Warhammer Fantasy 5th Edition Boxed Set and Learn to Play!

In this video I talk through my collection and painting of the oldhammer / middlehammer classic box set and play the "getting started" encounters to learn the basics of Warhammer as it was in 1996.
Music by: cvdwllr.bandcamp.com
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[@N3mdraz]

Awesome to see this historical nostalgia so well preserved. Core childhood memory for many of us

[@hammerthebacklog]

Glad it could help unlock the memories!

[@adrian.k1982]

I was 15 when I saw this box first in my local hobby store, back in Poland. And I love it still ❤ A box filled with nostalgia and youth 😊

[@hammerthebacklog]

Well that makes us almost exactly the same age!

[@toxicmail1482]

Possibly the best edition of Fantasy. I also like that it comes with two armies you wouldn't expect in a main box set.

[@death2all79zx]

He said 205, but meant 204 for the WD issue. Incase anyone was having trouble finding the mag.

[@hammerthebacklog]

100% correct. Nicely spotted

[@Yithmaster]

Ha the 5th ed starter box with the least sensical faction pair up

[@hammerthebacklog]

Unless you know nothing about Warhammer, in which case it is Knights against monsters, the easiest to sell and most obvious pairing in all of fantasy.

[@darnokx9277]

Hits me right in the nostalgia, in a warm and fuzzy manner - well done! Trying to stay on some sort of "get stuff done, like, before the sun blows up" myself, I find this to be quite motivational. :)

[@praehist3D]

Ahh my first box :) I loved these so much

[@hammerthebacklog]

Mine too! I didn't love them enough for the first 25 years of their lives, so I've been making up for it for the last 2.

[@jonesfoxx2241]

Never stropped playing it.

[@Benjam311]

This was my intro to Warhammer when i bought it from an indi shop in the 90's. All I have left from it are most of the Bretonnians, the artillary dice, and maybe the battlebook/rulebook. I sold the Lizardmen to a friend back in the day, and the cardstock buildings + templates are long gone. I might still have one or two of the red ruler sticks as well... thanks for sharing the video!

[@denisdaly5200]

I was 11 when I got this set using my Communion money. My introduction to miniature wargames and a love of Warhammer fantasy. Great video and those models look great!! I'm just starting these videos but hope to see what you do with the 2nd edition games.

[@dariostabletopminatures1873]

Man this brings back MEmories!

[@zacheryredden5417]

This doesn’t quite beat the goblins vs high elves box for me but it’s a close second. It’s the first box that I remember releasing but those deadly spear goblins were my first minis.

[@dariuszkwietnioczub]

What about Stand & Shoot rule? 1. Unit A declares a charge against unit B 2. Unit B declares its reaction: S&S 3. This reaction is resolved immediately, following the normal rules of shooting and adding a negative modifier of -1 for S&S. It is important to note that the charging unit that has not moved yet from its starting position, and you apply the normal rules for shooting from that position: - LoS and frontal arc for each model are determined from that position. - If the target panics, then it will move from that position. - Cover is determined from that position. For instance, other units in between the shooters and the chargers at that position will provide hard cover, even though they may be gone, when the chargers actually move. The difference with normal shooting attacks is that models can even shoot when the target is not in range - it is now assumed to be in range (BRB p.39). If the charger at that position is further away than half the weapon's maximum range, that weapon will suffer a -1 shooting modifier for long range (in addition to all other modifiers). However, against an enemy unit that starts its charge outside the firing unit's maximum range, shooting is resolved normally assuming the enemy is just within maximum range of the shooting unit's shortest-ranged weapon (what gregwarhamster was referring to). 4. After resolving the shooting and any potential Panic attacks, UNIT B is treated as having declared a hold reaction.

[@hammerthebacklog]

Yes, you're 100% right. For some reason the starter booklet doesn't use that rule. In the next game we played, The Wrath of Txlatlan, we applied it properly (I think)

[@mattgrandich3977]

I missed this starter set by being too young when it came out but I really like the old Lizardmen models.

[@hammerthebacklog]

I prefer the 5th edition models for both lizardmen and Bretonnians

[@danbuman8422]

This is awesome! So much nostalgia :)

[@hammerthebacklog]

Thank you very much. I think past me was investing in keeping future me busy

[@MediocreHobbies]

great great video. cant wait for more.

[@hammerthebacklog]

You might have to wait a little while, I am comically slow at video editing!

[@ltGargoyle]

this is the set i got into warhammer with. my friend and i each got a set and traded the second army with death other. i still have a lot of those lizard men.

[@hammerthebacklog]

I hope they are all nicely painted up!

[@kwest9747]

You’ve totally pinpointed the failure of this box - the lack of a narrative scenario booklet, like the 2nd ed 40K ‘Battle for Armageddon’. Speaking of which, the lizardmen could have done with a card stand Slaan too, since the basic knights already make fine stand ins for characters as they are.

[@hammerthebacklog]

A card Slaan would have been awesome! Maybe a card Kroxigor too! I suppose this was the difference in mentality between 1993 GW and 1996 GW. I was surprised 15 years ago when Island of Blood didn't include any learn to play scenarios either.

[@farpointgamingdirect]

The scenarios were sold as boxed sets

[@kwest9747]

If you look at the lizardmen pages of the Battle Book it actually looks like they had commissioned some art to be a Slaan card stand. Take a look at it and tell me it wouldn’t make a perfect card stand in model!

[@hammerthebacklog]

@@kwest9747 Holy crappie! I don't need to take a look at it, I know exactly the piece you mean! Wow, that's so obvious!

[@mikeydolman3926]

My two boxed games were high elves goblins one (4th?) and the Empire/Orcs one, i forget what edition that one was

[@hammerthebacklog]

4th and 6th! Two classics indeed!

[@equos5060]

So cool :)

[@hammerthebacklog]

Thanks!

[@Deailon]

My first box set :)

[@hammerthebacklog]

Mine too!

[@borisgulliver4970]

Great simple video. But, who decides which figures are removed 12:40 this then changes how many Archers are left touching bases and therefore can hit back. 2 Would you have a situation where a faster moving bow group would move back and keep firing on infantry? Thinking Mongolian horse archers...I bought 4th edition when I was 15

[@borisgulliver4970]

Also why didn't the bowmen have a roll to deflect the lizard attack?

[@hammerthebacklog]

Thanks a lot. The rules suggest that even though the killed models must be the ones in base contact, you remove them from the ends for practical reasons. That means that even thought 5 models are in base to base contact, only 2 get to hit back (because the other three are actually already dead). Not the most elegant of solutions, but it is a nearly 40 year old game! What you've described with the horse archers is basically how I think pistoleers and horse archers are used in the game.

[@hammerthebacklog]

@@borisgulliver4970 They don't have any armour or shields.

[@notmenotme614]

6:58 I’m a newbie. What I don’t get about Warhammer and AOS rules is if the attacker has rolled to hit, then rolled again to wound. How can the defender roll to save? What’s the point of the roll to wound, if it counts for nothing? How can a hit from a longbow or even more powerful crossbow not wound? In real life they could penetrate armour.

[@peterclarke7240]

The problem is GW have 4 steps to basic combat, whereas most other games have 3. GW does "hit, wound, save, determine damage" (which doesn't make a lick of sense). Other games just do "hit, save, determine damage." (which DOES make sense) It's a very common gripe about gw that's picked up by anyone who stops and thinks about things for 5 seconds, or is used to non-gw games. My mates and I started home brewing certain rules for 40k recently, mostly caused by the need to try to speed up games as best we can (we're all old, have jobs, kids, partners, pets and our own need for sleep to worry about, and can't spend 5 hours playing a single game any more), and switching to the three-stage combat phase has been such a quality-of-life improvement. Would definitely recommend it if you don't have to adhere to strict gw rules nazis. 🤣

[@kwest9747]

Most of the time a crossbow would penetrate armour - in fact it is guaranteed to penetrate a mail shirt or shield by itself! The armour save is a cinematic game play design - you determine that the shot would have hit a deadly mark - but you don’t know until the last moment whether the armour will deflect it or not. It also gives the defending player some involvement in the attacker’s shooting phase. It would be very boring if you had to wait for your opponent to move, shoot and fight with all their units before you could do anything!

[@redgreen09]

well had this to did the lizard men up as an hole army and ues the batoens guys as enpier guys and carboard biolding are long gon moveing a flooed basment and other things well hek do not have a book might have that WD magg but who know not looking fore it now but tun in to new as do

[@MrFunguspower]

I think I'm having a stroke.

[@peterclarke7240]

Stop that! It's rude and you'll go blind 🤣

[@kwest9747]

We all had this too. I did the lizardmen up as a whole army! We used the Bretonnia models as Empire instead. Sadly the cardboard buildings are long gone: Moving house, a flooded basement and other things. Well heck, I do not have any rulebooks. I might have that WD magazine, but who knows?! I am not looking for it now. but tun in to new as do (couldn’t work this bit out - maybe talking about revamping the old models as the channel has done).