The Rumour Thread

[CeleFAZE]

I think vampires are going to shape up to be more of a powerful, elite, finesse army with this new look. Death currently has tanky elites in the form of the Ossiarchs, fast aggressive tricky hordes with Nighthaunt, and hordey meatgrinders with Flesheaters. What's missing is a more tactical elite army with good mobility, and rapier-wielding vampires (pirate-themed or no) would fill a gap in the current lineup. I can imagine they might also be the first death army with archers.

[Baron Klatz]

Yeah, really helps that vampires are a common race in Shyish to where we've seen monasteries, towns and grand ballrooms full of them in the lore that do some middle-level jobs like musicians.

That puts them in a much better place to be a Soulblight army actually made up of vampires acting like bloodthirsty aelven units that are willing to use weapons like guns alongside bows instead of a few vamp lords surrounded by shuffling deadwalkers & deathrattlers to make up their numbers.

[BaylorCorvette]

20 minutes ago, CeleFAZE said:

I think vampires are going to shape up to be more of a powerful, elite, finesse army with this new look. Death currently has tanky elites in the form of the Ossiarchs, fast aggressive tricky hordes with Nighthaunt, and hordey meatgrinders with Flesheaters. What's missing is a more tactical elite army with good mobility, and rapier-wielding vampires (pirate-themed or no) would fill a gap in the current lineup. I can imagine they might also be the first death army with archers.

As a Legion of Blood, Soulblight & Khorne player, I've wanted to make use of some sort of ranged units and/or deepstrike / mobile gimmick unit. A Vampire army as you described would fit both those which is exactly what I would want. So I certainly hope you're right.

[Black_Templar_Lad]

That teaser image has me excited. The way people have described Vampires currently in lore and with these teasers, I'm getting the Venthyr vibes from World of Warcraft. Bloodthirsty nobility with lots of swag.

Gotta say, I want my honour bound Blood Knights in baroque armour with JoJo levels of physique but still excited to see how the new Soulblight turn out. 

The vampire hunter also leads me to believe there will be more to see than this Warband. There is no currently rumoured 'human'/CoS Warband so it would make little sense to have a box set including a Vampire Hunter with no Vampires to slay, nor would it make sense to release a stand alone vampire hunter for mainland AoS, when the Vampire set is only tied to a Warband. 

Conclusion: hype.

Edited January 8, 2021 by Black_Templar_Lad

[Sance]

13 minutes ago, Black_Templar_Lad said:

That teaser image has me excited. The way people have described Vampires currently in lore and with these teasers, I'm getting the Venthyr vibes from World of Warcraft. Bloodthirsty nobility with lots of swag.

I'm a huge venthyr enthusiast ! Well of course i don't think GW design will look like the vampire in world of warcraft . (Simply because the extension released a few months ago, and development for this warband was probably way before the game released)

For people that don't play world of warcraft, here's some artworks.

Spoiler

 

i would like gargoyles units ...

thisartwork have huge Sylvania  / classic Dracula vibes

 

 

I'll need some more Sigmarite Mosoleum terrain set if this army is in AoS lol

Edited January 8, 2021 by Sance
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[CommissarRotke]

4 hours ago, BaylorCorvette said:

Based on this picture, here is what I am hoping for:

-Awesome Sword

-Pistol in belt

-Wings folded behind back

-Better not be knife ears

my first reaction to this was "that's Vlad reborn" but it could be Konrad since he's already had a rapier.

[Neverchosen]

1 hour ago, CeleFAZE said:

I think vampires are going to shape up to be more of a powerful, elite, finesse army with this new look. Death currently has tanky elites in the form of the Ossiarchs, fast aggressive tricky hordes with Nighthaunt, and hordey meatgrinders with Flesheaters. What's missing is a more tactical elite army with good mobility, and rapier-wielding vampires (pirate-themed or no) would fill a gap in the current lineup. I can imagine they might also be the first death army with archers.

I really want an elite death army based on renaissance depictions of angels. I think Lore wise they would be used as a means of spreading the worship of Nagash to the living as a means of romanticizing the concept of death.  I also imagine him using them as another twisted take on the Stormcast. Ossiarchs were his own attempt at forging warriors but these would be his attempt at trying to create further followers. Maybe even have them be 'blessed' living followers who upon dying will become typical ghosts, zombies, or skeletons... I don't feel like Nagash would give them longer life or even reward them for their service, but rather he would see their brief empowerment in life as it's own reward. 

[sandlemad]

I don't think it's specifically Vlad or Konrad, rather that the new Soulblight warband will be very much in the tradition 7th ed. WHFB established for vampire arms and armour; swords with elaborate hilts/guards and armour in an exaggerated 15h c. gothic mould meant to emulate bat/dragon wings. The previewed swords we've seen have very strong resemblances and I think there's hints of it from the silhouette. The YA novel cover linked a few pages ago looks to have a simplified version of it as well.

[JackStreicher]

6 minutes ago, sandlemad said:

The YA novel cover linked a few pages ago looks to have a simplified version of it as well.

That‘s just the Vampire from the Zombie Dragon Box (with hair)

[sandlemad]

24 minutes ago, JackStreicher said:

That‘s just the Vampire from the Zombie Dragon Box (with hair)

That's more or less my point, that GW is happy enough putting forward new art showing vampires that look very much like the 7th ed. dudes (such as that plastic vampire lord, whose armour is a simplified version of Konrad's/Vlad's/Mannfred's to fit the plastic sculpting of the day). That says to me that they're happy sticking closely to this WHFB vampire aesthetic with the new AoS models.

[Warbossironteef]

Does anyone have any idea when the Winter FAQ is expected to be released? Do they do weekend releases? I can't remember how it usually works.

[Baron Klatz]

2 hours ago, Black_Templar_Lad said:

The vampire hunter also leads me to believe there will be more to see than this Warband. There is no currently rumoured 'human'/CoS Warband so it would make little sense to have a box set including a Vampire Hunter with no Vampires to slay, nor would it make sense to release a stand alone vampire hunter for mainland AoS, when the Vampire set is only tied to a Warband. 

I had a shower thought on this.

What if the vampire hunter is a vampire?

It'd suit the Soulblights & Nagash's twisted sense of humor to have a vampire assassin keep their commanders in line by using a turned expert at killing them. Plus it'd be more of that great AoS flavor of crazy twists on old ideas.

[OkayestDM]

9 minutes ago, Baron Klatz said:

I had a shower thought on this.

What if the vampire hunter is a vampire?

It'd suit the Soulblights & Nagash's twisted sense of humor to have a vampire assassin keep their commanders in line by using a turned expert at killing them. Plus it'd be more of that great AoS flavor of crazy twists on old ideas.

I actually considered that myself, but in the end I don't think so. While we didn't see much of the model, the overall design and aesthetic was simple, practical; almost commonplace (at least, for AoS). I can't imagine any servant of Nagash or self-respecting vampire to be anything but flamboyant and/or over the top.

[Baron Klatz]

He might not be self-respecting but enslaved to do it and just get a glimmer of joy killing fellow undead. Similar to Nagash's approach to NightHaunts, punished while being practical, like the former poachers who get their heads replaced with horse skulls.

Could be the reason for commonplace clothes too, very simple as a mild mockery of his profession so he doesn't get any fancy stuff.

Just a theory of course. Certainly would be interesting if true.

 

Edited January 8, 2021 by Baron Klatz

[Maier666]

37 minutes ago, Warbossironteef said:

Does anyone have any idea when the Winter FAQ is expected to be released? Do they do weekend releases? I can't remember how it usually works.

They said it would be in january in the next few weeks, so I think not next week but then sometime. And I think they usually do it Wednesday or Thursday I think 🤔

[MetaphoricDragon]

So in the Seraphon preview, I noticed the card refers to it as a "darkling orb"  has Darkling been used in a warhammer context other than the Dark Elf Covens?

[SirSalabean]

The teaser for the next war and looks like maybe dragon dark elf or vampire not sure 

[KingBrodd]

1 hour ago, Baron Klatz said:

I had a shower thought on this.

What if the vampire hunter is a vampire?

It'd suit the Soulblights & Nagash's twisted sense of humor to have a vampire assassin keep their commanders in line by using a turned expert at killing them. Plus it'd be more of that great AoS flavor of crazy twists on old ideas.

This would be insanely cool if true. Evil Blade!!

[Baron Klatz]

30 minutes ago, MetaphoricDragon said:

So in the Seraphon preview, I noticed the card refers to it as a "darkling orb"  has Darkling been used in a warhammer context other than the Dark Elf Covens?

I think i've seen darkling to describe some chaos territory in the lore during Realmgate Wars but it's likely just a catch-all term here instead of being the new word for Druchii(Scourge, Covens and  Serpentis have all been called Darklings). That the card artwork shows the device wreathed in darkness is probably the reason. It's turning into a blackhole of sorts to "absorb life and magic". (and fits their star theme further)

 

Edit: And yes to King Brodd. Evil Blade or enslaved Vampire Hunter D are my hopes.

Edited January 8, 2021 by Baron Klatz

[Incineroar87]

How long between the vampire warband reveal and new potential AOS vampire army reveal do you guys think ?  Is it also possible that the AOS Death army isn't vampires but is something completely new?

[KriticalKhan]

30 minutes ago, Incineroar87 said:

How long between the vampire warband reveal and new potential AOS vampire army reveal do you guys think ?  Is it also possible that the AOS Death army isn't vampires but is something completely new?

It's tough to say. Assuming Slaanesh releases in February, then that's only a couple months between the Warband and full release; I think Gitz followed a similar pattern, but there are plenty of other armies that got Warbands with no release "directly" tied to them while getting one much later. Then there are ones like Kurnothi, where we still don't even know if their Warband is indicative of a later release.

If we assume that 3rd edition is coming this summer, with an updated/new army to go with it AND that the army will be Destruction focused (the biggest assumption here), then a Death release would either have to fit in between February and whatever point in the summer 3rd ed drops, or some point in the year after that. There's a chance that it could be one of the 3rd edition launch factions, but since we already got a Death faction with Nighthaunt and since the Soul Wars narrative seems to be wrapping up, I find that to be a little unlikely.

In short: I have no idea.

[Greasygeek]

9 hours ago, Thiagoma said:

Or a pokeball. Only your paint scheme can tell 🤣

HAha if I were to paint that it would be turned into one hell of a jawbreaker😉

[Jator]

13 minutes ago, KriticalKhan said:

 

If we assume that 3rd edition is coming this summer, with an updated/new army to go with it AND that the army will be Destruction focused (the biggest assumption here), then a Death release would either have to fit in between February and whatever point in the summer 3rd ed drops, or some point in the year after that. There's a chance that it could be one of the 3rd edition launch factions, but since we already got a Death faction with Nighthaunt and since the Soul Wars narrative seems to be wrapping up, I find that to be a little unlikely.

In short: I have no idea.

We pretty much got confirmation of a new death army. The New year preview video ended with the words "Destruction. Decadence. Death".
With Decadence being obviously Chaos/Slaanesh.

Of course, the video also featured new Lumineth and they didn't write "Order" at the end,  but we saw some kind of zombie/pirate/witchhunter whatever.  I'm more puzzled about the destruction part.  Maybe, as you say, it will come with a new starter box.

[Clan's Cynic]

54 minutes ago, Incineroar87 said:

How long between the vampire warband reveal and new potential AOS vampire army reveal do you guys think ?  Is it also possible that the AOS Death army isn't vampires but is something completely new?

Khagra’s Ravagers were shown off on November 21st, so I'd say between a month or two. They usually show off some Underworlds warbands at the New York Toy Faire in February so I'd say then - if not at their virtual equivalent, then a Preview day around that time.

I'm still placing a small bet on the new Death army - assuming it's not Warhammer Quest - being Draugr though. The figure they showed off doesn't have vampiric features, but is it too well preserved to be a zombie, whilst the pose, pistol, coat and stature imply somebody of importance. 

Edited January 8, 2021 by Clan's Cynic

[alghero81]

Do we know anything on how the new lockdown affected Nottingham production? In theory they should be shut until end of February...

If a new death army is coming and is reviewing the existing models I would not mind skeletons on the line of the Sepulchral Guard. As of today that is the only warband of an existing army that looks out of context. Slaves being a hybrid between Darkoath that never realised and Warcry that at least provided some cannon fodder.