The Comm Guild Maelstrom's Edge

Due to an issue that has arisen with the online store being flooded with bot sign-ups, we have had to disable it while we make some changes in the background. This will have no impact on any current orders or customer accounts - just implementing some additional code to prevent fraudulent orders.

The timing is of course incredibly inconvenient, as seems to be the norm with these sorts of issues, and with the disruption due to the Christmas break, we expect the store to be offline until the first week of January. You will still be able to view the miniatures in the store, but won't be able to complete checkout until the store is reactivated.

Apologies for any inconvenience caused by this, and best wishes from all of us here at Spiral Arm Studios for the holiday period, however you do (or don't, as the case may be!) celebrate! 

- by Iain Wilson

Continuing my homebrew unit updates, I have now revised my Broken units from V1!




As with the Epirian and Karist units, these units are converted from assorted Maelstrom's Edge parts, or modified models from other games. To duplicate them, you can find the original modeling articles by following the links below, or you can choose to use whichever other appropriate models you have to hand. Note that as these are unofficial rules, you should ensure that you discuss it with your opponent before using them, to make sure they're familiar with and ok with them!

Download the rules PDF from the V2 Trial Rules page here, and check the links below for the original modeling articles for each unit!



Gnolti Longhorn - an older, wiser Gnolti in a command role.
Gnolti Berserker - a rampaging Gnolti driven into a frenzy by the madness of war.
Pa'ku Heavy Mortar - an alternate rules page for the Pa'ku Artillery unit, adding a heavy mortar option.
Skyboarders - Rabble troops equipped with hoverboards.
Jet Pa'ku - A gun-toting, boostpack-wearing Pa'ku, originally just built for the fun of it, but I couldn't resist giving it rules!
Attack Buggy - a light assault vehicle made from a Mantic Marauder vehicle.
Broken Raider - This one I don't have a conversion built for - these rules were originally put together for the V1 Trial Transport rules article. Feel free to use whatever light truck or buggy models seem like a good fit!




To build your own force of ramshackle, kit-bashed doom, grab some Broken models or STL files from the Maelstrom's Edge webstore here!

What are you working on? We would love to see your models and terrain in the Comm Guild Facebook group!

For other building ideas, modeling tutorials, army spotlights and conversion walkthroughs, check out the Hobby section of the Maelstrom's Edge website here. And while you're there, grab a copy of the Maelstrom's Edge V2 Beta rules!

This week, we're rolling out the last of our resin-to-digital conversions with the Karist Enclave's Angel Keeper!


An Angel Keeper leads their alien charges into battle.

A strange and isolated offshoot of the Karist priesthood, Angel Keepers train enslaved Angels using regimented doses of cybel energy, and marshal these alien creatures on the battlefield.

This release required a bit of resculpting as the original model sculpt was lost, and so it had to be reconstructed from a partial sculpt. The resin original was also only designed to have one of the Keeper's two main weapons, with separate hand options holding the cybel goad and grenade launcher. The STL version now has the cybel goad in hand and the grenade launcher slung and ready when the Keeper needs it. The model also comes with two pose variants, an optional holstered pistol, and a male and female head - although the differences in appearance are minor due to the Keeper's mask!


The digital file includes supported and unsupported versions of the Angel Keeper.

You can find the rules for using Angel Keepers in your Karist Enclave force in the downloads section of the Maelstrom's Edge website here.

Start building your elite army of shapeshifting doom by grabbing your Angel Keeper from the webstore here!

- by Iain Wilson

Following on from my Epirian Foundation update last week, I have now also revised my homebrew Karists from V1. This was a much smaller job, as I hadn't actually created as many Karist units, and that's clearly a terrible oversight that needs to be rectified! As such, along with updating the existing units, I have also added in a couple of extras from conversions that I had made that I hadn't created rules for yet.




As with the Epirians, these units are all converted from assorted Maelstrom's Edge parts, or modified models from other games. To duplicate them, you can find the original modeling articles by following the links below, or you can choose to use whichever other appropriate models you have to hand. Note that as these are unofficial rules, you should ensure that you discuss it with your opponent before using them, to make sure they're familiar with and ok with them!

Kaddar Militant - a variation on the usual Kaddar Nova, with a more warlike focus.
Reaper Cadre - stealthy Karist Troopers equipped with a longrifle variant of the pulse carbine.
Predator Attack Vehicle - an anti-grav support vehicle based on a Warhammer 40K Genestealer cult buggy.
Raptor Assault Skimmer - a transport vehicle based on a Gates of Antares Freeborn skimmer.
Angel Gloomstalker - a Juvenile Angel variant converted from the plastic Mature Angel kit.




Download the rules PDF from the V2 Trial Rules page here!



I've also made a couple of tweaks to the Epirian rules posted last week. The SecDef Ironhide has had its Inorganic designator swapped to Armored, Sentinel bots can now all take Shock weapons, and I realised as I was working on the Karists that I already had a unit named 'Reapers', so the newly christened 'SecDef Reaper Team' has now been re-re-named the 'SecDef Wrecker Team'. You can grab the revised rules pages on the V2 Trial Rules page linked above.

To build your own force of over-zealous, kit-bashed doom, grab some Karist models from the Maelstrom's Edge webstore here!

What are you working on? We would love to see your models and terrain in the Comm Guild Facebook group!

For other building ideas, modeling tutorials, army spotlights and conversion walkthroughs, check out the Hobby section of the Maelstrom's Edge website here. And while you're there, grab a copy of the Maelstrom's Edge V2 Beta rules!

- by Iain Wilson

With the release of the updated Beta seeing the V2 rules in their more or less final state, this seemed like a good time to get caught up with my assorted homebrew units created originally for the V1 ruleset. To begin with, I have worked through my Epirian creations, compiling them into a PDF for easy reference.




These units are all converted from assorted Maelstrom's Edge parts, or modified models from other games. To duplicate them, you can find the original modeling articles by following the links below, or you can choose to use whichever other appropriate models you have to hand. Note that as these are unofficial rules, you should ensure that you discuss it with your opponent before using them, to make sure they're familiar with and ok with them!

Konstantin Moor, Veteran Bot Handler - a unique Commander accompanied by two custom drones.
Sentinel Bot Unit - a robotic replacement for the standard Contractor unit.
Warden - a boostpack-equipped Epirian solo character.
Contractor Truck - a light transport vehicle for moving your Contractors about.
Scorpion Drone - a modified Spider Drone with a nastier bite.
Thunderbolt Sentry Drone - an automated weapon drone built from the PDC Gaming gun carriage model.
SecDef FA90 Reconnaissance Walker - a scout vehicle adding firepower and advance intel for SecDef forces.
SecDef Reaper Team - Originally just called the SecDef Heavy Team, updated with a better name and more options.
SecDef ATV16 “Ironhide” Transport - an armored SecDef transport converted from a Miniature Scenery Tactical Response Vehicle.

The Thunderbolt Sentry Drone and Warden already had V2 Beta rules published. This document updates them to V2.1, adding a Micro Drone equipment option to the Warden and including the rules entry for the Thunderbolt's Rotating Mount, which was left off the original page.

Download the PDF here!





To build your own force of kit-bashed doom, grab some Epirian models from the Maelstrom's Edge webstore here!

What are you working on? We would love to see your models and terrain in the Comm Guild Facebook group!

For other building ideas, modeling tutorials, army spotlights and conversion walkthroughs, check out the Hobby section of the Maelstrom's Edge website here. And while you're there, grab a copy of the Maelstrom's Edge V2 Beta rules!

Pa’ku are extremely rational creatures, almost completely devoid of emotion as humans understand it. If they decide that a certain course of action will cause more good than harm overall, then they have no qualms about extinguishing any number of lives to achieve it. They do not make such decisions lightly nor do they act carelessly, often driving their commander crazy as they sit pondering the pros and cons of all reasonable options in front of them. They sometimes even decide to hold a private war council with only their species present if there is a particularly complex dilemma to consider. A Pa’ku’s deliberations are ultimately guided by their own self-interest, as is the case for all creatures, but they are able to factor that bias in when making their decisions.


Pa'ku provide much needed fire support for Broken forces.

Despite their peculiarities, Pa’ku are especially desirable to the Broken. Their impressive physiques make them suitable for carrying heavy loads, including the biggest artillery the Broken can manage to cobble together. As a bonus, the Pa’ku can extend their very long tongue with enough force to cave in a man’s skull. Pa’ku only speak to other species when necessary, and their language is difficult for most races to translate or speak. Combined with their large size, this results in them being overlooked by evacuation efforts, making the choice to join the Broken the only reasonable one they can make.


The digital file includes supported and unsupported versions of the Pa'ku parts.

You can find the rules for using Pa'ku Artillery in your Broken force in the downloads section of the Maelstrom's Edge website here.

Start building your elite army of bombarding doom by grabbing your Pa'ku Artillery from the webstore here!

You can get a head start on the upcoming 2nd edition of the Maelstrom's Edge rules by downloading a PDF version of the updated Beta rules documents below!




Grab your copy now!!

- by Iain Wilson

Maelstrom's Edge V2 is on the way, so this seems like the perfect time to build some new armies! The upcoming V2 Rulebook includes sample lists for each faction, and I thought it would be fun to build them all so that I can use them for some battle reports. I decided to start with the Epirians, because, well, robots are cool.




The force list for this project is focused around bots, although has a few Contractor units in there as well for variety. For simplicity, the rulebook sample list is built as a single detachment led by a Journeyman Handler and includes two Scarecrow Snipers. I decided to tweak things slightly by making one of the Scarecrows a Command unit and splitting some of the bots into a second detachment, but otherwise this force is the same as will appear in the book.



In a force led by a Handler, bots are the main focus. The Journeyman’s Bot Handler ability, improved by the Aerial Uplink, allows them to keep suppression under control for the force’s bots, while their Push the Machines ability allows you to reactivate an already activated bot unit, doubling the effectiveness of the Hunter or a Scarecrow each turn. By including the Command Scarecrow, the force gains an additional command point each turn, and having the second command model allows the force to be more spread out while remaining in a command radius bubble for orders and bot protocols.



These Command models are largely built stock, although I repositioned the head and weapon on the Command Scarecrow, and used a Broken head (with the helmet hung on the belt) for the Journeyman. The Aerial Uplink drone is a 3D print of an upcoming model.

The presence of the Apprentice Handlers in the Spider Drone units gives them the freedom to move out of the Scarecrow or Journeyman’s command radius without losing the benefit of orders and bot protocols.





I used another Broken head for one of the Apprentices, and repositioned some of the Spider Drones' legs to add a little variety in their posing.

The inclusion of a few Contractor units helps provide some additional firepower in the force. The Recon Package in the Scout unit can paint enemy units for the attention of the Strike missiles on the Defender's weapon drones and the Hunter mech.







I used the arms and helmets from the Faction Expansion Sprue on the Contractors, as I wanted this force to have that better armoured look. The drones in these units are 3D prints, and these models are currently available as printable STLs, although a plastic kit is currently in development, for release as soon as possible!

To round out the force, the Firefly drones provide some fast-moving harassment and paint enemies for the Strike missile units, while the Scarecrow and Hunter serve as mobile fire support and focus on taking out enemies too tough for the Contractors or Spiders to deal with. In addition, selecting the Master of Machines faction objective potentially gives the force an additional free bot protocol activation each turn, allowing the Hunter to move more quickly around the battlefield, the Scarecrows to pump out additional firepower, and the Fireflies to more effectively dodge enemy fire.







With everything built and based, I'm looking forward to getting some paint on! I'm going with a blue and black scheme, as I don't have anything already in those colours, making it a nice opportunity to do something different.

Stay tuned for part 2!



To build your own force of remote controlled robotic doom, grab some Epirian models from the Maelstrom's Edge webstore here!

What are you working on? We would love to see your models and terrain in the Comm Guild Facebook group!

For other building ideas, modeling tutorials, army spotlights and conversion walkthroughs, check out the Hobby section of the Maelstrom's Edge website here. And while you're there, grab a copy of the Maelstrom's Edge V2 Beta rules!

Hakoyu hail from the remote Yedo system, where their society is governed by a code of honor that is hard for others to understand. They believe that individual desires are always inferior to the needs of the group, and their culture is based on mutual respect. As most Hakoyu aren't keen on traveling away from Yedo, they are not a common sight across the spiral arm. Hence, the arrival of one amongst human populations often leads to whispers and suspicion, which is only amplified by their unique physique: four arms and a horn-like protrusion from their foreheads. Hakoyu are traditionally trained in martial arts and carry at least one blade wherever they go. They are not aggressive by nature, though, and tend to keep their calm even when pushed. When a Hakoyu does feel forced to act in self-defense, their lightning reflexes and zealous training mean they can cut down opponents in a fraction of a second.


Hakoyu Grand Masters leading a counterassault against a SecDef attack force.

It's not easy for an outcast to survive alone on the Edge, and the Broken offer the Hakoyu not just a means of escape, but also a collective which can feel much like the communal family structure of Yedo. The Broken, for their part, value the Hakoyu's fighting skills and character. Wielding deadly phase weaponry, able to pass through enemy fields as though they are not there, they provide their squad an upper hand in any close quarter fighting.


The digital file includes a male and female Hakoyu Grand Master body option.

You can find the rules for using Hakoyu Grand Masters in your Broken force in the downloads section of the Maelstrom's Edge website here.

Start building your elite army of restrained but violent doom by grabbing your Hakoyu Grand Master from the webstore here!

This fantastic gun carriage model was made by PDC Gaming for a Kickstarter campaign some years ago. We have managed to pick up one final batch of these kits - PDC Gaming are out of business, and the mould is apparently lost, so once this lot are gone, they're gone for good.

The gun carriage is a multipart plastic kit that allows you to build a track unit with either a turreted or fixed-mount weapon, and four different weapons that slot into place on either variant.


Examples of different weapon variants.

Although not being sold as a part of the core Maelstrom's Edge range, this kit is useful for those looking for a plastic track unit for conversions, or wanting to add some heavier firepower to their games. You can find unofficial rules to use the Epirian 'Thunderbolt' sentry drone in Maelstrom's Edge V2 in the Downloads section here. You can also find a walkthrough for converting an Epirian Uplink Drone using the gun carriage's track unit, an Epirian Hunter, and some other bits and pieces here.


An Epirian Thunderbolt provides some heavy support to ward off a Remnant fire team.

Start building your army of robotically offensive doom by grabbing your gun carriage from the webstore here!

- by Iain Wilson

In science fiction or fantasy wargaming, canon is the collection of stories, background text and artwork that gives the setting life. It tends to evolve as the game does. Early ideas may change into something different as the game expands. New ideas can be added in and third-party material may creep into the mix. Something mentioned in passing might be dropped completely, leading to questions about whether or not it still applies. As time goes on, it can become increasingly difficult to codify exactly what is and isn't still canon.



Some fans take great pleasure in diving deep into this background material, learning as much about the setting as they can. Others take a more casual approach, having a passing familiarity with their faction of choice and not paying much attention to the rest. Many find the background material interesting to read, but without feeling the need to memorise every detail. Some ignore it completely, viewing the game purely through the lens of its ruleset. At the end of the day, it's your hobby, and whichever of these approaches suits you is absolutely fine. The thing to remember is: other hobbyists' view of canon doesn't have to be the same as yours.

For Maelstrom's Edge, we hope that the game's background material will provide inspiration for your hobby. To that end, you should always feel free to take as much or as little from it as you want. Build your force strictly around the published canon, or use it as a launchpad to create a custom background for your force - we love to see hobbyists put their own spin on the universe we have created!

But what happens when your homebrew fiction conflicts with the canon? Maybe you missed some explanation in the official material, or you deliberately chose to ignore a given piece of fiction because you preferred an alternative. Maybe you created something new that doesn't exist in official material. Or, having chosen a force from a colour scheme picture, you created a background for them that turns out to be different from what we publish for them later on. Whatever the reason, your homebrew background material doesn't fit perfectly with 'official' canon, so... now what?

The short answer is - nothing happens.

Your canon is still yours. If it doesn't exactly match what we have published, we're not going to send a SecDef strike team to destroy your miniatures. We would much rather see people enjoying their hobby the way they want to, than feeling the need to change things because they might be considered 'wrong' in some way. How you approach that is up to you. If, for example, your homebrewed Epirian franchise background winds up different to the version we introduce for them, you could change your force to keep up with the evolving canon. However, you could also just treat your force as a splinter group that’s different to the rest of the franchise. There could be multiple franchises going by the same name (It's a big, confusing mess out there with the Maelstrom causing a ruckus!). Your franchise might be from a different point in the timeline, or an alternate timeline altogether. Or, it could just be different because that's what you want it to be. And any of those options is just as valid as any other.

We love the setting we have created for Maelstrom's Edge, and it gives us no end of pleasure to hear from hobbyists who also love it and want to dive deeper into it, whether that's through our fiction or homebrew creations. We want you to enjoy the hobby your way. It's a big universe, full of possibilities, and we're excited to explore it with you!

---

When Iain isn’t waxing lyrical about gaming, he’s locked in the basement working on modeling tutorials, army spotlights and conversion walkthroughs, which you can find in the Hobby section of the Maelstrom's Edge website here. And while you're there, grab a copy of the Maelstrom's Edge V2 Beta rules!

SecDef forces excel at rapid insertions and mobile strikes against enemy positions. Sometimes though, even these elite troops run up against opposition that is too well entrenched for a normal assault. Against these targets, boostpack-equipped Rapid Intervention Teams are brought to bear. Selected from amongst the most skilled SecDef veterans and armed with twin Araldyne CB22 Assault Carbines, Rapid Intervention Teams use the greater mobility afforded by their boostpacks to outflank and surprise enemy defenses, quickly overwhelming them with a hail of deadly short-ranged firepower. Where an extra punch is required, Rapid Intervention Teams are equipped with Araldyne CF13 Clingfire Sprayers or FG19 Flakk Guns: more effective and streamlined versions of these ubiquitous weapons, typical of the improvements Araldyne is able to create.


A SecDef Rapid Intervention Team from the Forthrast Reconnaissance Division assaults a patrol of Broken insurgents.

This digital model pack contains STL files for 5 Epirian SecDef Boostpack Troops, used in Epirian forces as Rapid Intervention Teams. Includes both supported and unsupported versions, and multiple equipment options.


The included components.

You can find the rules for using SecDef Rapid Intervention Teams in your Epirian force in the downloads section of the Maelstrom's Edge website here.

Start building your elite army of defensively secure doom by grabbing your troopers from the webstore here!

The past few months have been a little more quiet than usual, as the Maelstrom's Edge team focused on getting the V2 rulebook finished. The good news is: We're finally there! We've hammered out the last of the kinks and polished things up as much as we can, and the book is finally ready to send to the printers!


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So, what's next?

Well, we've still been working on other bits and pieces in the background. We currently have a new plastic frame in tooling that includes four separate small kits - two to bolster the upcoming Kaigus Pact release, some upgrades for the Epirian SecDef, and a plastic replacement for the resin Epirian Contractor Drone!


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Our rollout of 3D printable STL files to go alongside our resin model range is also set to continue, with Epirian SecDef boostpack troops on their way at the start of July.


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After that, there is plenty more to come! We have a number of models currently in development to flesh out gaps in the existing range, along with the aforementioned Kaigus Pact entering the battle as a new faction. We'll have more on these very soon.


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And now that he's released from editing duties, Iain will be getting back to work on modeling articles and battle reports to showcase the new rules. Stay tuned!

In the meantime, try out the Beta version of the V2 rules by grabbing the PDFs from the Maelstrom's Edge website here, and grab models to assemble your force from the webstore here! Free shipping applies to qualifying orders - check your cart for details.

You can also find a series of articles looking at different aspects of the V2 game here.

If you have any questions on the V2 rules, the model range, or any other aspect of the Maelstrom's Edge game, feel free to pop in to the Comm Guild Facebook group here.

- by Iain Wilson

It's been way too long since I made some terrain, so I thought I would squeeze in one last article before Christmas!

My kids had some juice in a takeaway meal the other day that came in an interestingly shaped bottle that I thought was worth having a play with. After giving the empty bottles a wash, I set to with tools and terrain sprue bits and came up with this little advertising hub.




The first step, as mentioned above, was to wash the bottle and remove the label.



I used a razor saw to remove the screw thread part of the neck, and then gave the cut end a bit of a sand to smooth it down.



Then I sprayed inside the bottle with some grey paint. This isn't an essential step, but it does help to make the finished piece a little more opaque, particularly if the exterior paintwork gets scratched on the table later on.



To disguise the bottle's bottom, I grabbed an appropriately sized miniature base and a trio of fans from the second Maelstrom's Edge Terrain Sprue and glued them in place with some Oily Glue.



For the advertising part of the build, I whipped up some signs to fit into the recesses around the bottle, printing them out on photo paper so that they were nice and glossy and bright.



On to painting! I sprayed the bottle with a medium grey primer, and then a zenithal layer (sprayed from an angle above, to leave the darker grey underneath) of a very pale grey. This went straight over the shiny plastic, as the Rustoleum primer that I use generally sticks fairly well. If you're wanting to make your paint more durable and stick better, you can give the outside of the bottle a light sand with some fine sandpaper to break the gloss.



I added in some dark grey (Vallejo Heavy Charcoal) into the deep creases, and added a couple of strips of yellow using Vallejo Nuclear Yellow.



Next up came some weathering with a sponge and some more Heavy Charcoal, before gluing the signs in place.



Finally, I painted up the fans on top with some a Vallejo Beasty Brown basecoat, a drybrush of Citadel Chainmail and a wash of Army Painter Strong Tone, and then dirtied everything up with a drybrush of some more Beasty Brown into the creases and forming some drip marks down the sides. Then I dropped it onto an old base I had prepared a while back, and it was ready for the table!



If you wanted to break up the original bottle shape some more, you could easily add some supporting buttresses around the bottom, or add some lights above the signs.



To build your own pillar of commercial doom, grab the Maelstrom's Edge terrain sprues from the webstore here!

What are you working on? We would love to see your models and terrain in the Comm Guild Facebook group!

For other building ideas, modeling tutorials, army spotlights and conversion walkthroughs, check out the Hobby section of the Maelstrom's Edge website here. And while you're there, grab a copy of the Maelstrom's Edge V2 Beta rules!