This is probably the closest I’ll get to making a yearly wrap-up or a New Year’s resolution this year, hobby-wise! This felt like it was a year where I didn’t get as much painting or playing done as I wanted to, but I thoroughly enjoyed what I did end up painting and the games that I ended up playing. As always I have to shoutout Kinpatsusamurai on Instagram because the man makes immaculate Warhammer tables. As much fun as I have when we play at the FLGS, the sheer amount of terrain KS has stocked up and the modular nature of it makes every game feel different, inspired, and allows for plenty of shenanigans. I’ve also been blessed this year getting to play against a couple different Tyranid players this year, included XenonMage of course, wherein the hungry hungry hormagaunts made skittles out of my spirit stones – it was still a very good time, though.

While I will probably always in some capacity keep on top of the current Warhammer edition with an army ready to roll with modern rules in case I’m playing in a tournament, at the FLGS, or against somebody new, I’ve also started to branch out more in terms of the rulesets that I work with, and it’s led me to welcome some new MVPs in to my list. Guardian squads in One Page Rules, it turns out, are no joke when properly equipped and led by a Farseer, and the Vyper and Wave Serpent aren’t anything to scoff at either. The real ticket based on the datasheets looks like it’s bringing along Wraith constructs, and I’ll definitely be dabbling into that more in future games.

As far as Warhammer itself is concerned, I’ve also started doubling down more with XenonMage into previous editions, namely 8th-9th edition. It felt like “my” edition and it’s a period of Warhammer 40K I think I’m always going to look back fondly on, but also it’s nice to play with a fleshed out, completed ruleset where we a full, finished sandbox of resources and books that we can play with freely outside of a constantly changing meta, which works just fine for us since a lot of our games end up being Narrative or Crusade. It’s bad, man – I’ve started buying up old 9th edition books for lore and extra Crusade relics and lore for one-off games and scenarios. It makes me look forward to the next year of 9th edition games, though, and I think we’ve both got some surprises in that regard in store for each other soon.

But back for a moment to One Page Rules – for beginning Warhammer 40K players, I can’t recommend it highly enough. Heck, for casual Warhammer 40K fans I can’t recommend it highly enough either. It’s a simpler, easier to follow ruleset in my opinion than where 10th edition is right now, and the sheer amount of customizing you can do on characters, vehicles, and squads for individual armies – in my opinion – feels richer than 10th in some regards, and fills a nice middle ground between the voluminous “crunch” of 9th edition and the simplified tournament-game nature of 10th. I got thrashed by the Death Korps of Krieg in my first game against Kinpatsusamurai but learned enough lessons that when I went back for more to play against the Adepta Sororitas, I almost eked out a draw. Almost.

There’s going to be a lot of space elf goodness in the new year – Eldar are already spoiled, as I’ve alluded to in the below video, and if nothing else I might be giving my Fire Dragons a facelift, and finally picking up Asurmen when the new Aspect Warriors launch. But I think there’s gonna be more than that ahead. I’m going to try and finish up my “Death Guard Heroes” thanks to the new Kill Team launch box, and beyond that I’m going to try and pivot into 3D prints, third party models, and refreshes of some of the Eldar models that I’ve already completed. A local friend does some fantastic 3D printing work and has taken on some totally-not-space-elves for me already, so there’s gonna be lots for me to do on top of the shame pile, in the state that it’s in right now.

Here’s hoping everybody had a great Christmas, and here’s to an awesome new 2025 year filled with painting, play, and (pretty please) just a little prosperity for all of us.