Despite Multiple Controversies, Trench Crusade Appears To Be A Massive Success With Miniature Wargamers

Tench Crusade is one of the most successful indie tabletop games in recent memory. Despite a number of controversies surrounding the game already, the fanbase seems to be continuing to support the game as an alternative to Warhammer 40,000 amid Games Workshop misfires and a new announcement by Trench Crusade that they’re producing a full line of plastic miniatures.

Trench Crusade hit Kickstarter by storm in 2024 as players were getting upset with Games Workshop for botching the lore of the Adeptus Custodes, and also with grumblings about the ruleset for the new Warhammer 40,000 edition. It was primed to become a WH40K competitor from the outset with a grimdark alternate history setting and crusading themes that appealed to the players.

The world of Trench Crusade is set in a nightmarish alternate history where the real-world First Crusade of 1099 goes unimaginably wrong. In its universe, the victorious Knights Templar uncover a demonic relic beneath Jerusalem that corrupts them and leads to the opening of a literal Gate to Hell. The Holy City is consumed, and demonic forces pour into the world, permanently altering history. The game’s timeline jumps forward 800 years to a dieselpunk version of 1914 to a world mired in an endless holy war between the forces of Heaven and Hell, fought across continents ravaged by infernal trench warfare. States and armies clash with gas, artillery, and relic-tech powered by alchemy and divine energy, all under a theocratic world order where religion suffuses every aspect of life