The Rumour Thread

[Beliman]

6 minutes ago, Neil Arthur Hotep said:

Could be a list building choice like KO articles, amendments and footnotes.

 

Is this really supposed to play like I am reading it?

You get to reroll only one die per unit that shoots?

Yep, that's how I understand it too (maybe we are going to see more things like that...?).

And Hobgrots can't use the Waaagh (only orruks) bonus or Big Yeller's bonus (only Big Yeller's Orruks). So, no teleport/ambush and throw grenades.

[Neil Arthur Hotep]

2 minutes ago, Beliman said:

Yep, that's how I understand it too (maybe we are going to see more things like that...?).

And Hobgrots can't use the Waaagh (only orruks) bonus or Big Yeller's bonus (only Big Yeller's Orruks). So, no teleport/ambush and throw grenades.

That seems really underwhelming at first glance, then. I guess that must mainly be for the big ballista we have not yet seen the rules for (which I honestly forgot was a thing until I wrote this post).

[sorokyl]

34 minutes ago, Snarff said:

So nothing for Ironjawz or Bonesplitterz after all? This is a really bad omen for souped armies if their fate is to be outshined by the new army that gets souped along with them without even getting a single model.

Relax, they are obviously gonna preview rules for new units that they are trying to sell you (you've already bought IJ/BS). You'll have to wake until someone has the full tome in hand to really get a good picture of how subfactions compare. 

[PJetski]

44 minutes ago, PrimeElectrid said:

https://www.warhammer-community.com/2021/07/27/the-realms-arent-ready-for-the-orruk-warclans-battletomes-dirty-tricks-and-stinky-monsters/
 

Rules preview so soon! This is much earlier than I expected. Could this mean the battletomes are coming earlier in august rather than later?

Feels like the 40k writers have stepped in to assist with writing rules. Not in terms of power level, but in terms of putting gameplay first when considering the rules.

I'm okay with that paradigm shift. AOS rules were always a slave to the narrative (often creating wildly powerful or underpowered units/armies) rather than working together with the narrative to make a more satisfying gameplay experience.

[HollowHills]

I suspect the hobgrots are for chorfs primarily and orruk warclans second.

[Twisted Firaun]

6 minutes ago, HollowHills said:

I suspect the hobgrots are for chorfs primarily and orruk warclans second.

I would hope so, after all they’ve been teasing chorfs for Almost 3-4 years now.

[Nezzhil]

58 minutes ago, sorokyl said:

I am pretty sure this is just a lazy toss up to sell more models. Similar to the Mega Gargant and Kragnos being playable in many factions. It doesn't necessarily mean it will work well in other armies (They want to sell the models, but nobody wants to see the same dragon twice on every table). But we shall see! 

From todays article (battletome preview):


Someone spent a long time setting up these scenes and photographing. They're trying to incorporate all the cool new models. I make two observations:

1. No Calvary. If it's coming, I would think that its part of a second wave. The only hold out of hope for calvary is that I don't see the mounted hero either, so perhaps the photos are carefully cropped to not show the flanking orruks. 
2. RIP hobgrots (as a thing in warclans).  Only in one photo, hidden in the background. This (a little) reinforces my opinion these were an after thought, thrown in, because they couldn't think of a better thing to put in the box  (The last SEVEN (going back to black reach & isle of blood) GW launch boxes before this have the "bad guys" have a 20 strong unit of weaker dudes to make the "good guys" feel more elite and powerful.  So GW seems really attached to that idea and for some reason the Orruks this time were "too big/elite" for that slot). 

So. I think this is suggesting we are done with model reveals and ready to get on with the battletome 

I'm very sad right now and my compulsive instinct to buy all the Destruction releases is going away...

[sandlemad]

1 hour ago, sorokyl said:

Someone spent a long time setting up these scenes and photographing. They're trying to incorporate all the cool new models. I make two observations:

1. No Calvary. If it's coming, I would think that its part of a second wave. The only hold out of hope for calvary is that I don't see the mounted hero either, so perhaps the photos are carefully cropped to not show the flanking orruks. 
[...]
So. I think this is suggesting we are done with model reveals and ready to get on with the battletome 

Maybe but then as you say there isn't the mounted killaboss there, among other bits of the new hotness, so I don't think this is meant to be all that comprehensive a photo. Wouldn't be the first time GW did promo shots before all minis have been revealed either, the 9th ed. space marine book had quite a few units that just weren't shown until close to release, even after rules previews.

I'm thinking a separate plastic killaboss to match the battletome cover and some of this cavalry that has been hinted at by folks who have otherwise been fairly spot on seem plausible. Definitely struggling to see what might be in the tome to make hobgrots half-decent though.

 

[Neverchosen]

3 hours ago, Greybeard86 said:

I'd like the octopus, but I do feel the serpent is more atuned to the "mythological" approach of AoS.

But yes, it is unlikely that idoneth get much more love in the near future. Do they not sell? I don't get it, they are a faction that is easy to expand on.

Not to take away from sea serpents and their prevalence, but the Kraken, Akkorokamui, Hydra and the Lusca would all like a word with you! In fact unnamed giant cephalopods are a staple of countless myths and sea faring traditions, the only reason that they may not seem mythological is simply because they ended up being real! The obsession with giant cephalopods has not waned in contemporary pop culture, ranging from Jules Verne and Lovecraft to Pirates of the Caribbean and Harry Potter, people have always had an absurd interest in the somewhat alien appeal of these underwater invertebrates.

Edited July 27, 2021 by Neverchosen

[Chikout]

Gw released their financial report today. 

Cursed city gets a name check. Looks like they simply didn't make enough. 

There also may be some hope for digital battletomes

[PrimeElectrid]

4 minutes ago, Chikout said:

Gw released their financial report today. 

Cursed city gets a name check. Looks like they simply didn't make enough. 

There also may be some hope for digital battletomes

Holy ****** they doubled profit

[Beastmaster]

30 minutes ago, Neverchosen said:

Not to take away from sea serpents and their prevalence, but the Kraken, Akkorokamui, Hydra and the Lusca would all like a word with you! In fact unnamed giant cephalopods are a staple of countless myths and sea faring traditions, the only reason that they may not seem mythological is simply because they ended up being real! The obsession with giant cephalopods has not waned in contemporary pop culture, ranging from Jules Verne and Lovecraft to Pirates of the Caribbean and Harry Potter, people have always had an absurd interest in the somewhat alien appeal of these underwater invertebrates.

What squidologist has not thought of what it would be like to have a mantle? What squidologist has not thought how much more fun to have a funnel?

[jhamslam]

1 hour ago, PJetski said:

Feels like the 40k writers have stepped in to assist with writing rules. Not in terms of power level, but in terms of putting gameplay first when considering the rules.

I'm okay with that paradigm shift. AOS rules were always a slave to the narrative (often creating wildly powerful or underpowered units/armies) rather than working together with the narrative to make a more satisfying gameplay experience.

Well it doesnt help that theres 2 heads for AOS
A fun narrative chill guy

and a former playtester WAAC guy who sneaks in broken stuff as long as hes having fun

[PrimeElectrid]

Hey look GW are making a big deal of their IP in their financial statement. It’s almost like this has huge value to them and they want to control it carefully rather than being moustache-twirling villains that want to ruin your fun.

[silverstu]

16 minutes ago, Chikout said:

Gw released their financial report today. 

Cursed city gets a name check. Looks like they simply didn't make enough. 

There also may be some hope for digital battletomes

Yeah I saw that re:cursed city, Mauler on Dakka/Bolter said they simply hadn't expected that level of demand [they had ordered 4 times the stock of Blackstone]. They have bought 2 new pieces of land beside their existing factories to expand further. Seems they are working flat out to try and meet demand - permanent nightshifts and weekend shifts.. 

Nice that all staff are getting a bonus too. 

[AngryPanda]

1 hour ago, PJetski said:

Feels like the 40k writers have stepped in to assist with writing rules. Not in terms of power level, but in terms of putting gameplay first when considering the rules.

I'm okay with that paradigm shift. AOS rules were always a slave to the narrative (often creating wildly powerful or underpowered units/armies) rather than working together with the narrative to make a more satisfying gameplay experience.

To be honest, this has me a bit nervous. I’ve been collecting Warhammer for a little over 10 years. I was first introduced to 40k via Dawn of War 1, leading me to buy the Black Reach box set soon after.
 

There’s something I’ve observed of 40k over years of watching it evolve and change over time: it’s never balanced. In fact, with each edition there’s slew of unbalancing issues that have riddled the game’s mechanics. Grey Knight nemesis weapons instantly killed whatever they touched towards the end of 5th edition; Eldar-Tau armies created from the flawed allied matrix introduced in 6th edition dominated the tournament scene; Tyranids were one of the weakest armies in 6th, and were nerfed into oblivion (causing the 40k community to go into an uproar); D weapons were awful to play against; everyone and their dog had a Knight army with guardsman conscripts as cheap objective holders, etc. 

Part of the reason I stopped playing 40k a couple years back is because of how volatile the game system is. Tau used to be a scourge to deal with, and now they’re one of the weakest armies to play. Despite how common Imperial Knights used to be, Knights are now rarely see the tabletop because of the change to objective scoring and allied units. In 9th, all imperial space marines have 2 wounds, whereas Chaos have yet to receive the update that could of easily been introduced via a quick FAQ. Also, don’t get me started on those poor genestealer cultists   I remember how excited everyone was when they were announced, and they have been at the bottom of the barrel since their release a couple years back. There isn’t any meaningful consistency within the system.
 

AoS has its flaws (a bit unknown right now with the introduction of 3rd), but throughout its relatively short lifespan it’s felt far more stable compared to 40k. I’m both a Hedonites of Slaanesh and Blades of Khorne player, two armies that are considered weaker in the current meta; I would gladly play these two within AoS’ system as opposed to being considered one of the weakest in 40k. 
 

Personally, I’d rather have the 40k rules team stay within 40k, and the AoS rules team focus on improving internal balance while listing to feedback from the community. Some of the better rules we’ve received have been a result of GW and community working in tangent via various feedback sources. This magic has somewhat been lost recently (arguably due to covid and the lack of tournament data), but hopefully they continue to adopt stronger community interaction policies when balancing the game, instead of adopting some of the 40k rules. 

[sorokyl]

7 minutes ago, silverstu said:

Yeah I saw that re:cursed city, Mauler on Dakka/Bolter said they simply hadn't expected that level of demand [they had ordered 4 times the stock of Blackstone].

Meaning what they had on hand? I hope they aren't implying cursed city was 4x total order of Blackstone 

You just can't convince me that there wasn't some logistical issue here. Blackstone fortress was a hit. It also came out 2 years ago and the core game is still in stock. Either they did multiple runs, or made a TON.  It's so popular, the expansions (which were single runs), are selling for up to TEN TIMES their value on ebay (seriously, $15 packs of cards sell for $150). 

Given all that, you tell me they made a bunch of Cursed City, sold all of it in a day, and then never spoke about it again? They didn't plan any expansions (which would have already been printed, you would think)? $200 USD for a few sprues and some paper goods and they're not gonna make anymore? (but they are still fine selling 8 sprues of Ork Stompa for $100). (Also, why make more Blackstone and not more Cursed City? Same cost and MSRP $50 less... )

Obviously they can't lie on their financial disclosures, but they are not giving the full story. 


 

[PrimeElectrid]

Yeah the Cursed City mystery rumbles on. It’s only mentioned once and they say they simply didn’t have enough stock. They do also talk about warehousing chokepoints. Very odd. 

[Twisted Firaun]

1 hour ago, Neverchosen said:

Not to take away from sea serpents and their prevalence, but the Kraken, Akkorokamui, Hydra and the Lusca would all like a word with you! In fact unnamed giant cephalopods are a staple of countless myths and sea faring traditions, the only reason that they may not seem mythological is simply because they ended up being real! The obsession with giant cephalopods has not waned in contemporary pop culture, ranging from Jules Verne and Lovecraft to Pirates of the Caribbean and Harry Potter, people have always had an absurd interest in the somewhat alien appeal of these underwater invertebrates.

@Neverchosen good sir, you’ve forgotten the glorious Loch Ness Monster, Megalodon, and the samebito(shark demons!).

[PrimeElectrid]

Usual 🧂 applies for warcom Facebook responses but this could well be it for the kruleboyz.

[Neil Arthur Hotep]

12 minutes ago, sorokyl said:

Meaning what they had on hand? I hope they aren't implying cursed city was 4x total order of Blackstone 

That's the rumour. Supposedly, GW printed four times the copies for Cursed City initally that they did for Blackstone Fortress over that game's whole life span, and it proved so popular that it all sold out in a few hours. I don't personally know how GW does their planning in regard to how many units of a boxed game they print initally vs. how many units they expect to sell over the whole life time of the game. But if they really print all the units they ever expect to sell right up front, then this story is relatively plausible: If the game sold all of it's available copies right away, they would very likely have a hard time getting more copies made quickly, especially given the fact that the would need new printed material from china, the whole slew of problems from Covid/Brexit and the fact that they were gearing up to go into a new edition of AoS very soon after. Cursed City was only released in April. That was just 4 months ago. I can believe that they did not have time to get more copies out since then. They are already behind on the 40k side. Their response of radio silence and pulling all the promotional material seems plausible in this context, as well.

What seems most implausible about this story is the level of sales for cursed city. Four times the number of all Blackstone Fortress units seems very high. The source of the rumour is dubious, too. It's basically "I asked some staffer at Warhammer World and he just told me."

[Neil Arthur Hotep]

5 minutes ago, PrimeElectrid said:

Usual 🧂 applies for warcom Facebook responses but this could well be it for the kruleboyz.

[Chikout]

1 minute ago, PrimeElectrid said:

Usual 🧂 applies for warcom Facebook responses but this could well be it for the kruleboyz.

Unfortunately it does look like that's all we're getting for Kruleboyz. If I was to guess, I'd say the "for now" part refers to the next season of Underworlds. 

I don't think Whitefang has ever been wrong so I'm now expecting Stormcast cavalry to be the last reveal from these armies. 

[sandlemad]

10 minutes ago, PrimeElectrid said:

Usual 🧂 applies for warcom Facebook responses but this could well be it for the kruleboyz.

Ah nuts. Sounds like the generic response, possible stuff in the distant future (or not so distant, depending on what happens for S5 of WHU) but that's it for now.

It's not the end of the world. Means Kruleboys have something like 14-ish warscrolls, which is better than quite a few ranges and nearly half the Warclans book. Their variety is still weighted towards hero variants and the lack of cavalry/more hobgrot stuff is unfortunate but it's not the worst.

Edited July 27, 2021 by sandlemad

[Mutton]

5 minutes ago, PrimeElectrid said:

Usual 🧂 applies for warcom Facebook responses but this could well be it for the kruleboyz.

 

Surprising, with how many rumor sources insisted there would be some kind of wolf cavalry unit. Maybe they just saw an Underworlds or Warcry warband or something.