As a giant Warhammer 40,000 fanboy, it was amazing to be afforded the privilege of representing Relic, and Dawn of War, at Warhammer Fest 2017. With eager anticipation, I made the long journey from Vancouver to Coventry, hauling my precious Space Wolves minis with me. I have to admit, I was worried that the perils of such a voyage would take their toll, however my Sons of Russ are a hardy bunch, and they all made it intact.
From setup to tear down, Warhammer Fest was incredible! Apparently, this event was almost twice as big as in years gone by! There were certainly a lot of fans in attendance. Our Dawn of War III booth was busy on both days, and it was great to see Warhammer fans enjoying the game.
Delving into the tabletop hobby side of Warhammer 40k is always a treat, and it was a great pleasure to see the very best of the Warhammer Community’s craftsmanship and painting ability on full display. There were many great minis to admire, from gorgeous tournament armies to the mouthwatering models by the studio teams at Games Workshop and Forge World.
Speaking of miniatures, every Warhammer fan worth their salt knows about the prestigious Golden Demon Awards! Well, the Emperor smiled on me, and I was bestowed with the immense honour of picking the winner of a special one-off award, the Dawn of War Best in Show. This meant an arduous afternoon getting backstage access to the most fantastic models I’ve ever seen. Of course, there was really nothing arduous about it; the only tricky part was picking a winner! Eventually, I decided on this gorgeous array of Orks led by the infamous Ghazghkull Thraka.
The much-anticipated eighth Edition of Warhammer 40k was also on display. Again, I got exceptionally lucky, as Games Workshop Studio Designer Robin Cruddace stopped by to give me a full on demo. I led my Space Wolves army against a strike force of Blood Ravens commanded by Robin; heresy for a Relican I know! Robin was a great sport and the battle was tightly contested. I came away very impressed by how easy the new edition was to play and how streamlined the rules were.
The weekend was awesome across the board, but if I had to pick my highlight, it was co-hosting the ‘Bringing Warhammer Lore to Life’ seminar. I was joined by Andy Hall, lead writer at Creative Assembly for Total War: Warhammer. Video Game narratives are a tricky, arcane art, and it was a delight to exchange different storytelling philosophies with Andy. It was equally rewarding to share our insights with the fans in attendance, and answer their questions.
As I’ve said before it was an absolute honour to take part in Warhammer Fest 2017. I’d like to say a massive thank you to Games Workshop and the city of Coventry for hosting such a great event. I'd love to attend again in the future.
Keep your eyes peeled for our next Fog of War video, a Warhammer Fest special. You’ll be able to check out interviews we did with Games Workshop, see us chatting with the fans, listen to Kyle’s panel, and just generally scope out all the awesomeness from Warhammer Fest 2017.