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Soon to join The Old World once more, alongside the High Elf army, Warhammer is bringing back the rare and elusive Merwyrm. It comes as part of the Arcane Tome lands, and hasn't been seen for over a decade. Considering the High Elf Realms are generally considered a place of scholarly work and refined crafts, it may seem a little out of character for them to be stomping onto the battlefield with this underwater tyrant.
That doesn't stop it being a gorgeous design, and one surely worthy of a place in the High Elf ranks. It certainly has the potential to make players of the best adult board games quiver in their boots, anyhow.
In a Facebook post last year, Warhammer miniature design veteran Trish Carden outlines the design process, and how much of a faff it was. She explains that "The Merwyrm was the first creature [she] sculpted for Forgeworld when [she] joined them".
"It’s still one of my favourite sculpts", says Carden. And it's no wonder with the Warhammer blog spouting lore like this to back up the creature:
"Distant, watery cousins of the dragons, among the most ancient beasts in the Old World. The Sea Lords sometimes summon and bind them to their will, letting them loose in battle, battering and eviscerating the foe with their heavy bulk and sharp claws – a dark, watery foil to the nobility of the dragons above."
This beast stands unwaveringly monstrous against its High Elf compatriots, touting an Abyssal Cloak ability that makes ranged attacks harder and Enfeebling Cold which reduces the Strength characteristic of all those in base contact with the beast.
Carden says the shipwreck the monster is seen sitting on was designed by Stuart Williamson, and was the perfect foundation for the Merwyrm, but she still needed to make the base for it all to sit on. For the base, Carden says she "Used real pebbles and also carved some from polyurethane sheet, which Stu had used to make the wreck."
The post goes on, "I detailed up the rotten wood of the wreck and the base with barnacles, seaweed and small sea creatures, adding some gold coins and a skeleton for good measure! I intended to echo some of these details on the body of the Merwyrm to really tie it into its environment."
As for designing the creature itself, it was a case of constantly checking the armature as Carden bulked it out with putty, making sure it would be sitting in the right place. "I certainly wished I had two pairs of hands at some points" she says, noting that "The most difficult part was positioning the creature on the wreck."
"It took a lot of adjusting and a fair bit of unladylike language," she makes clear. "I sculpted it all in one piece, baked it and then cut it up which allowed me to make any small adjustments needed to make sure that it fitted on the wreck properly."
Sounds like the process was super fiddly, then. I think it's important to recognise the hard work that goes into these Warhammer designs, and it looks like Carden really gave it her all. Just something to remember when you're complaining that Warhammer kits are awkward as heck to put together: the designer probably had it worse.
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