Soulblight Gravelords News, Rumours and Speculation

[Clewzy]

Total speculation mind, but could it be that there will be bat wing helmets in with the skeletons to represent the grave guard

[JackStreicher]

Just a little something to add to the discussion

 

[JackStreicher]

The real change about the new Skeletons is not their size, but their scale. The new skeletons were taken a notch away from heroic scale towards true scale (less huge hands etc.)

[Sception]

The posing is also a big deal.  The leaning-way-forward gimmick of 7th edition was kind of cool when the entire army was being blown forward on invisible necromantic wings, but when it's just a couple units in the army, or worse a couple models in a single unit, it just looks really weird and awkward.

As long as I'm still using the old skeleton warriors, I'll be happy to keep using the old grave guard.  But if I ever do switch over to the new skeleton warriors then my old grave guard will also have to go, regardless of whether the unit still exists or has new models or not.

[warhammernerd]

32 minutes ago, Sception said:

The posing is also a big deal.  The leaning-way-forward gimmick of 7th edition was kind of cool when the entire army was being blown forward on invisible necromantic wings, but when it's just a couple units in the army, or worse a couple models in a single unit, it just looks really weird and awkward.

Lest we forget how amazing they were when they first came out. Finally, uniformed easy to rank models!

[BaylorCorvette]

I was just browsing GW's website and I just noticed that Bat Swarms are completely missing from the website. They are not with all of the other "Sold Out, No Longer Available Online" models, nor are they in stock. 

[Vasshpit]

1 in 10 may get a rend weapon on the new skellies and kind of bridge the gap between the two. 

There is still these blurry units in the back of this pic that I'm assuming will be a bit more elite. 

 

[BaylorCorvette]

30 minutes ago, Vasshpit said:

1 in 10 may get a rend weapon on the new skellies and kind of bridge the gap between the two. 

There is still these blurry units in the back of this pic that I'm assuming will be a bit more elite. 

 

I am not 100% confident that these are new units or even Gravelords units. I've seen some compelling arguments of it being a different model from a different faction, all the way to some sort of scenery in the background. However, I would love for these to be elite Vampire foot soldiers, or elite skeleton infantry but they look too big to be skeletons.

[Sception]

I've honestly been trying not too hard to think about those guys.  They look like they're carrying greatswords approximately three times as tall as they are, and while I'm all for oversized weapons fantasy weapons, there's got to be a limit somewhere.

[BaylorCorvette]

2 minutes ago, Sception said:

I've honestly been trying not too hard to think about those guys.  They look like they're carrying greatswords approximately three times as tall as they are, and while I'm all for oversized weapons fantasy weapons, there's got to be a limit somewhere.

God, please no super long weapons. The LRL Wardens are absolutely ridiculous. Although, if large great swords they should be a bit better in the sense that they won't be as brittle and the way a great sword would be held would more than likely add to the models vertical size as opposed to horizontal size (aka LRL Wardens). 

[Raptor_Jesues]

seems like a polearm, like big glaives or naginatas

[HanShot First]

Yeah looks like a halberd or something like that.

[Clan's Cynic]

1 hour ago, Sception said:

I've honestly been trying not too hard to think about those guys.  They look like they're carrying greatswords approximately three times as tall as they are, and while I'm all for oversized weapons fantasy weapons, there's got to be a limit somewhere.

The hilariously oversized weapons are what make me sceptical they're for Soulblight or it's not a trick/issue with the camera that warped the look of the blurry image. Everything we've seen for SGL has been relatively 'grounded' insofar as the whacky OTT designs have been kept on the downlow compared to say... the Ossiarchs where they'd fit right in. 

Pikes/halberds are tall of course but these seem too thick/bendy for that, closer to glaives.

 

Edited April 29, 2021 by Clan's Cynic

[The Brotherhood of Necros]

I’m convinced those spikes aren’t part of the miniatures at all. They’re ribs protruding from the terrain behind. You can see it best in the rib on the far right.

[lare2]

5 hours ago, JackStreicher said:

Just a little something to add to the discussion

 

I thought the skellies and gg looked alright but seeing them both alongside the new kit, man, they're dated. Makes me even happier I've flogged all my skellies in prep for the new shinies. 

[Evil Bob]

 

21 hours ago, Sception said:

In order of releases, I think we're actually due for a bin book, whether in terms of AoS in general based on the new lumineth or death specifically, since both FEC and OBR were pretty strong when initially released.  So I'm not putting too much hope into this battle tome being strong in a competitive sense.  The best I can personally bring myself to hope for is a fluffy book with a distinct tone, inspiring art, and engaging narrative hooks, giving a strong place for the non-ghosty, non-necromonger undead within the AoS setting, and introducing some new units with cool models that might one day become good in some future battle tome, and even those hopes are on shaky ground given the Cursed City developments.

My bad on FEC.  It was really strong on release for people who went hard meta.  Can’t blame GW for the point increases on key heroes to even things out.  As a big Blisterskin and Deadwatch fan I never abused the book so it actually felt a bit weak.  Something to do with the extra point costs on Ghouls, Flayers, and Horrors for their warscroll value.

OBR hype was overblown.  At LVO after release those Petrafex Elite were supposed to sweep it and they didn’t.  Goonhammer has a great analysis here.  PE was just part of the meta-game played outside actual AoS matches.  Some people told a lie enough that it become truth.  Their sin was being the only option to pick with the other sub factions stinking something terrible.

If we’re pitching hopes mine is that we get something allot like LoN but updated on battleline unlocks, useable warscroll battalions, and updated spells.  I don’t even care if they leave all our massed troop warscrolls the same so long as sub factions and/or warscroll battalions give us meaningful gameplay options.  If the Devs can pull that off everything else will be gravy.

[Mandzak-Miniatures]

I feel like I might be the only one hoping for some spooks to be included in this book. Would be nice for that classic army feel and diversity, even if it’s just a basic unit or two

[Summy]

5 hours ago, The Brotherhood of Necros said:

I’m convinced those spikes aren’t part of the miniatures at all. They’re ribs protruding from the terrain behind. You can see it best in the rib on the far right.

I agree that.The guy in the middle,looks like this to me

[Fellman]

13 hours ago, Vasshpit said:

1 in 10 may get a rend weapon on the new skellies and kind of bridge the gap between the two. 

There is still these blurry units in the back of this pic that I'm assuming will be a bit more elite. 

 

Please let it be flesh construct or undead ogurs

[JustAsPlanned]

Whilst I’m excited for most news in relation to this army I’m most excited for how much they’re gonna flesh out both the Deadwalkers and Deathrattle lorewise. We’ve already had a tidbit about Wight Kings and their kingdoms the that WHC article, and I’m really hyped to see how they’ll make Deadwalkers unique in comparison to their boney counterparts.

[Honk]

38 minutes ago, JustAsPlanned said:

how much they’re gonna flesh out both the Deadwalkers and Deathrattle

That’s why I’m a bit torn and anxious about the book...

Now it looks like LoN 2.0 with minor adjustments. Which is kinda fine, hopefully some rad things are revealed in near future. like Anna and the Rat, but as you said, maybe something also for adventurous science Necromancers

( 🧟‍♀️I hoped for two books 🧛🏻‍♂️)

[Raptor_Jesues]

31 minutes ago, Honk said:

That’s why I’m a bit torn and anxious about the book...

Now it looks like LoN 2.0 with minor adjustments. Which is kinda fine, hopefully some rad things are revealed in near future. like Anna and the Rat, but as you said, maybe something also for adventurous science Necromancers

( 🧟‍♀️I hoped for two books 🧛🏻‍♂️)

like a frankenstein's creature?

[Feii]

16 hours ago, Vasshpit said:

1 in 10 may get a rend weapon on the new skellies and kind of bridge the gap between the two. 

There is still these blurry units in the back of this pic that I'm assuming will be a bit more elite. 

 

I think the back is a new OBR unit. 
 

it looks the same as one with a bigg ass sword from the new OBR warband and the board behind is Hysh/Ymetrica themed and we know OBR invaded that realm

[Neil Arthur Hotep]

16 hours ago, Sception said:

As long as I'm still using the old skeleton warriors, I'll be happy to keep using the old grave guard.  But if I ever do switch over to the new skeleton warriors then my old grave guard will also have to go, regardless of whether the unit still exists or has new models or not.

That's my thinking on it, too. The 7th edition skeletons don't look bad, but the Cursed City skeletons are a noticable step up in quality. They just have a lot finer details and more delicate bones. I think you can definitely get away with using 7th ed and new skeletons for different narrative moods. The old skeletons look really shambly and hunched over, a lot more mindless than the new ones.

I also have a few old Tomb Guard that I proxy as Grave Guard. The difference between those and the Cursed City skeletons is pretty stark. It's my headcanon that the ancient Nehekarans were just a lot taller and more beefy than today's people, otherwise the scale difference just does not make sense.

16 hours ago, BaylorCorvette said:

I was just browsing GW's website and I just noticed that Bat Swarms are completely missing from the website. They are not with all of the other "Sold Out, No Longer Available Online" models, nor are they in stock. 

Your comment made me check, and I just realized that LoN actually has a lot fewer kits than I remembered. They look like a huge faction, with their 30+ entries in the store, but that's the Mortarch kit three times, the Corpse Kart three times, the Mortis Engine three times and the Zombie Dragon four times. Plus, in the past, a bunch of assorted Vampire Lords.

A full range refresh for Gravelords actually does not seem out of the question, given that.

8 hours ago, Evil Bob said:

OBR hype was overblown.  At LVO after release those Petrafex Elite were supposed to sweep it and they didn’t.  Goonhammer has a great analysis here.  PE was just part of the meta-game played outside actual AoS matches.  Some people told a lie enough that it become truth.  Their sin was being the only option to pick with the other sub factions stinking something terrible.

Warhammer Weekly recently had an interesting statistics-heavy episode about how much skill and faction strength influence tournament win rates in AoS. One take away was that faction strength does matter, but it matters the most for average players, less for top and bottom players. Part of the problem with Petrifex was, in my opinion, that it was just the brain-dead most obvious best choice, and a bit of a noob stomper at that. So average players disproportionally hit a wall when playing against it. I think that's still a legitimate reason to complain, though. After all, most players are average, so we should keep the average player in mind when balancing factions.

9 minutes ago, Feii said:

I think the back is a new OBR unit. 
 

it looks the same as one with a bigg ass sword from the new OBR warband and the board behind is Hysh/Ymetrica themed and we know OBR invaded that realm

Not saying it's impossible, but it would be weird for GW to tease and OBR unit in the Gravelords reveal video. I don't think they have done this kind of thing before.

[Raptor_Jesues]

1 hour ago, Feii said:

I think the back is a new OBR unit. 
 

it looks the same as one with a bigg ass sword from the new OBR warband and the board behind is Hysh/Ymetrica themed and we know OBR invaded that realm

the weapons are way bigger than the warband ones. Also it feel pretty weird to put an obr unit in a SBG promo