Goblin Warmaster Paper Armies

Goblins preferred method of fighting is to shoot their enemy in the back from a good distance. They are half-way decent shots but in other respects are poor and often unwilling fighters. However, they are dangerous in large numbers and quite capable of overwhelming far better troops by sheer weight of numbers. --Warmaster Revolution

The Goblins Army, not one of the original or expansion armies, started as fan-created army designed by Tom Merrigan with input from Rick Priestley. It was published in Warmaster Magazine #12 (2002). The issue also featured photos of Rick's 10mm conversions of Goblin Spear Chukkas, Pump Wagon, Squig Hoppers, Squig Herders, and a Giant. Tom also wrote a page explaining the concept behind the Goblins Army list, how to play the army, and advice on not taking this army too seriously. It was meant to be fun. If you would like to read that page from the article, I have scanned it into a PDF you can download by clicking Goblin Army Tips.

Eventually, the Goblins Army list found its way into the Warmaster Trials Army pdf, minus Tom's tips. Later, Warmaster Revolution picked up the Goblins Army list, where it remains as one of the WMR official army lists.

Goblins v Orcs & Goblins
My paper army for Goblins is an extension of my Orcs & Goblin set I recently updated. The counters in both sets will work together. If you already have printed the Orcs & Goblins set, you only need to print the first two pages of the Goblins set because page 3 simply reprints counters like the Wolf Riders and Wolf Chariots from the previous set.

One Can Never Have Enough Gobbos!
Even if you don't want to play a pure Goblins army, focusing on the Orcs & Goblins army list instead, page 1 of this set still might be useful if you are looking for even more variety in your Goblins. The two units of Night Goblins are new, as are the eight units of Forest Goblins. By the way, Games Workshop did release Forest Goblins as alternate miniatures for the Orcs & Goblins army, but I would assume they are hard to find and expensive. (I've always liked the old school 28mm Forest Goblins.)

To Squig or Not to Squig?
I debated how players would depict their Squig Herds in 10mm. Would they include Goblin Squig Hoppers among the Squigs? Would they depict the units as the old Squid Herders from Warhammer? Or maybe players would just want all Squigs? Having space on the page and images on hand, I decided to a bit of both. The Squig Herd units can be all squigs. They could also have two squigs stands and a stand of Night Goblin Squig Herders, either as an un-tagged stand or a tagged stand replacing the tagged squig stand in the unit. And so on. I just didn't include any Squig Hoppers in the unit, since these are meant to be herds of squigs and not the old Warhammer Squig Hopper units. At least that is the story I'm going with!

A Note on Miniature Images and Making Units
The images for the Spear Chukkas and Pump Wagon units are of the 10mm miniatures, but as I'm typing this I'm not sure if they were released by GW. I also found a 10mm Doom Diver online, but I felt that my modded image of the 28mm version worked better as a paper counter. Notice that the Doom Diver is a one-stand unit. I've included two un-tagged stands in case someone didn't want them tagged. Same with the Spear Chukkas, which are two-stand units. Those counters can be mixed and matched as desired, which is true of nearly everything I create beyond character stands.

Well, I hope some folks find this Goblins Army set useful. I enjoyed creating it and finally releasing it. As always, please leave any comments, suggestions, or questions below. (I'm sorry that I've had to take anti-spam measures.)

Printing the Counters
I hope you find these paper army sets useful. You can print them at places like Staples or Kinkos, using 110lb card stock paper printed at actual size. You can also print on regular paper and then glue the counters to wooden bases. (Check the older posts on how I did this with my Empire army.) Do not print the pdf to "fit margins." Always print at 100%.  I like printing the counter sets on good copy paper, spray gluing the dull side of a 'Silver Age' comic backing board with Super 77, attaching a sheet to the board, and then cutting out the counters using a sharp Xacto knife with a steel ruler. Using the backing boards makes for cheap, sturdy counters. I like keeping the shiny side down to make moving them easier on a table. Note: This set is designed to fit Silver Age and larger comic backing boards.

Click on the counter set image above to download the complete army counter set in PDF format. The set has enough counters to create many armies of 2,000 points or less. Of course, if you need more counters simply print more copies!

Sample Goblins Army Lists for Warmaster
Since Goblins are not exactly a main stream army, I only have one basic sample army. If you have other examples of a Goblins army or tips on playing them, please leave them in the comments below.

Total Points: 1,000
Break Point: 7
6x Goblins
2x Squig Herd
4x Trolls
2x Wolf Riders
1x Goblin Warboss
2x Goblin Hero
1x Goblin Shaman
(It's a basic army without any spells or fancy units, but it works as a starter set.)

New Orc Paper Warmaster Armies

The Orc way of life is war. Every Orc measures his worth by the number of enemies he has slain - and also the number of friends, for Orcs fight each other all the time. By fighting they establish which of them is best and this is reflected in their curious metabolism. The more dominant an Orc becomes the bigger he grows so it is always easy to see which Orcs are in charge and who is boss - just look for the big guy. --Warmaster Armies

I wasn't planning on overhauling my Orc paper army, but it got swept up in the winds of change as I started working on a Goblin paper army set. Many of the changes are esthetic so that units like Wolf Riders and Wolf Chariots look like Cavalry and Chariot units in my current sets. I made several other style changes as well, removing some units while adding others. This will allow units in this new Orc set to work with units in the Goblin set I'm currently working on. And who doesn't like even more goblins!

Ironically, I'm still using my old Orc paper army simply because I don't feel like cutting apart new counters. I'm so bad (wife says 'lazy') that I'm still using my Empire set I made 20 years ago--it looks nasty (and the counters back then were a tad smaller than regulation) but all the counters are mounted on MDF bases. I'd just rather spend time making a new army than replacing an old one. (I'm looking at those forlorn Plano boxes of Warmaster armies as I type this.) So, if you like your old Orc set, you can keep using it. Otherwise, take these 'new and improved' greenskins for a spin around the Old World.

Printing the Counters
I hope you find these paper army sets useful. You can print them at places like Staples or Kinkos, using 110lb card stock paper printed at actual size. You can also print on regular paper and then glue the counters to wooden bases. (Check the older posts on how I did this with my Empire army.) Do not print the pdf to "fit margins." Always print at 100%.  I like printing the counter sets on good copy paper, spray gluing the dull side of a 'Silver Age' comic backing board with Super 77, attaching a sheet to the board, and then cutting out the counters using a sharp Xacto knife with a steel ruler. Using the backing boards makes for cheap, sturdy counters. I like keeping the shiny side down to make moving them easier on a table. Note: This set is designed to fit Silver Age and larger comic backing boards.

Click on the counter set image above to download the complete army counter set in PDF format. The set has enough counters to create many armies of 2,000 points or less. Of course, if you need more counters simply print more copies!

Roll Green Tide!
Never played the Greenskins in Warmaster? Need some help playing those crazy hordes? Then download Wayne Rozier's free article "Grunt Tzu: The Art of Waaagh!" from issue 5 of the old Warmaster Magazine. Those aloof High Elves and stubborn Dwarfs won't be kicking sand in your metaphorical Orc face anymore!

Sample Orc Army Lists for Warmaster
Now, I can't let you leave without some sample army lists to get you started playing your Orc army. I've collected these over the years from various email lists and forums. Some lists are even my own creations. Of course, I can't guarantee you'll win with these lists, especially my lists, but at least they will get you going with original Warmaster or Warmaster Revolution.

Total Points: 1,000
Break Point: 5
2x Orc Warriors
1x Black Orcs
2x Goblins
2x Boar Riders
2x Wolf Chariots
1x Orc General
2x Orc Hero
1x Orc Shaman
1x Goblin Shaman
(Back when we could buy Warmaster starter army boxes, this list used the contents of that box plus a few more packs to create an inexpensive and effective 1,000 point starter Orc army.)

Total Points: 1,000
Break Point: 6
3x Orc Warriors
3x Goblins
1x Trolls
1x Ogres
1x Black Orcs
3x Wolf Riders
1x Orc General
1x Orc Hero
1x Orc Shaman
(This basic army packs a bit more punch in some ways, but watch out for the stupidity of those Trolls!)

Total Points: 1,420
Break Point: 8
6x Orc Warriors
4x Goblins
3x Boar Riders
2x Wolf Chariots
1x Rock Lobber
1x Orc General
2x Orc Heroes
1x Orc Shaman
1x Goblin Hero
1x Goblin Shaman
(Spend the remaining 80 points as you please to reach 1,500.)

Total Points: 2,000
Break Point: 13
6x Orc Warriors
2x Black Orcs
8x Goblins
2x Boar Riders
4x Wolf Riders
1x Giant
2x Rock Lobbers
1x Orc General
2x Orc Hero
1x Orc Shaman
2x Goblin Hero
1x Goblin Shaman

Vampire Counts Paper Warmaster Armies

It was a time of great contagion when the power of magic waxed strongly throughout the Empire. Harnessing much of that magic the great Vlad Von Carstein raised an army of dead from the poisoned soil and made his bid for the throne of the Empire. Thus began the Wars of the Vampire Counts in which the dead sought to overthrow the living and the Carsteins sought to rule the whole of the Empire. -- Warmaster Armies

This set replaces all previous versions of my Vampire Counts sets. It fixes some design issues I had with the previous set posted here two years ago, which has been deleted. The Black Coach uses two stands as it would in the miniature game, one for the horses and one for the coach. (I also modded the horses to four instead of two to better match the 10mm version.) It's also based as a Chariot Mount for the Vampire Lord and Vampire. Dire Wolves are based as Cavalry now instead as Infantry. The army has a more unified Old World Warhammer look than the 2018 version did, with many new images and better color. Plus other tweaks. I still provide non-Warmaster Archer units, but those are on the fourth page. If you don't want them, you won't have to print them!

If you are using the 2018 version, there is no real need to replace it with this new set. If this is your first time using this set, I hope you enjoy it. Please leave comments, suggestions, and criticisms below. I love hearing from folks who use these paper armies.

Printing the Counters
I hope you find these paper army sets useful. You can print them at places like Staples or Kinkos, using 110lb card stock paper printed at actual size. You can also print on regular paper and then glue the counters to wooden bases. (Check the older posts on how I did this with my Empire army.) Do not print the pdf to "fit margins." Always print at 100%.  I like printing the counter sets on good copy paper, spray gluing the dull side of a 'Silver Age' comic backing board with Super77, attaching a sheet to the board, and then cutting out the counters using a sharp Xacto knife with a steel ruler. Using the backing boards makes for cheap, sturdy counters. I like keeping the shiny side down to make moving them easier on a table. Note: This version is designed to fit Silver Age and larger comic backing boards.

Click on the counter set image above to download the complete army counter set in PDF format. The set has enough counters to create many armies of 2,000 points or less. Of course, if you need more counters simply print more copies!

Sample Vampire Counts Army Lists for Warmaster

Total Points: 2,000
Break Point: 14
10x Skeletons
4x Zombies
4x Ghouls
4x Ethereal Host
2x Black Knights
3x Dire Wolves
1x Vampire Lord on Winged Nightmare
3x Vampire
2x Black Coach
2x Necromancer

Total Points: 2,000
Break Point: 12
4x Skeletons
4x Zombies
2x Ghouls
2x Grave Guard
2x Ethereal Host
4x Black Knights
3x Dire Wolves
2x Fell Bats
1x Vampire Lord on Winged Nightmare
3x Vampire
2x Black Coach
2x Necromancer

Thoughts About Updating Counter Sets...Again

Being cooped up in the house all day every day during the current virus outbreak, I've been enjoying working on the Warmaster counter sets again. (Thanks Warqueen for reminding me that my outdated/under-sized Wood Elves and Chaos counters from the early 2000's hadn't gotten the 'revised' treatment!)

Then I poked around my hard drive and realized I quickly could complete other new army sets, like the Kislev and Chaos Daemons I recently uploaded.

I also realized I could improve and correct some of the sets I had already revised, sets like the Vampire Counts that has too many Age of Sigmar images and Dire Wolves based as infantry instead of cavalry. (There is a long story behind why I did that years ago.) Actually, I ended up completely revising that revised set and will upload it this weekend or early next week as a new post, taking down the old VC post. Probably more sets will be improved as well.

Will all the sets you've already downloaded and printed still be playable? Sure! I'm thinking that most updates will simply be a separate page to print out, but I might wind up doing a total revision like the Vampire Counts.

Will I still be making sets for armies in the Trial Armies book, Warmaster Revolution, and other historical versions of Warmaster? Like the Albion army? Yes! This summer I hope to crank out more armies, maybe even some sets for Lord of the Rings and Battle of the Five Armies, which have been pet projects of mine for ages. I also want to revisit my old Nippon set, which is long gone and outdated.

Will I be making counter sets for other games, like Dragon Rampant? Maybe. The Rampant series has been a thing with me lately. I also have bought a ton of old Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars for Gaslands Refueled gaming, but that is another topic for another day.

Will I ever get to play a game using my WWII Soviet miniatures? Sigh. I can only hope...I can only hope.

Well, if you've made it this far in the post, thanks for reading and taking an interest in this creaky old blog and my counter sets. Stay posted for news as it happens!

Warmaster Fantasy - Daemon Counter Set

There may be a thousand gods or a million aspects of a single deity - it matters little. The daemon armies of Chaos constantly reshape and reform in the face of man's ever shifting fears. --Warmaster Armies

The Daemon Army was one of last official Warmaster armies for which Games Workshop made 10mm miniatures. Unfortunately, the line was incomplete. For example, Games Workshop never made 10mm miniatures for Daemon Chariots and Daemon Beasts. (Please correct me if I'm wrong on this.)

I've used images of the actual Warmaster 10mm Greater Daemons and Lord miniatures. I've also used as many images as possible of Daemon horde 28mm miniatures from the early 2000's, improvising with Age of Sigmar miniatures where needed, such as with the chariots and beasts.

I've also left my usual unit tags off the greater daemon and character stands, allowing players to determine which stands to use in their armies to represent those figures. There is an extra untagged stand of Nurgle Beasts in case players want to use those figures for something else in the army.

I hope you enjoy this counter set regardless which version of Warmaster or other miniature rules you play. Please leave your comments and questions below.

Printing the Counters
I hope you find these paper army sets useful. You can print them at places like Staples or Kinkos, using 110lb card stock paper printed at actual size. You can also print on regular paper and then glue the counters to wooden bases. (Check the older posts on how I did this with my Empire army.) Do not print the pdf to "fit margins." Always print at 100%.  I like printing the counter sets on good copy paper, spray gluing the dull side of a 'Silver Age' comic backing board with Super77, attaching a sheet to the board, and then cutting out the counters using a sharp Xacto knife with a steel ruler. Using the backing boards makes for cheap, sturdy counters. I like keeping the shiny side down to make moving them easier on a table. Note: This version is designed to fit Silver Age and larger comic backing boards.

Click on the counter set image above to download the complete army counter set in PDF format. The set has enough counters to create many armies of 2,000 points or less. Of course, if you need more counters simply print more copies! Unfortunately, I do not have any Daemon sample armies.

Warmaster Fantasy - Wood Elves Counter Set Revised

Wood Elves have acquired an instinctive cunning and stealth, and have developed a healthy suspicion of strangers and a distrust of any unnatural. They shun contact with other races and show no mercy to those who invade their realm with malicious intent or who do damage through sheer ignorance or foolishness. They have become the guardians of the forest. -- Warhammer Armies: Wood Elves (4th Edition, 1996)

Games Workshop never released Wood Elves in 10mm, but in 2002 that didn't stop me from creating a set of Wood Elves counters for Warmaster. I based the set on the Wood Elves army list created by Rob Atkins. It was printed in Warmaster Magazine #8 in 2001. It was the first Wood Elves army list but has been relegated to the dust bin of outdated army lists.

Today, players have two Wood Elves army lists to choose from. There is the list published in the Warmaster Trial Armies pdf or the list in the Warmaster Revolution Armies pdf. (These also are the two Wood Elves army lists in the Warmaster Army Selector online app.) I designed this new set of Wood Elves counters, which replaces my old set from 2002, to be compatible with both army lists.

Being a fan of the original Warmaster miniatures from the 1990's and early 2000's, which to me was the esthetic height of Warhammer's Old World, I have done my best whenever possible to use images of painted miniatures from that era. Of course, a couple units didn't exist back then but no problem. I've also included additional counters and units beyond the bare minimum, giving players as many choices as possible to customize the look of their paper armies

I hope you enjoy this counter set regardless which version of Warmaster or other miniature rules you play. Please leave your comments and questions below.

Printing the Counters
I hope you find these paper army sets useful. You can print them at places like Staples or Kinkos, using 110lb card stock paper printed at actual size. You can also print on regular paper and then glue the counters to wooden bases. (Check the older posts on how I did this with my Empire army.) Do not print the pdf to "fit margins." Always print at 100%.  I like printing the counter sets on good copy paper, spray gluing the dull side of a 'Silver Age' comic backing board with Super77, attaching a sheet to the board, and then cutting out the counters using a sharp Xacto knife with a steel ruler. Using the backing boards makes for cheap, sturdy counters. I like keeping the shiny side down to make moving them easier on a table. Note: This version is designed to fit Silver Age and larger comic backing boards.

Click on the counter set image above to download the complete army counter set in PDF format. The set has enough counters to create many armies of 2,000 points or less. Of course, if you need more counters simply print more copies! Unfortunately, I do not have any Wood Elves sample armies.

Warmaster Fantasy - Kislev Counter Set

The land of Kislev lies in the north-eastern portion of the Old World between towering mountains to the east, the barren wastes of the Troll Country to the west and the borders of the Empire to the south. Dense pine forests give way to scattered birch forests and desolate tundra to the north. It is an old saying that in Kislev the winters are long, the snow lies deep, and enemies are never far away. --Warmaster

Kislev was one of the last armies that Games Workshop made in 10mm for Warmaster. These figures were sold only in blister packs, never in army starter boxes like GW made for the core armies. All I remember is that they were hard to find.

Print What You Play
This is my first hybrid set for Warmaster Fantasy and Warmaster Revolution because each ruleset has a slightly different take on the army. The counters on Page 1 work for both rulesets. The counters on Page 2 are for Warmaster Fantasy, whereas the counters on Page 3 are for Warmaster Revolution. (WMR has a special mount called a Yozhin, but I have no idea what miniatures in any scale represent that creature, so you'll have to pencil in that one yourself.) I've done the best I can given the limited well-lit miniature images I could find.

Printing the Counters
I hope you find these paper army sets useful. You can print them at places like Staples or Kinkos, using 110lb card stock paper printed at actual size. You can also print on regular paper and then glue the counters to wooden bases. (Check the older posts on how I did this with my Empire army.) Do not print the pdf to "fit margins." Always print at 100%.  I like printing the counter sets on good copy paper, spray gluing the dull side of a 'Silver Age' comic backing board with Super77, attaching a sheet to the board, and then cutting out the counters using a sharp Xacto knife with a steel ruler. Using the backing boards makes for cheap, sturdy counters. I like keeping the shiny side down to make moving them easier on a table. Note: This version is designed to fit Silver Age and larger comic backing boards.

Click on the counter set image above to download the complete army counter set in PDF format. The set has enough counters to create many armies of 2000 points or less. Of course, if you need more counters simply print more copies!

Sample Kislev Army List
Below is a sample Kislev army using the army list from Warmaster Fantasy.

Total Points: 2,000
Break Point: 11
6x Horse Archers
4x Axemen
4x Bowmen
2x Bears
4x Knights
1x War Wagon
1x General (Tzarina)
1x Hero on Bear
1x Hero
1x Shaman

Building a 2,000 Point Kislev Army
If you are interested in playing a Kislev army, I highly recommend downloading the "My Take on Kislev" article by John Bennison. Originally, it was published in Fanatic Magazine (if I remember correctly) and then reprinted on the defunct Specialist Games website. In the article, John explains his philosophy for building and then playing a 2,000 point Kislev army.