The Rumour Thread

[Draznak]

46 minutes ago, Aeryenn said:

If it's about to blow our minds it can't be Stormcast vs something. I'm expecting two fresh factions, like Malerion vs Tyrion.

It seems impossible to me that there will be no Stormcast Eternals in a new version launch.
And our Great Oracle has already implied, I think, that it would be Stormcast vs. Skavens.

[The Lost Sigmarite]

28 minutes ago, Jagged Red Lines said:

It's a weird choice of words. Blow people out of the water? That doesn't really mean what he probably thinks it means.

It's Valrak, he is known for his clickbait titles and hyperbolic tendencies. Nothing new under the sun, I wouldn't mind too much about it.

[Grungnisson]

26 minutes ago, Ogregut said:

I think most people read way to much into stuff said, on here, WarComs site and rumour mongers. 

That we do, and we do it for fun, voluntarily.

Edited September 22, 2023 by Grungnisson

[cyrus]

18 hours ago, EntMan said:

[Beliman]

2 hours ago, Aeryenn said:

If it's about to blow our minds it can't be Stormcast vs something. I'm expecting two fresh factions, like Malerion vs Tyrion.

Elves vs Elves will not "blow people out of the water". I mean, Order has 50% of Aelven armies and even two of them already had a second wave (Lumineth and Sylvaneth).

If you want to blow peoples mind, just use Duardins vs anything that needs new models: Skavens, Ogors, Grottbag Skuttlers, etc...).

[Neil Arthur Hotep]

1 minute ago, Beliman said:

Elves vs Elves will not "blow people out of the water". I mean, Order has 50% of Aelven armies and even two of them already had a second wave (Lumineth and Sylvaneth).

It might if you only care about stuff you already know from Fantasy.

 

[Flippy]

14 minutes ago, Beliman said:

Elves vs Elves will not "blow people out of the water". I mean, Order has 50% of Aelven armies and even two of them already had a second wave (Lumineth and Sylvaneth).

I can hear you, but Tyrion & Malerion would have that effect, whether you like the abundance of Elves or not.

Also, Sylvaneth are not an Elf army. Alarielle is not enough in the absence of Wardancers and Waywatchers.

[EntMan]

Firstly, in reality I don't read anything into the "blow out of the water" phrase.

however

What do we know that literally blows things out of (pressurised superheated) water? Yes, steamtanks and gyrocopters!

Revamped Ironweld Arsenal Vs Clan Skryre confirmed!

Enter the Era of the War Machine!

Edited September 22, 2023 by EntMan

[Beliman]

13 minutes ago, Neil Arthur Hotep said:

It might if you only care about stuff you already know from Fantasy.

Completely agree, but my crusade is to put Duardins at the top of the pyramid, where they belong

1 minute ago, Flippy said:

I can hear you, but Tyrion & Malerion would have that effect, whether you like the abundance of Elves or not.

Also, Sylvaneth are not an Elf army. Alarielle is not enough in the absence of Wardancers and Waywatchers.

Whatever, green Elves!

[Ejecutor]

2 minutes ago, EntMan said:

Firstly, in reality I don't read anything into the "blow out of the water" phrase.

however

What do we know that literally blows things out of (pressurised superheated) water? Yes, steamtanks and gyrocopters!

Revamped Ironweld Arsenal Vs Clan Skryre confirmed!

Enter the Era of the War Machine!

I literally thought about this. Moving Stormcast out of the boxes would be a big part of the mindblowing factor, but I see it with such a low chances to happen after the recent revamp... that I didn't mention it.

Big cog fort... literally 🤯

[TreelordRecent]

As someone who follows 40K as well, Valrak’s rumours tend to be very accurate. I can’t remember the last thing he predicted that has not come to pass. The odd thing changes over time but that may also be GW changing their schedule, which is a known fact by now.

[EntMan]

6 minutes ago, TreelordRecent said:

As someone who follows 40K as well, Valrak’s rumours tend to be very accurate. I can’t remember the last thing he predicted that has not come to pass. The odd thing changes over time but that may also be GW changing their schedule, which is a known fact by now.

I don't think we are doubting Valrak's accuracy. We're just willfully over interpreting the specific words he's used in commenting on the 4.0 launch box.

[Tonhel]

 

Maybe after three editions GW came to the conclusion that Stormcast aren't comparable to what Space Marines are for 40K. In other words that SC aren't really more profitable than the other AoS armies. Maybe 4th edition will see the launch of a new posterboy faction for AoS.

Tyrion Elves (I am not up to date with the Tyrion lore, but maybe an AoSifcation of Dragon Princes.) could be the new thing for AoS. While I would love to see Malerion and his army. I don't think these would be 4th edition launch box material.

Tyrion and his boys/girls versus swarms of Skaven could be a very cool box.

Edited September 22, 2023 by Tonhel

[JerekKruger]

27 minutes ago, EntMan said:

Firstly, in reality I don't read anything into the "blow out of the water" phrase.

To be honest most big AoS releases blow me out of the water, because GW have become extremely good at making impressive models. So saying the 4th edition box will "blow me out of the water" just means it won't be bad.

At the moment it's meant to be Stormcast vs. Skaven right? Do we know what sort of Skaven yet?

[Snarff]

I really don't see SCE being absent from a starter box. They are clearly the most popular AoS army (not to the extent of space marines, but still), are constantly being pushed by GW (the only AoS show revolves around Neave Blacktalon), are easy to paint for new players (prime them gold and you're almost done) and Thunderstrike have been received very well.

I know some people here still don't like them, but they are a success for sure. They are almost synonymous with AoS, and I don't see that changing any time soon. There just are no other factions to fill the posterboy slot for Order. CoS is a complicated to play and paint army lacking the flashiness of a starter faction. Aelves and Duardin are not as popular as humans.

40K and AoS are similar in a lot of ways, and I think the big armored humans that are an easy entry point for playing, painting, the lore and have cool design is the starter faction for both.

[Swamp Trogg]

37 minutes ago, Tonhel said:

 

Maybe after three editions GW came to the conclusion that Stormcast aren't comparable to what Space Marines are for 40K. In other words that SC aren't really more profitable than the other AoS armies. Maybe 4th edition will see the launch of a new posterboy faction for AoS.

Tyrion Elves (I am not up to date with the Tyrion lore, but maybe an AoSifcation of Dragon Princes.) could be the new thing for AoS. While I would love to see Malerion and his army. I don't think these would be 4th edition launch box material.

Tyrion and his boys/girls versus swarms of Skaven could be a very cool box.

Elves versus Skaven killed recruitment of new players for wfb 8th edition, thus contributed to its doom. 

You can't have two hard to paint armies in starters set. 

And Stormcasts don't need to be top sellers to be in a starter. They need to be easily paint, understood, and visually evocative and recognizable. 

 

Which they are. 

 

Conclusion, they ain't gonna disappear from starter set any time soon. Or ever, for what is worth. Saying otherwise is daydreaming, which is fine, but the first step on the road of disappointment. 

Edited September 22, 2023 by Swamp Trogg

[Ejecutor]

34 minutes ago, Tonhel said:

 

Maybe after three editions GW came to the conclusion that Stormcast aren't comparable to what Space Marines are for 40K. In other words that SC aren't really more profitable than the other AoS armies. Maybe 4th edition will see the launch of a new posterboy faction for AoS.

Tyrion Elves (I am not up to date with the Tyrion lore, but maybe an AoSifcation of Dragon Princes.) could be the new thing for AoS. While I would love to see Malerion and his army. I don't think these would be 4th edition launch box material.

Tyrion and his boys/girls versus swarms of Skaven could be a very cool box.

Would be a nice way to get some WHF vibes as well.

[Neil Arthur Hotep]

39 minutes ago, Tonhel said:

 

Maybe after three editions GW came to the conclusion that Stormcast aren't comparable to what Space Marines are for 40K. In other words that SC aren't really more profitable than the other AoS armies. Maybe 4th edition will see the launch of a new posterboy faction for AoS.

Tyrion Elves (I am not up to date with the Tyrion lore, but maybe an AoSifcation of Dragon Princes.) could be the new thing for AoS. While I would love to see Malerion and his army. I don't think these would be 4th edition launch box material.

Tyrion and his boys/girls versus swarms of Skaven could be a very cool box.

I have been thinking about which armies have the potential to go into a starter box instead of Stormcast. For the record, I personally think it is possible that we see a starter without the golden boys eventually.

Right now, though, the only two factions that with enough narrative clout and at-a-glance appeal to be protagonists are, imo, Cities of Sigmar and Lumineth. But both of those factions are not exactly beginner friendly when it comes to rules and painting. Stormcast have a good thing going as the Ryu of AoS: They are a good army to learn the fundamentals with both in painting and play.

So personally, I don't know. My bet currently would be that the next starter is more Stormcast Thunderstrike stuff vs. Skaven, like we have been predicting for a while before the Valrak comment.

[Ejecutor]

1 minute ago, Neil Arthur Hotep said:

I have been thinking about which armies have the potential to go into a starter box instead of Stormcast. For the record, I personally think it is possible that we see a starter without the golden boys eventually.

Right now, though, the only two factions that with enough narrative clout and at-a-glance appeal to be protagonists are, imo, Cities of Sigmar and Lumineth. But both of those factions are not exactly beginner friendly when it comes to rules and painting. Stormcast have a good thing going as the Ryu of AoS: They are a good army to learn the fundamentals with both in painting and play.

So personally, I don't know. My bet currently would be that the next starter is more Stormcast Thunderstrike stuff vs. Skaven, like we have been predicting for a while before the Valrak comment.

What about Chaos/StD? Some models are quite close to Stormcasts, so could be a nice replacement.

[Draznak]

1 hour ago, TreelordRecent said:

As someone who follows 40K as well, Valrak’s rumours tend to be very accurate. I can’t remember the last thing he predicted that has not come to pass. The odd thing changes over time but that may also be GW changing their schedule, which is a known fact by now.

As much as I dislike his clickbait side and his often over-the-top reactions (OMG what an extraordinary and original space marines release !!), not to mention his disdain for AoS, he relays rumours when he's close enough to the release to be sure. Or he does his tinfoil hat videos when he wants to go off on wild theories.

[Neil Arthur Hotep]

2 minutes ago, Ejecutor said:

What about Chaos/StD? Some models are quite close to Stormcasts, so could be a nice replacement.

Starters are always good guys vs. bad guys. The good guy faction pretty much has to come from the Order side, and even there a lot of factions are too weird to realistically fill the role, imo. Like DoK and Idoneth. They are cool, but they are not protagonist material.

[DeLewko]

3 hours ago, Ejecutor said:

Hugh, please, do not add old stuff

There is an old kit in every new army vanguard box so i also expect Hurriracum. 

[Halandaar]

29 minutes ago, Snarff said:

I really don't see SCE being absent from a starter box. They are clearly the most popular AoS army ... I know some people here still don't like them, but they are a success for sure.

They're the most popular pretty much by default though, it didn't happen organically. They're the most popular because GW has made them available in introductory products in every edition of the game, which is something that other factions only get for a single edition, if at all.

Like if you wanted get into AoS and you really wanted Blades of Khorne, you missed the boat to do that cheaply 6 years ago; now they're just as expensive as every other faction. Same for Nighthaunt, and it will be the same for Kruleboyz once we transition to 4E starter products next year. You get one edition to start a non-Stormcast army using more affordable starter products, and if you come to the game later you just miss out.

Exact same goes for 40k. If you want to start the game from scratch there's always an intro product for you with Space Marines in it, but if Death Guard are your thing then you better hope you arrived on the scene between the summers of 2017 and 2020 or you're out of luck.

Fantasy battle had 5 starter sets between 4th and 8th Edition that featured 4 different "good" factions. There's no reason we can't have a bit of that variety in AoS as well.

 

 

[Clan's Cynic]

I'll echo those who still reckon it'll be Stormcast vs X in the starter. It's been said before, but Stormcast - even post-Thunderstrike - are still designed to be pretty simple for Lil Timmy to learn to build and paint and put a good looking army on the table relatively quickly.

They may not have the massive population disparity of Space Marines (thank Grimnir) but in my experience they're still the most popular AoS army and polls tend to back that up, with them at worst being in the Top 3.

Remember that pretty much all of AoS' marketing materials still puts Stormcast front and centre the way that Space Marines are for 40k, even if that isn't reflected in the release cycle. I don't think that's going away because I don't think GW want to have to re-do all those materials again and start from scratch, just because they're not insanely more popular than other armies.

Edited September 22, 2023 by Clan's Cynic

[Marcvs]

6 minutes ago, Clan's Cynic said:

I don't think GW want to have to re-do all those materials again

and remove the statue