Sometimes I wonder if John Blanche has viscous, sepia-toned oil paint running through his veins in place of blood; turpentine for haemoglobin and arteries crafted of exquisite sable hair. Many hobbyists thought the legendary Warhammer artist would settle into a quiet retirement after he left Games Workshop in 2023. But if anything, his artistic output has only grown.
“Once John retired from Games Workshop at 76, he just went on being John and creating stuff,” Blanche’s close friend and career-long co-conspirator Tuomas Pirinen tells me. The pair collaborated for years at Workshop, creating fan-favourite tomes such as Warhammer 6th Edition, Realm of Chaos, and, of course, Mordheim. Pirinen designed rules and wrote lore, while Blanche did what Blanche does. Together, they are responsible for much of Games Workshop’s modern success.
Pirinen calls Blanche “Europe’s grand old man of fantasy and sci-fi art,” and it’s hard to disagree. From The Lord of the Rings to practically inventing grimdark for Warhammer 40k, Blanche has poured his heart, soul, and the majority of his career into huge IPs. Now, he’s free.
What Is John Blanche’s En Garde?
While not the first John Blanche project to hit our shelves—the Morderin miniatures and an Army Painter paint range were well received by the community—John Blanche’s En Garde is the first new game from the master since leaving Warhammer behind. As the game’s name suggests, this world comes entirely from Blanche’s mind. He created its faux-Venician setting, he designed the characters, he makes the call when it comes to scale and sculpting. But it’s Pirinen’s task to convert a series of opulent paintings and generous world building into a functional ruleset and accompanying lore.
“It’s [about] getting behind the opponent and using backstabs, jumping on tables, all those classic, Golden Age Hollywood duelling movies like The Duelists or the duel in Rob Roy,” Pirinen explains. “We want to recreate that feeling and bring it to this world that John has created, this decadent beauty. So there are rich colours, gold, silver. You can see that the models are very decorated. A lot of the rules are based on the weapons or the jewellery they carry.”
Pirinen wants to create more complex rules than those used for your standard duel. En Garde begins with movement—ripostes and counter-steps will all be key to victory. If the art suggests a Hollywood feel, Pirinen has attempted to create rules to match. After his unprecedented success with Trench Crusade, I’m willing to bet that he’s come up with something special here, too.
With various stances, weapons, and effects all taken into account, Pirinen’s description of the rules reminds me of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice in tabletop form. When he mentions that a match should take around ten to 15 minutes, I’m instantly engaged. In an era where many players, myself included, are fatigued by attritious, hours-long Warhammer matches, a short, in-depth duellist simulator could be just what we’re looking for to cure that big battle burnout.
Another interesting aspect of John Blanche’s En Garde is its scale. Instead of the widely-accepted 28mm scale, this game is produced in 54mm. This is mostly because it’s Blanche’s favourite scale, Pirinen tells me—as evidenced by his short-lived Inquisitor project at Games Workshop—but it also works well for a 1v1 standoff. Bigger models allow for more of Blanche’s expressive facial expressions and opulent jewels to be sculpted onto the miniatures, and let players spend more time painting them. The characters act as busts, centrepieces of collections that just so happen to have rules attached. Despite the short length of matches, these are miniatures to take your time with.
It’s for this reason that the miniatures will be released before the game. John Blanche’s En Garde Vanguard will Kickstart ahead of the rules, with just the miniatures available so players can paint them up ahead of the full game’s release. “The team has [already] put in a fair bit of their own pocket money,” Pirinen explains. “Because, obviously, the miniature sculptors who’ve done this, it’s their job. They need to eat. But in order to create a full game, crowdfunding is needed. So, yes, it’ll be a crowdfunding Kickstarter very, very soon.”
And Why It’s Unlike Anything We’ve Seen In Tabletop Before
It reminds me of the game studio Summer Eternal, which is crowdfunding its debut game—presently codenamed Project Red Rooster—by creating and selling a book filled with concept art, lore, and essays about the project. In both cases, fans can not only fund the full game, but get something unique in return as well. For En Garde, however, there’s a personal element, too.
“This is very much also the idea of supporting John,” says Pirinen. “Due to his [poor] health, he has lots of extra expenses, and a family took after. So we wanted to do something so that the fans can both enjoy his creativity and support him along the way, if they like the game and models. Looking at the reception to the models, I’ve got a good feeling about this. Is it going to be the biggest tabletop game ever? No, but I think it’ll find its audience.”
A 54mm duelling game is a niche within a niche, but anything with Blanche’s name on it will pique wargaming fans’ interests. If you want to stay up to date, Pirinen points towards the game’s Instagram and Facebook pages, which are releasing new Blanche artwork at a regular cadence. The glimpses of resin miniatures there are enough to whet your appetite for the opulent world, and Pirinen hints that Blanche has created far more of this world than just the faux-Venice we’re seeing with this first game.
For Blanche, a self-confessed Luddite who shies away from social media or media attention, this is a chance to flex his creative muscles and show the world what he can cook up away from major IP. His work with Warhammer is unparalleled and he’s up there with the likes of Alan Lee and John Howe when it comes to iconic Lord of the Rings artists. But now, he’s building his own worlds with his own characters, and a team of close friends and colleagues to help him turn two dimensions to three and his dreams to reality. Pirinen says, “En Garde is a chance to allow people to have a glimpse into John’s creative mind.” What more could any wargamer ask for?
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