If Games Workshop’s Warhammer 40k sci-fi setting is grim and dark, indie wargame of the moment Trench Crusade is pitch black, blending medieval religious extremism and the industrial scale death-dealing of WW1 into one hellish package. Only one thing could be scarier: Sid’s gruesome frankensteined toy monsters from the original 1996 Toy Story. So of course the Yogscast smashed the two together into one brilliant, bizarre battle report video (watch it below).
Released this week via the Yogscast’s Games Night YouTube channel, the 26 minute battle report pits a movie-accurate force of green plastic Army Men toys (under the command of Yogscast co-founder Lewis Brindley) against co-presenter Alex Kolodotschko’s rabble of genuinely frightening, scratch built toy chimeras, representing Sid’s horrific creations.
It’s just the latest of Games Night’s ambitious (and often weird) miniature wargame video projects – a few months ago they staged a 3-hour epic Siege of Terra battle on a massive custom board, and before that they played a full match of Bolt Action using scratch built Lego armies.
It’s fair to say Lewis’ olive green leader Sarge and his troops, iconic as they are, aren’t as visually impressive as the regular Warhammer 40k factions – but Alex’s self-made toy-monsters are another story, kitbashing bits of colorful kids’ toys together with old Meccano components and even disposable cutlery to create hideous hybrids with names like Legsy, Babysaurus, and Handyman.
And the short battle report (a 2.5 hour full version is available for paid channel subscribers) showcases Trench Crusade’s alternating activations and other rules in the weirdest way possible.
Bazooka shots knock giant, metal-legged, baby doll-headed spiders on their backs; gas guns melt plastic soldiers’ poor little faces; and a penguin bath toy menaces Lewis’ lines with real, spinning fork blades. We won’t spoil who wins – but Buzz Lightyear gets involved, and it’s not pretty.
Trench Crusade is kind of blowing up right now in the tabletop wargaming community. An original skirmish game, alt history lore universe, and miniature range co-created by veteran horror artist Mike Franchina, former Warhammer Fantasy lead designer Tuomas Pirinen, and 3D sculptor James Sherriff, it raised a staggering $3.3 million on Kickstarter in late 2024 to make all its new, very grim, very dark minis.
The new game’s 20,000+ backers won’t get their horrific new toys until Trench Crusade’s estimated fulfilment date of June 2025, though – hence the Yogscast boys deciding to go to desperate, Toy Story-esque lengths to get a game going. I, for one, applaud their resourcefulness.
For more on the game, read Tim Linward’s recent love letter to Trench Crusade’s “dark heart” – or you can dive deeper into the 40k universe with our complete compendium of all the 40k Primarchs, and our player’s guide to the best Warhammer 40k games on PC and console.
Plus, to get daily updates on 40k and across the tabletop world, you really should follow Wargamer on Google News.
Source: Wargamer
