my friends, but as the interest dropped and the cost increased, I let the game slip. I kept most of my collection and got into the habit of repainting them once I'd hit the age where painting miniatures started to be fun. Naturally, I needed an excuse to get more figures, and I still hadn't walked completely away from Warhammer 40,000 just yet. 

Back in 4th Edition, Grey Knights were part of the larger Daemonhunters army, which was one of the few forces a player could really go to town on as a modelling project, as it featured mostly elite units and individuals. At the time, The Ultimates was one of my favourite comics, in which the Ultimate Universe equivalent of the Avengers are put together by SHIELD in the wake of supervillain attacks and 9-11 paranoia. Essentially a military organisation, The Ultimates have enough backing to invade countries when needed and are considered unstoppable "Persons of Mass Destruction" by their critics and enemies. Naturally, these two ideas fit together nicely in my head. 

HQ 

General Nick Fury (Inquisitor Lord) 

This one was practically a gimme at the time, as not only is Ultimate Nick Fury a serious arse-kicker in his own right, but he's bristling with bleeding-edge spy-fi tech, meaning as an Inquisitor, I could load the character up with wargear that did spectacular things without pushing outside the original concept of the army. Also, Inquisitors come with a team of Henchmen, which enables a few more characters to be squeezed in. 
The Henchmen I gave General Fury where two SHIELD Agents (Sharon Carter and Jasper Sitwell), Captain Sam Wilson, plus Wasp and Scarlet Witch as "Warriors".


Captain America (Grey Knight Grand Master) 

Ultimate Cap is a bit more jingoistic and utilitarian than the versions most are familiar with, but is strong enough to go toe-to-toe with the Hulk briefly and kick over a tank. Naturally, this character is best embodied by the unstoppable might that is a Grey Knight Grand Master. A fun little combo that worked with the Daemonhunters army is that Sharon Carter had a "Teleport Homer", meaning Nick Fury could call Cap in to "Deep Strike", basically parachuting into the battle wherever he was needed; only without the parachute, because Captain America doesn't wear parachutes, he says they're for girls. 

For his team of Grey Knight Terminators, Cap is bringing The Thing, Giant Man, Hulk and Colossus, all big, tough guys who fill out the Terminator stat line nicely. True, none of these characters are known for having ranged weapons (Storm Bolters), but there have never been decent figures of the Robotmen from Ultimates 2, which was my original idea.

Elites

Wolverine (Eversor Assassin) 

This one was another easy get, with the Eversor Assassin being a clawed, living super weapon, with a mysterious past and in the 40K universe already. Back in the day, the Eversor was a bit of a buzzsaw that was great at targeting characters, which is pretty much all Wolverine did for the first few volumes of Ultimate X-Men, as he was often Fury's "go-to guy" for applied death.


Spider-man, Moon Knight and Daredevil (Death Cult Assassins) 

(I don't know what this picture is from, but it's pretty funny) 

I'm not sure if they're still around, but Death Cult Assassins were a fun little unit that came in threes but acted independently, each one being a decent close combat fighter. Given that Ultimate Daredevil ran a team including Spider-Man and Moon Knight, I found these three a pretty easy pick for both another elite unit and a way to cram more superheroes into the army.


Troops

Black Widow and Hawkeye (Stormtrooper Veterans) 

Natasha and Clint are stone-cold killer black ops agents in The Ultimates, leading teams of heavily-armed soldiers against the kind of villains and aliens that the celebrity heroes can't be seen fighting. Inquisitors are often accompanied by Stormtrooper bodyguards, so picking up a couple of squads of 2000s US Marines and plonking Clint and Natasha down in the leadership role both looked effective and made sense for the overall army.

Heavy Support 

Iron Man and Thor (Grey Knight Dreadnaughts)

This part I was never really happy with, but back in the day, there was no option for something like Armiger Titans or allied Riptides, so Dreadnaughts were the only option for the two biggest Persons of Mass Destruction. In order to make up the "volume" of the model, they were going to be surrounded by effects on big display bases but I never really got that far. 

And there we go, that was the army that never was, though some parts of it did get finished along the way to where we are now. I could probably put the army together now pretty quickly, as I'm only missing a couple of minis, but I don't see the point. I mean, I already have a superhero-themed 40k army with Kill Team Aesir, do I really need another? 

5 More Superhero Wargames Armies Ideas

Given that absolutely no one seemed interested in my last article about building superhero-themed miniature wargames armies, I decided I just had to do another one. Seriously, that article is probably one of my least viewed, it's crazy. The lack of interest, however, hasn't stopped my brain from coming up with more and more ideas for wargames armies inspired by superhero media, hell, I even built a Warhammer 40,000 Deathwatch army based on the Asgardians from Marvel Comics and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Anyway, if you're superhero inclined and wargames inclined, here are some more ideas on combining the two in games other than SuperSystem and the like.

Wilderbots (Marvel)

(really wanted a better picture, sorry) 

Concept: On the distant planet of Sakaar, technology has regressed and society is slipping backwards into feudalism. Out in the wastelands, the dread "Wilderbots" roam free, terrorising the natives, destroying crops and raising villages. The Wilderbots are malfunctioning and broken robots that have gotten loose and exist only to destroy, a great wargames army concept if ever I heard one. Seriously, I've been tempted to build this army since I first read Planet Hulk. 

Army Building: What immediately springs to mind for me is that the Wilderbots would make a great "counts as" army for Tyranids for 40K. The army would be made up of rampaging robots off all shapes and sizes, so something that lets you build in more than just "standard infantry size" is a must. An alternative would be something like Chaos Daemons or even an army with plenty of cavalry and tanks. 

Models: There is such a wealth of robot, android and cyborg miniatures available that I would be doing a disservice to try and list them all. Add the number of toys and models that also fit the bill and you'll be spoiled for choice. If it were my army, I'd be looking at Star Wars, Heroclix and Horrorclix to fill out the bulk, as they're the only ranges in plastic that aren't GW Necrons.

GCPD (DC)

Concept: Making a wargames army of police may seem a little odd, but a quick look at Batman No Man's Land or Battle for Bludhaven and you'll see that Gotham PD is a force to be reckoned with. This isn't something that would be a huge army, but more of a platoon at most, with more of a focus on characters and interesting army building than ranks of troops. Sure, Jim Godon is your "General", but don't forget elite SWAT teams lead by Brandon or Petit, "scout squads" of tertiary Batman allies like Huntress and Spolier and, of course, Batman as your elite assassin or maybe orbital bombardment token. 

Army Building: I've covered this a bit above, but there really is no limit to this if you think about it a bit. I'm not going to make a political comment on militarised police forces (much), but surely Gotham has been issued with APCs and sonic canons from the Wayne Foundation, and we know that Gordon is happy to use the myth of Batman to his advantage, which could translate to the tabletop as some kind of punji pit or minefield thinning out the thugs. Hell, Clayface joins the force in one continuity! There's your Dreadnought/Giant/Mech right there! 

Miniatures: There is plenty available in the Knight Models range, but cost may be prohibitive, for a cheaper alternative, Heroclix and Modern Police are pretty widely available. Most of the characters (Gordon, Montoya, Bullock etc) are in the Heroclix range, not to mention there are plenty of great APCs, police vans and cars around in toy lines and even 3D prints. 


Africans (Tarzan)

Concept: Basically, what if The Legend of Tarzan had ended with a proper battle and not the cop-out we got? Seriously, that still bugs me. Natives, apes, lions, wildebeest, crocodiles and snakes, all led by Tarzan himself, that's a heck of a force to put on the table. I've already made something like this for Empire of the Dead, but there is plenty of scope for larger armies in games like GASLIGHT or Dragon Rampant.

Army Building: Obviously, Tarzan will be a combat-based leader, like a Space Marine Captain or Ork Warboss, but the rest of the army should be close-combat heavy as well, though the native tribes could have some mild ranged attacks to represent spears and bows. Large apes could form units of fast-moving shock troops, with crocodiles and snakes forming ambush units or trap counters. 

Miniatures: Plenty of companies make Tarzan, I bought the Tin Man one because it has a good size and presence, but the Reaper version is also pretty nice. When it comes to animals, I tend to shop at Eureka, because of the price and range, and also because I can drive there in around half an hour. Once again, Reaper and Wizkids do a decent range of affordable animals. 


Space Knights (Marvel/IDW)

Concept: Rom has a complex history between the Marvel and IDW runs, but basically, the Space Knights are an alien race who have sacrificed their bodies to become the ultimate cyborg warriors to battle the Dire Wraith menace. Each Space Knight is the master of a particular martial skill or weapon, making them individually formidable and almost unstoppable en masse. Sent across the galaxy to hunt down and eliminate Dire Wraith Infiltrators, the Space Knights are a law unto themselves. 

Army Building: The Space Knights would be an ideal basis for any gaming army that focuses on a small number of elite troops, like Grey Knights, Deathwatch or Enforcers. There are characters like Rom, Starshine and Terminator for leadership roles, plus plenty of disposable background Space Knights to fill out your squads. One of the best parts of this concept is that each Space Knight is unique, so "counts as" weapons need not really be an issue, who's to say one can't have a Plasma Gun or Assault Canon? 

Miniatures: There are actually a few Space Knights in the Heroclix range to get you started as well as a few good "not-Roms" if you look around. More so than other armies on this list, Space Knights will require some conversion, fortunately the "generic" Space Knights in the Heroclix range are pretty easy to work with, especially if you have some plastic GW Eldar arms lying around. Space Knights tend not to use vehicles, but any suitably Kirby-esque space craft will probably suit the look just fine. 


Monster Society (One Punch Man)

Concept: Admittedly, this one isn't too different from either the Wilderbots above or the Abomi-Nation from last time, however, the visual aesthetic would be vastly different. A hidden collective of monsters set on eradicating humanity, the Monster Society operates on a brutal system of "survival of the strongest", with those who fail or get injured becoming food for the others. If you like big nasties and being evil, the Monster Society is right down your alley. 

Army Building: Again, the Monster Society offers a great deal of flexibility for a wide variety of games. From 40K Tyranids, to Warpath Plague and even Horizon Wars, just about any army with more of a close combat bent to it would work fine with this theme. I could honestly see it working brilliantly as an Age of Sigmar Gloomspire Gitz force if you have the player group that would let you get away with it. So long as there's a vague Anime vibe, just about any monster will fit this army pretty well. 

Miniatures: There are plenty of monsters around in a variety of scales, but I'm actually thinking of a toy line from another Manga series, MUSCLE. A little big for 28mm, but perfect for heroic scale games, MUSCLE are a hard rubber figurine line that features anime styled monsters and aliens. For bigger units, take a look at model ranges from Ban Dai and the like, there is a wealth of stuff available. 

Hope that gets you started, I know I'm trying to resist making more armies along superhero lines, but then, it's kind of a problem for me...

Miniatures Finished - 28/07/19

What's this, more ecletcic selections of painted miniatures? I'm feeling a lack of motivation as far as the supers are concerned right now, which is why some of these are more in the "Supers and Systems" line.

Hela: What else could my Deathwatch Chaplain be than the Goddess of Death herself? Especially after Thor Ragnarok, her whirling blades of death are known to slice through foes with ease. Converted Games Workshop. 

Tarzan: As well as seeing use in Empire of the Dead as my Lycoan Wolflord, this King of the Jungle is perfect for Colonial/Victorian games  and maybe even a modern Afrian team-up; Black Panther, The Phantom and Tarzan Vs Local Warlord anyone? Tinman Miniatures. 

Black Knight: I was using Black Knight for Empire of the Dead in my MI-13 Holy Order faction, but as I never got that to a state I was happy with, they got bumped for the Tarzan Lycoans. He got a recent touch-up for the last session of my MI-13 SS4RPG. Heroclix. 
 

Mr Hyde: Back when I played VSF games, getting the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen together was one of the first things I did. Of course, me being me, I never used the damn things in a game. Now that I've been on an Empire of the Dead kick, I'm going to change that, so Hyde got a touch-up. Malifaux. 

King Tut: After experiencing how amazing Adam West Batman was for myself, I had to start getting his villains. King Tut is one of my favourites and there are plenty of Egyptian miniatures around if I feel like adding henchmen later. Heroclix. 

Hawk-Owl: I warned you he was coming. Marvel's Hawk-Owl is one of the obscure gems I wanted to bring to the table-top back when I got started with my Ultimate Alliance project, a character who never really got the chance he deserved. Mentally-stable Chicago Batman with an Owl theme, what's not to love? Expect to see him in action soon. Converted Heroclix.

Kill Team Aesir - Finale

For those interested in the continuing adventures of Kill Team Aesir, they will be moving to a new blog that I'm collaborating on with some friends.

Sectorum Ludus Bellorum is a Narrative Wargames blog set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, with a bit of an old-school/Rogue Trader vibe. I'll likely still be showing some of my Deathwatch/Heroclix kitbashes here, but AARs, fluff and narrative prose will be moving to Sectorum Ludus Bellorum. 

Stop by and check it out sometime if Narrative 40K is your bag. :)

Some of my Heretek crew in action during a game of Kill Team. 

Heimdall, Odin and Loki are painted and ready for action! 
 

Lady Sif, Tyr and Snaykar the Skulker (who's been a bit "off" lately).

Kill Team Aesir - Part V

I don't think I've painted a Space Marine for nearly a decade, but once I got the hang of it, they came together pretty quick. Thankfully the Deathwatch have enough detail to keep my interest.

Hogun the Grim, Fandral the Dashing and Volstagg the Bold, all Deathwatch Veterans. 

 

Beta Ray Bill, Thor Odinson and Thunderstrike, also Veterans, though Thor gets run as a Blackshield in Kill Team and a Veteran Sergeant in 40K. 

 

Miniatures Finished - 16/03/19

In addition to painting new miniatures, I've also been through some of my older ones, making repairs and touching up the paint jobs now that I'm a little better at painting than I was when I started this project.

Union Jack: Originally completed for games of 1949 Secrets of the Third Reich, Union Jack came out for use in my SS4 RPG campaign. His knife was a little bent, so he got a new one, courtesy of a Space Marine Scout. Converted Heroclix. 

The Haunted Tank: Another figure that saw use in SOTR, this Haunted Tank was always intended for a big supers WWII game that I never really got my shit together to run. A new coat of wash and this piece was sold on to a Chain of Command player. Heroclix. 

GI Robot: Last of the SOTR heroes, I promise. I can't remember why, but I felt I really needed this obscure DC character on my gaming table, so I threw one together. Converted Warlord. 
 

Kirby: I have been looking for a 28mm Kirby for years! And I'm still looking, as this one's a little big, really. Some fudging of the scale is necessary though, as a "heroic" 28mm Kirby would be around 5mm tall. Toy. 

Ghost Rider: A little research on 1930s motorcycles and Heroclix and I was able to find a Ghost Rider suitable for Maximilian 1934. It's a bit tricky to tell from the picture, but he's painted in brown leathers for a more era-appropriate look. Converted Heroclix. 

Small Town Sheriff: Technically, this represents Sheriff Daltry, the alter-ego of obscure Marvel character Captain Fate and was painted for my MI-13 campaign, but serves well as a civilian for most games. Reaper Bones.

Miniatures Finished: 11/02/19

More supers off the painting table, I really should be putting more effort into the stat cards for Ultimate Alliance so that I can run more games. I used to do them at work, but that was a few jobs back now. Also, I'd need to run more games, which doesn't look to be happening anytime soon either.

Batman: After watching the classic Adam West series, I just had to pick up a model and get him painted. Also, I need to do a Batman meets Godzilla game at some point, as I'll never get to see the canceled Adam West film that could have been. Knight Models 

Psylocke: Painted Betsy up for use in my MI-13 SuperSystem RPG campaign, went with the classic costume because the sexy ninja version really irks me. Also the player wrote and ran the character more telekinesis based, so the classic version made more sense. Heroclix 

Goku: A sale on Hobbly Link Japan got me this little guy, a perfect Dragonball era Goku, for pulp games and the like. He came with a quad-bike and Oolong, both more 1/35 scale, but thanks to his crouching posture, Goku works nicely for 28mm. Bandai 

 

Ragman: I was going to paint this figure up as a ghost for Empire of the Dead, but after watching Season 5 of Arrow, I decided having a Ragman may be good down the track for a Croatonans game. Heroclix 

Yamcha and Puar: Another model kit, I use this for Maximilian 1934 games rather than superheroes; again, cramming supers into other games. I had to add a rear bumper to help with playability. Bandai 

Super Skrull: I'm sure I had a reason for painting up all of my Skrulls (other than my ongoing Skull obsession), but I can't remember what it was. Heroclix 

Kill Team Aesir: Part IV

Members of Kill Team Aesir, including Heimdall, Thunderstrike, Bill the Warrior, Loki, Lady Sif, Agnar the Fierce and one of the enigmatic Primaris "Einherjar", were dispatched to an abandoned research base, looking for evidence of a Xenos plot against the Imperium. Unfortunately, a Death Cult, led by an Inquisition Agent, have stumbled upon the same base and are looking to recover the same artifacts. 

 

Kill Team Aesir prepares to enter the research centre (played by my Doom Boardgame tiles). 

 

 The Death Cult of "The as-yet unnamed Martyr but don't we look nice in orange?" gather (Played by Brendan). 

 

The tunnels make for a different style of Kill Team game. 

 

Kill Team Aesir move into the building in standard two by two cover formation.  

 

The, much faster, cultists spread out much more efficiently (the cult uses the Dark Eldar rules).

 

Seeing that they're outflanked from the start, Heimdall orders his Veterans into the main space, taking Thunderstrike with him down the flank to tackle the Cult Leader. 

 

The Death Cult Assassin and taciturn Einherjar clash, with the mighty marine coming off second, but buying precious time for the other Veterans.

 

Thankfully, backup has arrived, with Loki cutting through several cultists. 

Bill and the Cult Specialist pull off an amazing feat by defeating each other simultaneously with their flamers. 

 

Loki does his best to cut through more cultists, but the Assassin makes off with the objective and the day is lost. 

Back at Valhalla Fortress, the After Action Reports of this incident gives Watch Master Odin pause. Who is this cult of "The as-yet unnamed Martyr but don't we look nice in orange?"? What Inquistor are they working under? And why are they working directly against the might of the Deathwatch? 

This was a fun game, trying out new board layouts and different ways to play Kill Team with a more narrative bent. Although I lost, a couple of better die rolls would have forced a draw or maybe a win; I'm still pretty happy with the result given how hard it was to keep up with the Dark Eldar on the larger board. Keep an eye out for more Kill Team Narrative games in the future and probably on another blog or something, it's all in development. 

 

Kill Team Aesir - Part III

Kill Team Aesir were dropped into a wasted industrial landscape (still being built and painted by me) when reports came in that Dark Elf forces, possibly under orders from Malekith, a top target for the Deathwatch. Deathwatch Veterans Thor, Volstaag, Fandral and Hogun were dispatched under the leadership of Veteran Sergeant Heimdall.

One day, I will Wargame in a well-lit venue. 

Kill Team Aesir is due for some paint as soon as I finish up some more Bush Wars gear. 

Sinister Dark Elves move out to further their sinister goals. 

Kill Team Aesir moves in to clean house. 

The Deathwatch take up guard around the objective.

The Dark Elf leader and Fandral square off for the cataclysmic duel of the match. Fandral won, but I'd lost the game two turns previously by being indecisive. 

The Dark Elf Dark Lance is a nasty weapon, capable of downing a Space Marine in one shot. 

A Witch Elf, hopped up on combat drugs, drags down the God of Thunder in single combat. 

Still enjoying Kill Team, even hopping into a campaign at Axes and Ales soon, but man, is there a learning curve with so many factions and abilities. On technicalities, I won this game, but, in reality, my opponent had me on the ropes the entire game. The Dark Eldar get stronger as turns go by, so you really need to push early to keep them at bay. 

Yes, I will get painting the Deathwatch soon, I promise. 

Minitaures Finished: Latverian Paratroopers

I finally got around to digging out some of my Secrets of the Third Reich [SOTR] Latverians and finishing them off. Rumors of a 2nd edition of SOTR keep bubbling away, but even if this never happens, I'd like to get back to the game at some point. These units represent the basis of my "Drop Armour Platoon" a variation of the German list which relies heavily on power armour and paratroop deployment. 

 The "full" platoon (missing scouts and vehicle support), all miniatures modified Dust Americans. 

 Command Squad with Medic, Engineer and Lieutenant, according to the rules, the squad leaders have the radio in the squad. 

 Each squad has a mix of Packed LMGs and Anti-Tank Rifles. 

 Although the Dust minis came in boxes of three, it ended up working in my favour for the full platoon of fifteen. 

Once I get my Sci-Fi stuff ready for the upcoming club campaign, I should be able to finish up the Latverians and maybe even get a few games in. Stay tuned. 

Superhero Wargames Armies - 5 Ideas

I don't need to tell regular readers of this blog that I love both superheroes and miniature wargames. I like them both so much that I'm pretty much never content to only keep my superhero miniatures in my Superhero games and am constantly finding ways to force them into everything I play. I actually got started gaming supers when I tried to turn a bunch of Heroclix into an Ultimates/SHIELD army for 4th Edition 40k. You've probably seen my Guardians of the Galaxy in Frostgrave and my Wakandans in both 20mm and 28mm, those on the Lead Adventure Forum may know that my Firefight Plague army has Marvel Zombies characters in it and I have a range of Golden Age supers for Secrets of the Third Reich. I actually have an entire WWWII Latverian army for SOTR that I really need to finish the last touches on and post up here at some point.
Even I have to draw the line somewhere though, as I know that I'll never settle for a "small" army and every option to be accounted for, even army-specific objectives, NPCs and other fun little affectations. Already I'm adding elements to my Annihilation Wave to fill them out for Firefight Veer-Min and the amount of Skrulls I have (see below) grows steadily because I just love them so damn much as villains. To that end, the end of not making every superhero army I think of, that is, here are five ideas I have rattling around my head that I really don't want to make, but probably will at some point. To sweeten the deal, I'll even throw in miniature suggestions to get you started in the right direction and because this is the kind of thing I think about all the damn time! 

The Catholic Church (from Hellsing)

Concept: I find that Hellsing has a couple of problems that routinely make things not enjoyable for me; a character whose power is so overwhelming that they can never be in peril and a focus on a character that is clearly not the protagonist of the narrative. Also, Captain Britain and MI-13 does a vampire invasion of Britain way better than Hellsing. What is really cool though, and stuck in my mind, was the army that the Vatican bring to help rescue/subjugate Britain. The anachronistic image of hooded priests with pikes and muskets is brilliantly contrasted with their deploying in Bell "Huey" helicopters. There is also the "Iscariot" organisation, an elite force of assassins that hunt the enemies of the Church without mercy, even including suicide bombers and specialised vampire and mage hunters. Also their leader is in a perspex "Pope Box" suspended from a helicopter bristling with speakers so that he can proselytise during battle. 

Execution: The visual impact of the army is pretty neat, ranks of hooded infantry, iconic military helicopters, flying pope box and assassins in vestments create a contrasting but unified aesthetic. In army building terms, there is core infantry, transports, elite unit[s] and a centerpiece commander, all the basics one would need to get something playable for SOTR, 40K, Firefight or similar. Should other units be needed down the track to fill out the army, ultramodern (or even anachronistic) Swiss Guard could find a place as well as clergy "armed" with holy relics or even exorcists filling in for "psykers" or marksmen.

Miniatures: There are plenty of cultist miniatures that could form the basis for the infantry here, but with the need to swap arms for muskets and pikes, the Reaper Bones sets look about the best value for money and the limited sculpts won't hurt with the "rank and file" look of the core forces. Similarly, there are more than a few priests, bishops and deacons floating around miniature ranges that the Iscariots are only a couple of weapon-swaps away. There are plenty of Huey models, in plastic and die-cast, that would work fine with the exaggerated scale of Reaper; at the risk of inciting a "scale-debate", I'd be looking at 1/48 examples.

Skrulls (Marvel)

Concept: I could write an essay on the Skrulls; their history, religion, politics, sociology and genetics have all been covered in detail over the decades, creating a rich civilization that is both recognisable and utterly alien. For example, skrulls are born male or female, like humans (yeah, gender is a spectrum, but let's not get into that here), but hard-wired gender forms no part of their sexuality other than reproduction (which, it seems, two "female" skrulls can do happily). Being shape-shifters, there is no physical attraction between skrulls, they use scent to determine desire and then change their form into something their lover finds attractive. After a major cataclysm and collapse of empire, the atheist, rationalist society turns to magic and an ancient, heretical, monotheistic religion as a last resort to stave off extinction. Holy shit that's pretty deep for a comic book "little green man" alien. 

Execution: The great thing about decades worth of continuity is that there is plenty to pick from when building an army. Skrulls have used rayguns, flying saucers, mechs, magic and super-powers over the years, not to mention the variety that their inherent abilities provide, just look above at the winged skrulls or the moment in Drax Reborn where Piabok hides as a squirrel to reconnoiter. All of the Super-Skrulls, Power Skrulls, Skrulltastic Four and the team-mash-up Super Skrulls of Secret Invasion should be more than enough to cover any kind of special unit or character that a game requires. 

Miniatures: Obviously, Heroclix has most of the stuff you'll need, with generic sci-fi mechs and vehicles filling out the armour requirements. However, there are a lot more modelling and conversion opportunities than are immediately apparent. Scouting units can be made up of any old miniatures you have lying around, even animals or enemy soldiers, because they're really Skrulls in disguise. Need something between rank and file Skrulls and Super-Skrulls? Just grab some C and D-list heroes and transplant some Skrull heads on! Skrull infiltrator versions of Spolier, Prowler or Cardiac anyone?

The Universal Church of Truth (Marvel) 

Concept: A galaxy-spanning church that worships the miracle of life itself, corrupted by its own beliefs into a fanatical army of conquest is no new concept for miniature wargames, but the Universal Church of Truth has a few unique elements that make it stand out. What I like most about the UCT is the layers of organisation which exists within its ranks. From the hordes of fanatical faithful, to the cyborg-enhanced Black Knights, to the mighty Cardinals, powered by the faith drained from their followers. The spaceships have a "flying cathedral" aesthetic and there are cool characters like the Magus to build into the army as commanders and special characters. 

Execution: This army kind of works on ratios, say you want 5 of the super-powered Cardinals, then maybe have 10 to 15 of the Black Knights and 20 to 50 of the Faithful. This is really an infantry army, with waves of Faithful soaking up fire then having the Cardinals wade in and butcher whatever is left. This is not a subtle army with tricks and hidden elements, but the kind that rolls into the enemy without much expectation of the cannon-fodder surviving. 

Miniatures: Heroclix do make some of the figures, like the Cardinals and the Magus, but there are other options out there worth considering. Warmachine Menoth Exemplar Cinerators from Privateer Press would make great looking Cardinals whilst Games Workshop Kabalite Warriors and Chaos Cultists would be a good basis for Black Knights and Faithful respectively. The real trick with making the army stand out is filling it with different alien races, like the Church in the comic, when I had a go at the UCT I pulled all the different heads I had out of my bits box and populated the army with a variety of life-forms. That's the real fun of the army, getting the variety of aliens, but keeping the uniform look.

Abomi-Nation (The Venture Bros) 

Concept: Man, I wanted to make this army the instant I saw this episode. A militia or mutants, experiments gone wrong and monsters under the leadership of "Venturestien", trying to carve out a nation for their specific brand of dispossessed. Think Contras or Vietcong but made up of monsters and you're pretty much there. Just look at the picture! Smokey the Bear, McGruff the crime dog, Bebop, Man-Thing, Oompa-Loompas and more! How do you not want to make that army?

Execution: This is essentially a "partisan" army, or guerrillas, if you prefer, so the focus should be small bands of infantry with mismatched equipment, not big squads of regular soldiers. Think more along the lines of Rebs in Deadzone than Imperial Guard. A couple of funky characters and "big guys" could make the army fun and balance out play. Maybe the smaller monsters/mutants are some kind of scouts? Or maybe there's an aquatic unit like Creatures from the Black Lagoon? Perhaps something like the "Crawlers" from The Descent as an assassin unit? Plenty of scope to play with.

Miniatures: So many monster miniatures out there, I don't even want to begin listing manufacturers. Buying bulk Horrorclix off eBay would be a good start, maybe assorted fantasy miniatures with kit from plastic moderns. Studio Miniatures makes plenty of "Hollywood" monster miniatures, and the CMG Star Wars and D&D stuff has a few fun "big guys" to add a little punch to the force. Warlord sells separate sprues of weapons and gear to get everything looking a bit more paramilitary.

Black Lanterns (DC) 

Concept: I honestly didn't like Blackest Night all that much, but mostly from an art perspective, I found the constant barrage of Lantern ring-sling in bright colours distracted from a reasonably interesting story. For those not familiar with Blackest Night, check out Linkara's review on YouTube, it does a good job of covering the story. Basically though, superhero zombies with Lantern rings set on keeping all heroes that die actually dead, rather than constantly popping back to life. Not a brilliant concept like Skrulls or the UCT, but there's a lot of fun to be had here. 

Execution: Much like the Skrulls above, there is as much variety to the Black Lanterns as you feel like building in. Sure, you probably want a Nekron as the army leader and maybe a big Black Lantern Battery objective/HQ piece, but after that it's really up to you and how you're building the army. 

Miniatures: Yes, Heroclix makes several Black Lantern versions of characters already, but there's another way; buy a bulk lot of clix off the internet and a box of plastic zombies, kitbash and be done. There is a Nekron clix, but when I get around to putting him in my Ultimate Alliance games, I'm actually going to look at some of the Warmachine Cryx characters, just to make him stand out a little more, there are a few to choose from. If you need vehicles for the army, think about something like old "abandoned" versions of the Batmobile or the Bug, some rust, weathering and zombie drivers should work fine. If I were to do this army, I'd also find a way to work in the Marvel Zombies characters, because that's the kind of thing I do. 

Hope there's some inspiration there to get you started, any of these would be great to see on a table and may tempt a few people in your local group into painting some supers.