Special thanks to Gray Matter Gaming for providing magnetic movement trays for review, in addition to the ones purchased by the reviewer.
Roughly 5 minutes into a game of Age of Sigmar at Adepticon I realized something. Fielding 60 grots and 40 squigs is a lot more fun in theory than in practice. Not because they don’t do well on the table (squigs are terrifying) but because pushing around 100 tiny models in large units sucks eggs.
My opponent graciously offered me a couple of plastic movement trays, but he only had a couple extra. I resolved immediately that I’d pick some up if I could find them, despite the plastic tray elements having their own issues. I’d take ease of movement over issues with piling in and rigidity any day.
Lucky for me, it turns out I don’t have to take that trade off. While wandering the vendor hall I came across Gray Matter Gaming’s booth and saw their slim magnetic movement trays. These movement trays come in various sizes and orientations, like most movement trays, but what set them apart is that they’re designed for magnetized models and have zero overhang.
I’d seen them before, but never had a chance to put my hands on them and Gray Matter graciously allowed me to set some minis up on the trays and mess around with them. They even showed how the magnetic trays will stick themselves to magnetized storage solutions and hold magnetized models down. You can go straight from storage to deployment.
I was sold. I bought a giant stack of 25mm cloud trays and at the recommendation of Gray Matter went home and used hot glue to stick 100 tiny magnets to 100 tiny greenskins and convince myself this was a totally fine and totally normal thing for a grown dad in his 30s to do.
While the process of magnetizing 100 models isn’t great, it’s already something I do with most of my minis as I find magnetized storage solutions the best for going to and from stores and events. The only change I had make was figure out a way to get the magnets exactly flush with the floor. A little gap and separation is fine for storage trays, but flush contact is necessary for these movement trays.
My method, as recommended by Gray Matter, was to put a big blob of hot glue on the underside of the base, press the magnet into the blob, and then press the entire model down onto a cookie sheet protected with wax paper. Once I got the process down it worked fine. Cookie sheets are magnetic, so they hold the magnet flush with the ground while the hot glue sets. Give them plenty of time to dry and the magnet will hold fast when you pull your models off.
As you can see, movement becomes fun and easy. The models hold strong enough to survive movement and jostling but can also easy slide off the movement tray for piling in or more precise movement. Because there is no lip and trays are cut to the exact size, using these is smoother than using the clear plastic GW trays I used at Adepticon.
Gray Matter offers magnetic movement trays in various sizes and shape configurations, and offered to send some 32mm clouds along with the battle mats I reviewed previously. They function identically, and are perfect for my 2 large squads of Boingrot Bounders. In the below picture I’ve stuck the models to their Gray Matter movement trays and then put them on my steel storage trays to show how secure they are.
Overall, the trays work perfectly. They’re simple but sometimes simple is all you need. Flat flush trays that go straight from storage to the table have legitimately eliminated over 20 minutes of fussing with models both before and after my games with my Gitz. I can’t see myself building a horde army and not considering these critical.
Trays retail for anywhere between $2.75 and $3.50 depending on size and configuration, with discounts available for purchasing in sets of 5.Â
