Hello everyone,
In our very first White Dwarf Retro article, we mentioned our desire to recreate the famous battle report from White Dwarf issue #1: the Battle of the Axe Pass. Since 1992, the hobby has evolved enormously: miniature ranges have been modernised, expanded, and sometimes completely reinvented.
Even though we will try to reproduce the original table’s terrain and atmosphere as faithfully as possible, our goal is not to strictly follow the army lists to the letter. We prefer to draw inspiration from the spirit of the armies of the time while taking advantage of the options offered by current miniature ranges.
Our priority is clear: to use modern miniatures. We would have loved to build an entirely retro Night Goblins army, but the second-hand market today makes this goal particularly difficult. Between strong competition, skyrocketing prices, and the rarity of certain models, it is hard to build a coherent collection. Especially since Games Workshop never offered Made to Order for a large part of these older miniatures. With some regret, we now realise that we probably should not have parted with the few models we owned back then.
We will therefore start from a completely new base, with the intention of using as many recent miniatures as possible, particularly from the Gloomspite Gitz range. Why this choice? Quite simply because many miniatures from the end of Warhammer Fantasy Battle now look quite dated, without necessarily retaining the unique charm of the old metal models.
In contrast, the Gloomspite Gitz range offers an excellent alternative: modern, dynamic sculpts full of personality, which can fit perfectly into an army intended for Warhammer Battle. We will of course carry out the necessary conversions and modifications to remove the most characteristic Age of Sigmar elements and preserve an aesthetic faithful to the Old World. The final goal is therefore to offer a modern reinterpretation of this iconic battle, while preserving the atmosphere and visual identity that marked an entire generation of players.
The original army list consisted of:
- 1 Goblin Warboss on Giant Spider
- 1 Goblin Oddnob on Giant Spider
- 2 units of Goblin spearmen
- 3 units of Night Goblins accompanied by fanatics
- 2 units of Night Goblin archers
The original list therefore mixed common Goblins and Night Goblins. However, with the evolution of miniature ranges, some choices quickly became obvious to us.
Goblin characters on giant spiders have now completely disappeared from the catalogue, while the old common Goblin miniatures now feel quite disproportionate and visually dated.
We therefore made the decision to fully refocus the project on an army composed exclusively of Night Goblins. This choice allows us to maintain a strong and coherent visual identity. The original army totalled 1,315 points. To make list building easier and to achieve a more balanced and comfortable game format today, we chose to round this base up to 1,500 points.
A scenario-specific magic item had originally been created for the battle. In order to stay as close as possible to the spirit of the original battle report, we decided to reuse it for this recreation. Here are its rules:
Kaloth’s Skull Staff (40 points):
If a hit roll made by the bearer is successful, the target must immediately take a Leadership test on 2D6.
If the Leadership test is failed, the target is immediately slain.
If the test is passed, wounds are resolved normally.
This staff may only be used by a wizard.
Here is our 1,500-point army list, built to comply with the constraints of the current army lists:
Army List – Night Goblins – 1500 Points
Characters
- Night Goblin Bigboss
Battle Standard Bearer, The Big Red Raggedy Flag, light armour - Night Goblin Oddgit
Level 2 Wizard, Waaagh! Magic, Dispel Scroll, Power Scroll - Night Goblin Oddnob – General
Level 3 Wizard, Lore of Illusion, Dispel Scroll, Power Scroll, Obsidian Lodestone, Kaloth’s Skull Staff - Night Goblin Warboss
Cavalry spear, light armour, Giant Cave Squig, Sparkly Wizard Finda
Core Units
- 20 Night Goblins
Spears, shields, Boss, Standard Bearer, War Banner, Musician, 2 Fanatics - 20 Night Goblin Archers
Short bows, Boss, Standard Bearer, Musician, 1 Fanatic - 30 Night Goblins
Spears, shields, Boss, Standard Bearer, Musician, 2 Fanatics - 20 Night Goblin Archers
Short bows, Boss, Standard Bearer, Musician, 1 Fanatic
Special Units
- 10 Night Goblin Squig Hoppers
Cavalry spears, light armour, Boss - 3 River Troll Mobs
Additional hand weapons
This is therefore the list we will use as the foundation for our future painting sessions.
As you will notice, it contains a large number of characters. This was not initially our intention, as we did not particularly want to include so many. However, the army structure and our desire to remain close to the original composition naturally led us to this balance, especially in order to keep a large number of Night Goblin units.
We also added a few extra units, such as the River Trolls and the Squig Hoppers. These additions bring a bit more variety to the army while remaining fully consistent with its overall theme and identity.
Of course, this army project will not be limited to this fixed list. It is intended to evolve and expand progressively over time, depending on inspiration, available miniatures, and future ideas connected to this universe.
Don’t missed to support us on PATREON!
At the bottom of each post, you’ll find a list of all related blog entries, which we’ll update as the project evolves.
- Night Goblins Project: The Beginning
- Coming soon…
Questions, ideas, spelling error or just want to share your thoughts? Leave a comment below! And if you enjoy our work, a little support would help us keep creating more and more content.
See you soon!
