Jstove here, and today I’m telling you how to play 40k. Because everyone on the internet is wrong and so are you. Let’s talk about infantry swarms.
No, just kidding. What I’m really here to do is show you some quality of life tips for playing your bajillion model Cultist/Ork/Guard army.
Put a Slug Under Your Models
Most swarm infantry models, ESPECIALLY HORMAGAUNTS, are flimsy, weightless and prone to tipping. When you cost 5 points or less, you tend to be a featherweight on the table and in the hand. In order to give your models more substance and give them a little more gravity to stick on the table when an over-enthusiastic opponent rolls a stray die into them, get a 1/8th-inch fender washer and glue it under the model’s base.
You can buy these by the hundreds at a couple bucks a pop from Amazon or any hardware store. The washers come in a variety of sizes, but the 1-inch washers are almost exactly flush with 25mm bases and fit snugly under 32mm bases.
Squad Markers Without Skittle Squads
In order to separate different squads on the table, some players like to paint the rims of the bases of their hordes a specific color to differentiate them. This isn’t a bad idea and does accomplish the goal of differentiating units, but it also makes your army look ridiculous and random with skittle base syndrome.
The basing scheme of the army aesthetically ties it together. Every model in your army should have the exact same basing scheme to make it look cohesive. Fortunately, there’s an easy way to mark your models without skittle basing them.
- Go to the office supply store and pick up some metallic sharpies. You can get a 3 pack that has a gold, a silver, and a bronze.
- Separate your units out.
- Now, pick a sharpie and draw 1 to 3 vertical lines down the back of the rim of the base. This way, you can clearly determine which model is a member of which unit without having to skittle base your hordes. Simply look at the numeric color code of the stripes on the back of their base rims to see. You can have Bronze 1,2,3, Silver 1,2,3, and Gold 1,2,3.
Also, these metallic sharpies can be used to pick up edge highlights on large metallic models like the banding on Chaos Tanks and Knight Titans.
Tray Up
The most obvious answer last, but tray up! Get all your dudes in a line with an MDF laser cut or 3d printed tray from a variety of vendors. That way, you can move them all at once. When the squad gets whittled down or they get into a fight, just pull the tray and chuck it to the side. Then, reload the casualties onto the tray when they’re sidelined to have them ready for the next game.
There are tons of vendors offering this service, but a favorite of The Long War is Element games.
About the Author: Jack Stover
