Warmachine Shadows & Scum is the second plastic starter set from Steamforged Games that pits the Southern Kriels Foulbloods against the Khymaera Shard Nocturnes with 30 point forces perfect for learning the game. In this full unboxing and review we’re going to be checking out everything that comes in the box, building them up and painting them to see what they look like in the flesh! We’re also going to be musing about how we feel this box works as an introduction to Warmachine to brand new players wanting something a little different from Warhammer and the like.

Massive thanks to Steamforged Games for sending us over a free review copy to check out on the site. If you would like to support the site then why not order your copy through our affiliate Element Games and save yourself some money too?

We’ve also filmed a full unboxing video which you can see just below or over on YouTube

So without further ado let’s dive into Shadows & Scum and see what is inside!

Warmachine Shadows & Scum

So not long ago Steamforged Games picked up the Warmachine licence, which did have a lot of people wondering just what they were going to do with it. Where we getting a new edition? Would we get new kits? What would happen to the old range? Thankfully the answer to these questions was positive – Steamforged picked up the old range as well as releasing new resins for Warmachine, but one of the biggest things they did last year was the plastic Warmachine Starter Set. This box gave players 2 30 point armies to help getting into the game as easy as possible, with Khador and Cygnar represented. This was a cool box with a nice collection of models, but for me I like the more wacky looking side of the Iron Kingdoms.

Thankfully, my dreams were answered with Shadow & Scum, the second plastic set for Warmachine and one that goes in a rather different direction. It features the Khymeara Shard Nocturnes, who are winged bio-mechanical dragon people and the Southen Kriels of Foulblood’s Amada who are troll pirates. Yes, troll pirates! While I have painted up some Cryx in the past, the pull of blue skinned pirates with a rampaging shark-troll in their ranks was enough to make me turn my head

One thing that is worth pointing out here is that there’s no printed instructions in the box, simply a large sheet with some QR codes that take you to the digital assembly instructions. Personally I’d much rather physical instructions in the box as I feel that makes assembly more accessible. That said, these models are really easy to build – Having this box before release meant that the page with the instructions was not live yet. After a little investigating the sprues however, my worries were dispelled, as each model is given a unique letter, and then the parts are numbered sequentially in assembly order. So if you want to build model “A”, just clip those parts out starting with “A1” and stick them together in that order. I did need to do a little dry fitting to make sure everything was correct, but I had no issues building up the entire box without any instuctions.

The box also contains a link to the Warmachine app which contains all the rules to play the game along with the stats for the units in the box. Now again, at the time of filming and writing the content I couldn’t actually access any of the unit profiles (though these did go live shortly before this article went live, and will be available day one if you pick up the box on Thursday) so I can’t really comment on what these do in game – we will be looking to follow up this review with a battle report where we learn how to play the game and talk through what each model does, so stay tuned to the site for that!

Now while the app does contain the full rules for Warmachine, the box doesn’t contain any rules material. Personally I’d love Warmachine Shadows & Scum to have acted as a complete starter box containing even a cut down rulebook that teaches you how to play the game. I think these plastic boxes are a brilliant way of getting new people into the hobby, but I feel that without a physical rulebook and simply having them digital does create a little bit of a barrier. Personally I’d always pick a hard copy book over a digital copy, and for learning a game I can sit in comfort on the sofa and page through the rules rather than having to stare at a screen after a long day of staring at screens! That’s just a personal quibble, and your millage may vary, but if Steamforged put out a hardcopy rulebook I’d snap it up in a second!

So what about the models then? Let’s take a look!

When all painted up, the contents of Warmachine Shadows & Scum is certainly impressive, with the 14 models being quite chunky. They are much bigger than Warhammer scale models, being closer to something like Marvel Crisis Protocol, which makes them really enjoyable to paint.

First up is the Southern Kriels, and for me these are the star of the show. With their unique “Pirate Trolls” vibe, the contents of this box are a little more uniformed looking than the other models in the range, but still clearly booze loving trolls! There is loads of charm and character here, from the albatross with a beak full of bombs, up to the centrepiece model Chum the Troll-Shark even if you are just a painter you’ll enjoy working on these. After painting up this half I was already eager to work on some more, and I’m very tempted to order more of the range so I can put together an army of them.

There’s nothing too difficult with sub assemblies or anything, and it was pretty easy to follow the scheme through looking at pictures on the Steamforged website – though again it would have been nice for there to be a starter guide inside the box with individual shots of the models and some lore so we can learn a little about who they are and what they do.

The other half of the box is a completely different vibe, but no less fun to paint up! For these, If I was to do them again however I’d try and leave the wings off the models, as they can be a little tricky to get your brush into and tend to obscure some of the details. It’s not impossible if you just build them in one go, but I feel it would make life a lot easier!

At first glance there’s a lot of metal on the models, but as you start painting them there’s actually quite a lot of different textures, from the wing membranes to the skin and cloth, these are a lot of fun and with time you could do some awesome schemes with these.

Personally, the Foulbloods win out here just because of how thematic they are, the but Khymeara are another really nice faction that looks very different to each other faction. Where the original starter box could be accused of being a little samey across the factions, this is certainly not the case with Shadows & Scum, and it really feels like the sculptors have been able to go crazy and let their imaginations run wild!

I really hope that plastic starter sets become a semi regular release for Warmachine, as the quality of these kits far surpasses the resin kits and is as every bit high quality as releases from Games Workshop. The parts fit together like a dream with no difficult construction, and the sculpts are excellent. I was building these blind too, so with instructions these will be a doddle and you’ll have them ready for the tabletop in no time at all!

Summary

So what do I think of Warmachine Shadows & Scum? Well this is another phenomenal starter set from Steamforged Games giving you two 30 point starter forces for Warmachine for just £80, which is a real bargain. As mentioned earlier, my only real grumble is the lack of any physical rules material, and while the rules are easily available online and for free, I do feel that having a “Getting Started” booklet that talked you through some basic scenarios to learn how to play the game would have made this an even bigger recommendation, even if it did increase the sticker cost.

That said, I still highly recommend this box – you’re getting 2 gorgeous forces with some of the best sculpts I’ve seen for Warmachine yet in a decent value box. Even if you’re only a painter, there’s a lot to love here, and as starter forces for Warmachine you get enough models to work out if you want to commit further to the game without needing a massive outlay for a similar sized force in resin.

I really hope that Steamforged continue with their plastic production and we see these sorts of boxes covering each of the factions, with hopefully more smaller plastic sets on the way soon too!

Warmachine Shadows & Scum is released Thursday 27th March for £79.99 – you can pre order it right now from Element Games for a bargain £71.99

Steamforged Games sent Sprues & Brews a free copy for review purposes.

Published by Matt Crowther

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