The Arena of Death tournament – where the mightiest heroes and most baleful villains in the worlds of Warhammer do battle in glorious one-on-one combat – has been a spectacle of violence since it first graced the pages of White Dwarf many years ago. The Battle Report team has dialled it up to eight in praise of Khorne with a new Warhammer 40,000 Arena of Death! Gaming presenter Simon dishes the dirt…
Si: Our inaugural Arena of Death had to be big – Khorne wouldn’t have it any other way. In fact, it ended up being so big that we decided to split it over two episodes! In part one, live on Warhammer+ right now, 32 contenders battle across eight pools of four in the hope of earning one of the top two spots in their group. These 16 qualifiers will go on to compete in the knockout stage in part two, in which we’ll crown the undisputed champion of the 41st Millennium!
With 32 spots in the tournament up for grabs, we were able to represent almost every faction in the game. For the most part, we selected EPIC HEROES, as they tend to personify the exemplary characters of each race. That being said, we also included a few unnamed wild cards, such as the Norn Emissary and a Grey Knight Grand Master in Nemesis Dreadknight. In some cases, Nick and I played a qualifying duel to determine who would represent their faction – Bjorn the Fell-handed felled Logan Grimnar, and Saint Celestine outlasted Morvenn Vahl to earn their spots, for example.
We came up with a list of key amendments to the standard Warhammer 40,000 rules to enable the duels to work as cleanly as possible. For the most part, these revolved around only using the rules on each contender’s datasheet, but there were a few other exceptions.
Perhaps the most important rule, though, was that the lower-ranked contender – judged on their points value at time of filming – would take the first turn in each duel, a crucial balancing factor that could give the underdog a chance to cause an upset. We based the secondary scores in the groups on the total number of wounds conceded, so dishing out some solid hits early could well be the key to qualifying, even in defeat.
To keep things interesting, Nick and I randomised which contender we’d use in each round. Of course, that made it all the more satisfying when we got to use one of our favourite heroes, or landed a killing blow on an especially hated foe. There were some real powerhouses in action, including Be’lakor and all four of the named Greater Daemons, all the returned Primarchs and their Daemon Primarch brothers, and even the legendary Freeblade Knight Canis Rex!
It really was loads of fun to use so many of the mightiest beings in the 41st Millennium, yet with so many duels taking place, there were inevitably some major upsets…
Thanks, Si – you tease! With all the excited talk in the office of an Arena of Death taking place, we asked around for some of the WarCom’s teams top predictions.
Mark: In da grim Orkness of da green future... der iz only Waaagh! Ghazghkull Thraka for the zoggin’ win...* even if his head comes off (again), he'll be back!
James: The Emperor's Champion. I love a good underdog, and with the odds stacked against him he’ll certainly need the Emperor's favour to pull through this one.
Emma: Magnus the Red, clearly. He's got an eye on the prize for sure – and maybe a second one in his hand, but don't worry about that one…
Luke: The Grey Knight Grand Master in Nemesis Dreadknight is clearly the best. The pinnacle of Imperial face-smashing technology – for when your millenia-old relic Terminator armour just can't quite get the job done by itself.
Charlie: As the field is packed with MONSTERS in need of snaggin', I have to plump for Mozrog Skragbad, with a little help from Big Chompa. Snakebitez forever!
Martyn: The Silent King, because the galaxy belongs to its obvious rulers, and not these meat-mech upstarts!
David: Lion El'Jonson has already bested Angron, so shouldn't have to prove himself… but I'm confident he will!
Who’s your favourite to win? Place your bets on the finalists over on our official Facebook, X/Twitter, and Instagram pages, then watch the episode yourself! If you’re not already subscribed, treat yourself to a post-festivities viewing binge – you’ve got until the 30th of December to check out five free episodes of animation, painting, lore, and war!
* And Makari. Gotta give proper billing…
