For the first time in five years, Steamforged Games has released a new team for the miniature wargame that launched the company, Guild Ball. The Lumberjacks are a new minor guild that will be available both as physical, made-to-order models, and as STLs to 3D print at home. They'll be joined in cyberspace by the entire Guild Ball miniature range, which will be available as STLs for the first time ever.
Guild Ball is a skirmish miniature wargame based on medieval mob football, a time when tackles were harder and weapons were positively encouraged. Each team represents a professional guild, so your gang of Shepherds might face off against Brewers or Blacksmiths. Victory can be achieved both by scoring goals and by taking down your opponent's players.
We've got the art for two of the teammates to show you, the dashing Tinder and mighty Oak. To the best of my knowledge there's no Tartan paint in the P3 paints for miniatures range, so matching the concept art is going to be a bit of a challenge!
SFG hasn't revealed the rules for the Lumberjacks yet, but states they are "as good at racking up goals as they are at cutting through opponents". They're deft hands with the axe, of course! SFG developed the rules for the Lumberjacks in parternship with the Guild Ball Community Project, the community volunteers who shepherded the game after Steamforged stepped away.
The Lumberjacks are a 'minor team', which means that they can include players from an existing team, the Masons, and visa versa. SFG tells us that there's 15 minis to reveal, some of them Lumberjack-themed versions of existing Mason characters, and Masonic versions of some of the Lumberjacks. All Guild Ball teams come with a mascot, inevitably the cutest part of the team, but there's no word yet on what it will be for the Lumberjacks. A woodpecker? A beaver? I really hope it's a beaver.
Pre-orders are open for the Lumberjacks (either as physical minis or STLs) right now, with the kit set to release some time in mid November. The rest of the Guild Ball range will be coming to My Minifactory.
Steamforged shut down production of Guild Ball in 2020, but brought it back on a print on demand basis in 2023. It also made an STL version of the Guild Ball starter set available for free, which comes with starter teams for the Masons and the Brewers - and that's available right now if you want to give it a punt.
Are you a Guild Ball old timer? Or a Blood Bowl player looking to try something new? We'd love to see your teams in the Wargamer Discord community.
Guild Ball is a design relative of Warmachine - Steamforged Games' founders Rich Loxham and Mat Hart were both active in the Warmachine tournament circuit when they developed Guild Ball. Things have come full circle as SFG acquired Warmachine in 2024. We're fast approaching Lock and Load, Warmachine's big convention - I'll be watching with baited breath for news of the most audacious plans revealed at Adepticon this year.