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GW Lays Down the Law on Painting, Proxies & Conversions

3 Minute Read
Sep 29 2017
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Warhammer World defines exactly what is allowed in their events – and we wonder how you would lay down the law.

Everyone likes to play a game with two beautifully painted armies. But let’s be honest; that is rarely what we see on the tabletop.  Across the world it seems that every playgroup handles things their own way.

Some places only allow fully painted.

Some places want 3-color minimum.

Some places just want assembled and base coated.

Some places allow bare metal.

Some places allow heavy conversions.

Some places allow limited proxies.

Some places allow full proxy armies.

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Here are Warhammer World’s brand new rules on what is allowed in their own events:

Warhammer World Events Model Requirements

Here are the two major sections:

Three Color Miminum with examples:

Conversion vs Proxy guidelines:

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I have to say that for Warhammer World these seem completely sane.  Warhammer World is the company’s premier on-site event facility and of course GW will want to put “their best foot forward” regarding models in their events.  The goal is to promote their own products after all.  While I’m sure the Conversions vs Proxy requirement will lock out some beautiful but too divergent armies – it always happens. It’s another thing that surprised me.

The Fully Based requirements.  I’ve been to lots of events with 3-color miminums and various stages of proxy limitations, but I very very often will see models hastily painted up the night before on bare black bases.  Basing is a big part of the hobby and it’s interesting to see GW coming down in the side of basing being just as important as painting the models.

What About You

Which brings me back to you.  I’m really curious about how you WANT to play and what restrictions you would put in place for your local game club or events.  I’m a old-school stick in the mud so here’s what I would do:

  • 3 Color Minimum
  • 1 Color Bases (not default black)
  • Every model 90% GW (so limited conversions like headswaps, pauldrons, etc are ok)
  • No Proxies allowed

I’m not looking for masterpieces, but I really really HATE playing against bare metal, or one-color primed models. I’m perfectly happy to accept the full range of painting skills out there, but have the respect for your fellow gamers to at least put some paint on all your models and do something about the bases.  My issues with proxies have nothing to do with GW or any other company – but simply that I detest making a mistake mid-game in the heat of the moment because I thought that one unit was actually something else. Proxies, regardless of their owners intentions – do give actual advantages on the tabletop – simply due to confusion.

~But that’s me. What do you think of GW’s rules and how do you like to play?

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Author: Larry Vela
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