SBG Magazine - Issue 2

Today I will take a quick look at Issue 2 of the Strategy Battle Game magazine. Again, I will present a brief summary of each of the articles and follow up the post with an overview/thoughts on this particular issue.

SBG Magazine - Issue 2

 SBG - Issue 2 - Spring 2015

The first two pages are the standard Editorial and Contents pages. The Hobby Blog page that detailed what the SBG contributors are up to with their hobby, which was featured at the beginnnng of the previous issue, has been moved to the back of this magazine.

Tom's Top 10 - Under-costed heroes Part 1 (a 4 page discussion on under-pointed hero models in the game)

The Dr's Corner - An informal chat article about making friends as a gamer (4 pages)

Of Fluff and Fury - An article about the joys of using a themed army as opposed to a competitive army in tournament play (4 pages)

Scenario - The Battle of Azanulbizar (a 4 page scenario idea - orcs versus dwarves outside the Dimril Gate of Moria where Azog's feud with Thorin began)

Tactica - Azog's Hunters (a 5 page article on how to get the best out of your Hunter Orc army)

Battle Report - a write-up of the SBG team's run through of the above scenario (a 13 page article detailing a turn-by-turn battle report, culminating in an aftermath discussion of how each player felt the scenario went for them, what they could have done better, and which miniature on each side was the stand-out performer)

Painting Masterclass - Thror (a 3 page tutorial)

Building Middle-earth - Dimrill Dale (a 3 page article on how to build the terrain featured in the Battle of Azanulbizar scenario and battle report)

Conversion Clinic - Arming Azog (a 2 page tutorial class on how to convert the standard Azog miniature without a forearm into an "earlier" version of him with an intact forearm. There is also a brief Balin conversion tutorial too)

 

Again, another decent read full of different types of article to suit all Middle-earth gamers. A lot more thought went into the content of this magazine and much of the filler has been removed. The gaming related articles - painting, model points costs, tactics and the scenario idea etc. - are all very useful and, again, although I am not keen on battle reports in general, this one showcased some lovely conversions and terrain pieces. The only minor criticism I have of this (and the previous) magazine is that it is primarily The Hobbit focused (I prefer the Lord of the Rings era setting). I am aware that this was the period when Games Workshop was promoting The Hobbit era of the game, so I cannot complain too loudly.