The next advancement in WARMACHINE and HORDES leagues is mobilizing for action April 5th! The Shattered Grounds league throws players into the trenches of the Iron Kingdoms with a wholly immersive experience as they fight for the glory of their faction.
While the Shattered Grounds League shares a few similarities with its predecessor, Call to Arms, this new league has been completely reinvented to offer an amazing new experience unlike any WARMACHINE/HORDES league you have ever participated in.
Focused Fields of War
Each Shattered Grounds season focuses on conflicts within specific areas of the Iron Kingdoms that players worldwide will battle to control. Players will still vie for dominance in their local store, but every game played contributes to the success of their faction on the global map. The Shattered Grounds league map will be updated daily as factions war for control over vital strategic points, preparing for the earth-shattering climax of the three-week league. Control of certain map sections provides global bonuses to the controlling faction, so expect particular zones to be a hotbed of activity depending on their strategic importance to the various WARMACHINE and HORDES forces.
The first season, Nightfall, takes place in the Nightmare Empire of Cryx as the nations of the Iron Kingdoms fight for control of the Scharde Islands.
The Privateer Events site is currently undergoing a complete redesign and will launch with Nightfall on April 5th. To give you a taste, though, we managed to wrangle a screenshot of our new online user interface.
Season Models
In addition to the new website featuring the Nightfall interactive map, each Shattered Grounds season will include models used only for the league that represent some of the characters, warjacks, or units found in the leagues’ stories. Select models in each faction will take on new characteristics for the duration of the league season, including new abilities, increased stats, and other changes that allow them to represent the specialists taking part in the particular campaign. These new season models are still represented by their regular models on the tabletop, but use the season model stats card instead of the standard card in all league games giving players flavorful new options as they wage war in the specific Iron Kingdoms environment.
All season model cards can be found in issue #30 of No Quarter Magazine and will be available for download at the beginning of the league at www.privateerevents.com.
Here’s one of the new season models making its way onto the field in Nightfall.
Terth Cearban is the name given to both the island of Garlghast and the obscure tribes of Tharn who call it their home. Cut off from the tribes of the mainland, they developed their own bloody rites and culture. They worship the Devourer in the form of a voracious shark and make their terrible sacrifices in the black waters of the archipelago. The Terth Cearban have been isolated for centuries and both the druids and Tharn of the Circle Orboros view their distant cousins with a wary regard.
Battle Journals
Shattered Grounds also introduces battle journals to WARMACHINE and HORDES organized play. Players will earn achievements in these league games and will use their battle journals to document their organized play accomplishments. Each battle journal includes a dedicated section to record a player’s commendations earned during the league and mark their progress on the league’s stratagem tree.
The image above shows the battle journal pages for the Nightfall season. The page on the left is the commendation page. Each time a player completes the requirements for a specific commendation, the event organizer authorizes the spot with the league-specific stamp. Here are some examples:
- Conqueror – Each player registered for the faction that wins the league season receives the Conqueror commendation.
- Combat Engineer – Each player who participates in a designated pre-league event at his league venue for painting, modeling, and terrain making receives the Combat Engineer commendation.
- Veteran – Each time a player faces a faction he has not yet encountered during the league, he receives the Veteran commendation for that faction.
The page on the right shows a stratagem tree. Stratagems represent maneuvers that warcasters or warlocks can use. At the start of the league, each player chooses one stratagem as his starting location on the tree and earns the stamp for that stratagem. Each time a player plays a game, he earns a stamp for the next circle on his tree. In addition, each time a player earns a commendation, he earns a stamp for the next circle on his tree. Players unlock additional stratagems by completing a path to the next stratagem circle. The more games they play, the quicker they unlock new stratagems!
Before each league game, a player can choose one of his unlocked stratagems to use during the game. A stratagem can be used for any number of games during the course of the season once it has been unlocked.
Here’s an example stratagem:
Defensive Maneuver – Once per game during your Control Phase, select one friendly model/unit in your warcaster/warlock’s control area. That model/unit gains Set Defense for one round. (A model in the front arc of a model with Set Defense suffers –2 on charge, slam power attack, and impact attack rolls against that model.)
But the battle journal isn’t just for leagues. Privateer Press will introduce plenty more stamps with Steamroller and even with our official convention events like Hardcore and the Masters!
At the end of the three weeks, each league season culminates in a massive multiplayer event, where players bring every weapon to bear in the final push to claim victory.
Prepare for War
Shattered Grounds: Nightfall begins April 5, 2010 and runs through April 25th. Talk to your local game store and make sure you don’t miss out on your chance to make your mark on the battlefields of Western Immoren!