Episode 22 of The Meelas starts by discussing Spearhead Studios’ newly announced Martyrdom, the historical sandbox wargame with Chapter Master Valrak among the team.

We take a look at what we’ve seen so far: the First Crusade setting, the miniatures, the presentation and the mixture of familiar wargaming ideas being brought together into something new.

Which naturally leads us to a terrible idea.

If we could Frankenstein our ideal tabletop wargame together from everything we’ve played, what would we steal?

By the end we somehow blend Bolt Action, Infinity, Warhammer 40,000 2nd Edition, Horus Heresy, Middle-earth, BattleTech and more lurking inside the monster. Would you actually play the game we accidentally designed? More importantly: where’s the bloat?

Before all that, we catch up on Blood Bowl, our 2nd Edition campaign and an unusually busy historical hobby table at the Meelas.

This week on The Meelas, we venture into the Veil of the Twisted Sands.

Created here in the UAE by Mirage Studios, Veil of the Twisted Sands is a 5E-compatible Arabian fantasy TTRPG setting blending the history, folklore and culture of the Middle East with cosmic horror, eldritch threats and a world already scarred by catastrophe.

We’re joined at the Meelas by Mirage Studios’ Jawad, Zaahir and Fabio to talk about how the project came together, building an Arabian fantasy setting from inside the region, choosing D&D 5E as its mechanical foundation, and creating new systems including Schools of Thought, Omen Shifts, travel and madness.

We also dive into the Astrologer and Mystic classes, Falconers, Unseen, regional character options and the challenge of balancing player power against a world that is supposed to remain genuinely dangerous.

And, most importantly, we actually played it.

After a spoiler-free discussion of how the setting and adventure felt at our table, we go into full spoilers on our prerelease one-shot: what the players did, what Simon changed behind the GM screen, what completely went off-script and what Mirage learned from seeing another group get their hands on the adventure.

FULL ONE-SHOT SPOILERS BEGIN AT 46:54.

We finish by looking beyond the one-shot at travel through the Blighted Lands, madness and campaign play, the current state of development, Mirage Studios’ artwork and miniatures, the forthcoming Kickstarter and where you can meet the team next.

Sign up for the Veil of the Twisted Sands Newsletter at www.miragestudiosae.com to stay up to date on the release of their first TTRPG

Blood Bowl takes the Warhammer world, gives it some sportsball, and somehow strategy, risk management and extreme sporting violence has become one of Games Workshop’s most enduring and beloved games.

This week on The Meelas, Simon and Ibrahim take a proper deep dive into Blood Bowl after three games at the Meelas kicked off our involvement in the Emirates Blood Bowl League. We talk High Elves vs Khorne, Dwarves vs Vampires, an Abu Dhabi vs Dubai Blood Bowl day and one Dragon Prince who refuses to a) work and b) stay dead.

Then we get into what makes Blood Bowl work: its history and lore, the huge variety of teams, risk management, Nuffle, league progression, player development, getting started with your first team and why Blood Bowl makes such a good side game alongside larger wargaming projects.

Somewhere along the way, we eventually come up with what might be the best description of Blood Bowl yet: “Whimsical risk management.”

The Meelas is an Abu Dhabi wargaming podcast hosted by Simon and Ibrahim, covering Warhammer, tabletop gaming, painting, campaigns and the UAE wargaming community.

Available on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts and more.