This year marks the first time Privateer Press will be sending staff to the annual WARMACHINE & HORDES World Team Championship.

Earlier this year, representatives from the WTC committee extended an invitation to Privateer to attend and stream some of the key events of the weekend, and we jumped at the chance. So, in a few weeks, Privateer’s Convention Manager John Swinkels and Lead Sculptor Doug Hamilton will set off for Blankenberge, Belgium, where they will livestream and provide commentary for as much of the event as possible.

The World Team Championship is an exhilarating event, drawing teams of players from all over the world to represent their countries in the pinnacle of tabletop miniatures competitions. In honor of this annual celebration of warjack and warbeast rivalry, Privateer proposed two initiatives we would like to make an annual tradition beginning at the 2022 World Team Championship, and the WTC has kindly obliged.

First, we wanted to find a way to commemorate the achievement of this year’s winning team with something that everyone can actually put on the tabletop. So, we proposed the annual National Victory Banner Miniature. The objective is to work with the winning team each year to produce a new standard bearer (or an equivalent) miniature that celebrates that team’s national heritage. The winning team will choose the Faction and the army this miniature will be drawn from and will provide suggestions for elements that could be incorporated into the design of the new miniature. We will also design the new banner to reflect the national flag or a national symbol from the winning team’s home country. Then, at the WTC the following year, the National Victory Banner Miniature will be released as an official variant of the model it’s based on, and the winning team will receive copies of the result for their effort. 

Our second initiative is to create what we have christened the Annual Torchbearer Award. This yearly accolade is intended to applaud one of the WTC teams for the leadership and inspiration they bring to their fellow community members. Each year, we’ll produce a custom item bearing the Torchbearer symbol that we’ve created to embody this award, and we’ll present it to the recipients, who will be chosen from nominees suggested by the WTC community. Due to scheduling this year, we solicited the nominations from the WTC committee, but in the future, nominations will be conducted via an online nomination form. 

Through the Torchbearer Award, we hope to recognize exemplary World Team Champion teams that embody the spirit of sportsmanship, camaraderie, and goodwill that brings people together from all corners of the world to celebrate this amazing community and an event like no other.

We look forward to being part of this year’s World Team Championship festivities, and we look forward to beginning a pair of new traditions that we hope will highlight the global community of WARMACHINE & HORDES players for many years to come.