REVIEW: Assault on Black Reach
Better late than never…
As I’m sure you all already know the new 40k Boxed set for 5th Edition; Assault on Black Reach has been out for several weeks now. Many of you may not have easy access to local hobby stores or are just thinking of jumping into the Warhammer 40,000 hobby. If you are either of these, the new boxed set may be your dream come true. Lets dive right in.
Contents:
112 Page Mini-rulebook.
This is a wonderful little book. Small, black and white with a color cover. Its easy to read and perfect for thrwoing into your bag for gaming nights and tournaments. It covers the entire core rules up to the missions section of the full hardback and also includes the master racial index from the hardback’s last section.
33 Page Getting Started Booklet
This is a perfect primer for folks who have no background to the hobby. Its a nicely produced full color quick start guide to both the boxed set’s contents, and then the greater 40k universe including all the other races. This is really the ideal thing for existing players to hand off to friends, little brothers, and anyone else you think may be interested in getting into the hobby.
2 Whippy Sticks ~(Owwww!)
A blast from the past, the 18″ measuring sticks are back. Just what you need for both gameplay and hijinks while awaiting your turn. I haven’t done an exact comparison to a standardized metal ruler, but some say that the whippy-sticks are still marked in extry tricksy “Eldar inches” that may give you a miniscule advantage on the tabletop.
Dice and Scatter-die
Just enough to get you rolling, Nuff said
Templates
These are the new 5th edition extra thick green plastic tempaltes (similar to the Apocalypse ones), and include the standard flamer template, plus 3″ and 5″ round blast ones.
Minis
Marine Captain (power weapon)
10 Tactical Marines (flamer, missile launcher)
5 Terminators (storm bolters, power weapon sergeant)
1 Dreadnought (close combat arm/multi-melta)
Ork Warboss (klaw)
5 Nobs (sluggas, CCWs)
20 boys (slugga,CCWs, 2x big shootas)
3 Deffcoptas
This is the real prize. These minis are a true next generational leap for GW. We have all seen the “quick assembly” minis of past boxed sets, and these blow them out of the water. As you can see from the mini shots, and the painted samples on the Assualt on Black Reach page, these look stunning once you get them assembled and painted.
The relief is very great and they are cut into multiple pieces cunningly to give you maximum detail for the smallest number of parts. Not only that but the level of detail is greatly improved for starter minis. Standouts include the impressive Ork Warboss, the Deffcoptas and the Marine Captain which are real headturners once painted up.
I know it sounds like a cliche, but you really need to head on down to you local store to handle these minis in person. The first time I saw a deffcopta and the Warboss painted up I was just stunned. These minis are designed to offer something for everyone. They offer some unique items you can’t get anywhere else (multi-melta dread, deffcoptas), and many can be easily expanded with the standard GW boxed minis to fill out the squads nicely as you build up your armies (termys for example). Once painted up and included in your amy you will be hardpressed to tell which models are the “quick assembly” and which are the full multi-part kit models.
Cost: $60 USD
~Bottom line: If you are considering either of these armies, or could trade the contents with other folks to get others you might need (and end up with the mini rulebook and templates) you should RUN, not walk to your nearest retailer and pick up a copy. The price is a steal for just one of the armies and the gaming materials, not to mention the entire second army they throw in. Its good to see that when GW sets their mind to something they can still knock one right out of the park.
5 Stars (out of 5)
