Warhammer Day is almost upon us! This Saturday, thousands of hobbyists (like you!) will gather in Warhammer stores across the planet for exclusive goodies, cake, fun stuff and celebrations of all things Warhammer. As we can all agree, the most important things about our hobby are, in no particular order:
1) Hammers
2) Eagles*
Today, as we look forward to Warhammer Day, we’re counting down our Top 5 Hammers...
5. Nemesis Daemon Hammer
It says a lot about the Imperium that one of their premium Daemon-destroying items of wargear is the Nemesis Daemon hammer. Combining the technological might of a thunder hammer – a weapon already so extreme it makes a power fist look practical – with all manner of anti-malefic magics, it’s awesome, it’s ridiculous and it’s a perfect encapsulation of Warhammer 40,000. Well, almost…
4. Hellhammer
Hammers (and eagles) make Warhammer – but massive tanks definitely deserve an honourable mention! Bridging the gap between giant war machines and hammers, this Baneblade variant has all the subtlety of an exploding rhinoceros – and hits about as hard as one too. To make it even more Warhammer-y, the Hellhammer is also covered in eagles. If you really wanted to take things to the next level, you could roll it in Citadel Skulls...
3. Hammerhal
The foremost city in the Mortal Realms (well, barring maybe Azyr), Hammerhal is a wondrous place – a bridge between two realms and two ages, and home to all sorts of strange and wonderful inhabitants. A bit like Warhammer Age of Sigmar itself, really.
2. Harry the Hammer
We could hardly have a list about hammers without Harry! If you’re a Longbeard, you may remember this legendary Chaos champion from his place of pride on the first ever Warhammer rulebook. Back in those days, “mass fantasy battles” that combined roleplaying miniatures with a historical-style wargaming system were a brand-new idea. Harry may be gone, but his penchant for violence, smashing skulls and wearing heavy armour is very much alive in our hobby.
1. Ghal Maraz, the Warhammer
This is the big one – the hammer for which our entire hobby is named. In the lore, this hammer – named “Skull Splitter” – was given to a young barbarian king by the name of Sigmar, in recognition of just how good he was at caving in skulls. It obviously made an impact (on Sigmar, and on the heads of his enemies) – aeons later, Sigmar would go on to theme an entire army on hammers. Also, it’s Rend -3 and does a flat 3 Damage. Now that is a hammer.
Honourable Mention: The Hammercloak
Is it clothing? Is it a weapon? Is it some kind of insane fusion of the two? In a world where Space Marines have pauldrons the size of small-sized family cars, skulls emblazon everything from chest plates to hairbands, and Nagash’s hat is 'A Thing', the Hammercloak still managed to stand out. While no individual hammer on the hammercloak is worthy of a mention here, by aggregate volume of hammers and sheer awesomeness, we couldn’t leave it off the list entirely.
Disagree with our scientific and objective judgement? Let us know your favourite hammers on the Warhammer 40,000 and Warhammer Age of Sigmar Facebook pages – and make sure to check out your local store this weekend for Warhammer Day!
* And skulls. But those go without saying, right?