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Hiding in plain sight. Remember the malign portent characters were designed AFTER the main factions

at this point, I don't really care anymore about for what faction or system Rumour engine images are, as long as they turne out to belong to awesome models - and this one is very promising - bring it on GW - Flaming, haloed skull FTW.

Morning all, Like the proverbial Phoenix, it's time for this thread to rise! As previously suggested, I have decided to revisit this army for AoS 2 with some new additions. Unfortunately the new allies rules within the game weigh heavily on this highly limited minor allegiance, so instead of stressing out and trying to find the "best" list, I thought I'd stick to the theme and hopefully keep the aesthetical value high. With the reduction to Phoenix Guard and me not being able to use all the allies I painted for the campaign, I had a LOT of points to fill when writing a 2,000pt army in AoS2....unfortunately, without painting more Phoenix Guard (which I fancied a break from, truth be told!) it turned out to be really hard to actually fill those points. In the end, I realised that I could use Endless Spells to help close the deficit. I instantly knew I wanted to use the Everblaze Comet as 1) it looks awesome, plus thematically is cool and b) it seemed pretty awesome in game! I then had to do a bit of researched into whether this would count as an allied unit, both in terms of numbers and also points. In the end I established it counts for neither. Whilst it has to be cast by Stormcast Eternals wizard, it is not a Stormcast unit or anything like that. You could put it in an Ironjawz army if you wanted...you'd just never be able to cast it haha! This made me feel kinda smug as it almost allows me to break the allies system which has plagued my armies since AoS 2 was revealed! I mulled over taking a Knight Incantor and 5 Evocators to accompany the Comet, only the Incantor would be able to cast it but it would still be a strong choice. As per above though, in the end I opted for aesthetical value and decided upon Aventis Firestrike, Magister of Hammerhal. It's a stunning model, but personally I wasn't keen on the head and decided to convert him to more suitably fit into my army. This was not an easy process and ended up being one of the longest and more in-depth conversions I've ever undertaken. I won't post any work in progress photos here, but if you visit the media section of my Twitter page (@the_black_sun) you can see some of my earlier attempts - I think I ordered just about every feathered head in the AoS range, cut them up and mocked them up with the Tauralon body. Some were cool, some were plain awful, but none were right...though I was close at one time (after cutting off the arms) to making the Tauralon much more avian (basically a chocobo). After putting the model to one side, not content with my work so far, I began assembling the Stormcast section of my Soul Wars box. It was at that point I realised that the Gryph Charger was basically the same size and pose as the Tauralon, sans wings or tail. So without much further thought I butchered the poor Gryph Charger for his head and arms. I instantly knew this was the correct choice....however the parts were not a perfect fit, so greenstuffing was required. I consider myself a good hobbyist, but really struggle with greenstuff and am constantly amazed at what some people can do with it. Anyway, I won't get into further detail, suffice to say I finally finished the model and undercoated it....only to find that my greenstuffing was as bad as I feared. I had to scrape a few bits off and start over. Again, this is all documented on Twitter. In the end I was able to basically extend the breastplate armour to form more of a collar which covered the neck join. I was able to get this nice and smooth and it basically fixed the thing. Phew...sorry, rambled on a bit more there. To be honest though, I don't really need to comment on the painting side of things at all. As with Lotann and the other non Phoenix Temple models I have painted in this scheme, everything is all pretty much predetermined as I have set rules in place for what colours go where in this army now. I was able to successfully (I think) port the Phoenix scheme onto the Tauralon and with the addition of the pattern on the forelimbs I think he came out pretty sweet. I may extend this patterning in the future, but kinda like the subtlety of it at present. Also, one of the coolest parts of the Tauralon kit is probably the basing stuff...unfortunately due to pre-established rules of this army, that wasn't going to fit so I went with my usual LotR ruins. Thankfully @Bueno was after the basing, so I was able to recuperate some of the models cost as well as ensuring we get to see those cool pieces used by someone else. Finally, I added the Everblaze Comet. Whilst seemingly at odds with the rest of my army (fire over snow), I think I have managed to introduce the odd flame here and there as almost a kind of spot "colour", so I think it works well. I added some of the basing pavement stuff to the base so it kept in fitting with the rest of the army and used the same colours for the flames. I was really happy with how this turned out actually and it was a lot of fun to paint. Got me pumped for more Endless Spells. I took the army to army to the Element Games Grand Slam this weekend and had a great time. Got 4 major wins in my first 4 games but fell short at the final hurdle so ended up in 6th place (52 players). I won Best Order player and also got 2nd Best Army, losing out (narrowly I believe) to @Percivael's stunning Nurgle army (which got my vote). Not bad all in all. But yeah, you don't care about any of that, you came here for the pics! Hopefully they are worth scrolling through all the above for!! With the conversion and change in paintjob, I felt my version of Aventis needed a slight rename, so here is Aventis Frost-strike, Grand Astrologian of Coerthas and Aide to Prince Xarca; Cheers for looking, Chris x

I just saw an awesome conversion of Warg riders (lord of the rings) with clanrats upper bodies... There seems to be so much conversion potential from the warg riders (spiteclaw, clanrats, sorcerer lord, etc...) for a mounted skaven army! Plus wargs are not that expensive (4€ per model). The only problem is: what to use them as? Wolf rats from forgeworld are obvious choices, but what do you think of the stats? They look just worse than gutter runners, but could their 12" move compensate for some objective grabbing? (Plus it would look awesome on the battlefield) Otherwise just using them for heroes and some elite units (warlords, priests, packmasters, plague censers...)? I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post the conversion here. I hope the person who did it don't mind. I find it so good it is worth sharing here

While I agree that it's entirely possible to give this treatment to all mini factions, I also believe that character which is so unique and iconic to Warhammer universe as Chaos Warrior should get a proper treatment. New chaos warriors, new champions/heroes, new marauders - probably tilted towards Norsca (tribal/viking/wild/mutated) would go a long way to bring back the glory of Chaos Undivided. Of course the 4 (or 5) Chaos gods are interesting, but they're also very narrow in their distinct esthetics. It's cool but you need to be a fan to fully appreciate each lore, while Chaos Undivided has this raw appeal that is currently lacking in Age of Sigmar.

My color scheme for Deepkins What do you think?

Its undeniably Chaos, but what faction/Universe? https://www.warhammer-community.com/2018/08/28/the-rumour-engine-24th-aug-2018/ NOVA is almost upon us, and with it, a very exciting Studio Preview seminar – until then, here’s another image from the Rumour Engine…

The Badfangs - Bonesplitterz of Aqshy. The Badfangs are Bonesplitterz orruks from the dry and windswept Uzmorgarg plains in the wilds of Aqshy. ⬹⦽⤔ Wurrgog Prophet Hogrog Ug Weirdklaw Loaded up with the most potent and powerful of the magic bones his tribe has found, Hogrog has set out into the Realms, leading the Badfangs to hunt down the wild magic of Endless Spells. He has been empowered by the revelation that they are made of the essence of Gorkamorka, and their power can be captured and harvested, just like the power contained within other monsters' bones and teeth. Wardokk Krogdak Krogdak is Hogrog's acolyte, attendant and advisor. He is as mad as an angry Maw-Krusha and leads one of Hogrog's Morboyz mobs. Krogdak is adept at the grimdokk dance, and able to reattach severed limbs and knit flesh-wounds back together. He has patched-up more mangled Orruks than he can count (which sounds a lot less impressive than it actually is). ⬹⦽⤔ I plan on a Skirmish warband of a Wurrgog Prophet, 2 Wardokks, 3 Savage Orruks with Chompa and Shield, 10 Savage Orruk Morboys with Chompa and Toof Shiv, 3 Savage Orruk Arrerboys with Stinga Bows and Chompa, and 2 Savage Orruks with a Big Stabber. I may add a few Forest Goblins I have in my bitz boxes, just for a bit of variety.

Ooooh! We are back to grot rumors again. I really like that GW is thinking outside the box and showing daily life of the various races such as this delectable example of the culinary habits of grots. It appears to be human-head flambe - rotisserie style.

I would personally expect darkoath to focus specifically on the mortal aspect of chaos. You have beasts covering the bestial side, demons work much better in an God specific book given how intimately tied they are to specific gods. That leaves the mortal aspect a bit in the lurch, a book which featured everchosen, marauders, chaos warriors, undivided, armies featuring multiple gods and the mortal ascension demons would round out the chaos updates without stopping them updating something like slaanesh.

You should re-read their rules on Aetheric Channeling. You empower at the start of the combat phase and it only lasts for that phase. If you have been rerolling saves against shooting then you have been cheating. If you are keeping shields to the last man then you are losing greatmaces, which is the main reason you are taking the Sequitors over Liberators. The shields are ablative wounds, but they're not very effective in small squads of 5 dudes (which is what I have been primarily discussing). Heraldor is great but I think I would rather use that ability on something like a Stardrake or Dracolines or Fulminators. There will be situations where a huge blob of 20 sequitors may not even have enough space to perform a retreat because their footprint is so large.

Thanks man, high praise indeed. Yeh Sacrosanct is a great choice, it's where my army is going to end up now with Aventis being the first piece. I have the rest of the army, it's just getting round to painting it. I won't be rushing myself as I have other armies I can use at events, so a pretty nice position to be in. Look forward to seeing what you come up with for yours!

Endless Reinforcements* = an effing cool allegiance ability = more players = is a happy fanbase & more money for GW. Yes GW is a business is and has a focus on making money, that's obvious and perfectly fine. But let's not forget that the rules designers, the creatives are all fans of their own product so they want as cool as possible armies. Which in turn makes us players/hobbyist happy and makes the company money. It's all good. ( *maybe only happens when a unit is wiped, as some scenarios are. No extra models needed )

Reinforcements / summoning rules = more models being sold = more money for GW. So yes, that seems likely indeed.

Chaos in any form probably will only be teased, as a reaction on the leaks/speculation from sunday/early monday. all in all, the seminar might still have room for some AoS faction(s) depending on whether they are only Tomes with Endless Spells or full-on army releases. on undivided demons: Chatter has it, that a certain demon prince, first of his kind, is in works

Are you saying that they are reworking KO and giving them a new attletome with "anti-magic bombs" minis to counter the Endless Spells??? WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE A KO PLAYER!!!

@BluesPixie really like your lore and the details on your map. I hope to hear more of your tale. I'll keep the thread going with another map I made from my story: The Bloodlands- North of Jaskviny and south of the Frostwoods, the lowlands have changed names enough times to confound the minds of the Collegiate Arcanum. Its original name lost to time, as are its people. Khorne’s Blood Storm erased nearly all evidence that civilization once dwelled in the lowlands. The scarred husks of settlements scattered across the area are but a reminder of what has been lost. From the ruins of the lowland’s, the Bloodbound staged their conquest of Zarcosia. They devastated the duardin kingdom in the Frattura Mountains, burned the southern kingdoms of Jaskviny and Astakos to ash, and terrorized the people of the Gastiger Highlands in the west. With reinforcements pouring in through the realmgate at Carnage Hold, The Bloodlands became a paradise for Khorne’s worshippers. However, the intervention of Nurgle and the defiance of the aelfs of the Frostwoods held the Blades of Khorne. While endless fighting ensued for centuries, the Blood Warriors could never deliver a fatal blow to their enemies. Eventually, their momentum was halted. By the time the Age of Sigmar arrived, Khorne’s forces had grown lackadaisical, bored from the senseless fighting that had grown stale. Then the Ironjawz showed up and gave the chaos warriors more than they could handle. In a series of grand battles, Da Bloodbreaka Clan overpowered the Khorne Bloodbound. When Gorfang da Immortal slew Deathbringer Kalrak Bloodmarked at the Battle of Crystal Fields, Khorne’s grip across Zarcosia was shattered. After several more defeats, the remaining forces would bunker down in Carnage Hold where a sea of Greenskins besieges them to this day. Besides skirmishes with Nurgle’s forces and aelfs from the Frostwoods, the orruks unquestionably rule the Bloodlands. With enemies all around, the orruks enjoy the paradise that their enemies once embraced. However, the various kingdoms of Zarcosia are regaining strength and are starting to challenge the orruks for control of the lowlands. They are a pivotal region in Zarcosia because its highway connects several kingdoms together and offers rare resources that most civilizations desire. Once again, the Bloodlands will earn its namesake. Ishumir- one of the few cities to survive Khorne’s onslaught, Ishumir stands proud but its people are scarred permanently. After the boiling of the Parched Sea and the formation of The Kasprow Slop, Ishumir was besieged everyday by the Bloodbound. Countless lives were lost in the defense of the city, but through their tenacity and wit, they persevered. Even with Khorne’s hold slipping on Zarcosia, Ishumir remains vigilant. Its people have become rugged, quick to act over contemplation, preferring savage grit over graceful movement. The coming of the orruks has allowed its forces to leave their island to rediscover the ruined landscapes of the Bloodlands. However, their allies in the Frostwoods, whom without their aid would have seen Ishumir fall, have fallen silent. No messages have been received nor scouts returned from their travels. Carnage Hold- the long-lost capital of the former lowlands is the site of Khorne’s last bastion on Zarcosia. Protecting a realmgate connected to the Realm of Chaos, daemons and mortals launched thousands of assaults across the continent during the Blood Storm. They constructed the Kasprow Slop across the Parched Sea to try to burn down Ishumir, but after centuries of besieging the city, they failed. Now, reinforcements from the Blood God’s realm are sent straight to battle outside the bastion’s walls. Since the Battle of Crystal Fields, orruks have rampaged across the Bloodlands, claiming much of Khrone’s former territory. The peninsula where Carnage Hold stands is a living battlefield as orruks fight Blood Warriors for the sake of a good fight. The fighting has gone on so long that the orruks have built a town on the mounds of ****** at the base of the peninsula. The Khorne Warriors can smell Mount Dung from their battlements, but the scent of blood is always stronger. Despite the precipitous situation, the Bloodbound rejoice in an endless battle where there are stakes to be had. Control of the Bloodlands is not out of Khorne's reach just yet. Mount Dung- while the Bloodlands are forever stained red from Khorne's Bloodstorm, green is the color that now dominates these lands. After Da Bloodbreaka Clan smashed aside Khorne's armies, greenskins poured into the Bloodlands from all over. Gorfang's boyz control the southern entrance to the Frattura Mountains at the Ruins of Mingol Krum, but the rest of the region is controlled by dozens of warring clans. The largest concentration resides at Mount Dung, a war camp or town settled on the poop mounds of the orruks. It is situated at the base of a peninsula where Khorne's followers endure in Carnage Hold. The fields between the camp and hold are scarred battlefields where war rages constantly. Even at Mount Dung , fights break out between rivals. Nevertheless, the orruks here have found a paradise and will continue besieging Carnage Hold until nothing but ruins remains. Grolack’s Manor- with Khorne’s victory almost assured during the Blood Storm, it was the timely intervention of Nurgle’s forces that halted their momentum. From his mansion on the northern peaks of The Frattura Mountains, The Harbinger Grolack unleashed his blight upon the lowlands. It was slow, but eventually, Nurgle’s feculent life spread in the west. Fighting for control of the Bloodlands was fierce, but Khorne was pushed back for a time. Grolack then turned his focus west to the Lighting Arcanum in the Grastiger Hgihlands. His thirst for the tower’s raw energy would be his undoing as he was killed during one of several battle fought against the Arcanum’s defenders. Daemon Prince Zighdan now leads Nurgle’s forces from Grolack’s Manor. He almost achieved daemonhood after defeating the Stormcast Eternals during their initial push into the Bloodlands. However, at the zenith of his triumph, Da Bloodbreaka Clan would deliver a terrible defeat, drawing the ire from Grandfather Nurgle, and forcing Zighdan to start from scratch. His forces contemplate their next move as the Bloodlands once more descends into war. The Grand Bulwark- standing at the entrance to Jaskviny, the Grand Bulwark has done its job in halting all adversaries from entering its lands for centuries. It could not protect the city of Dustbarrow, which was razed to its foundations, but the massive battlements withstood the worst that Khorne’s forces could throw at it. Its thick walls and massive gate rivaled the towers of Azyr’s cityscapes. The gate remain closed under the isolation orders of the Strakoten leaders. Rumors abound of the fate of its people, but the gate denies all entry, even the eyes of Sigmar. The Last Watch- for years, the battlemages and soldiers of The Lightning Arcanum defended the Grastiger Highlands along the southern foothills that border the Bloodlands. After the arrival of the Stormcast Eternals, the forces of Order began to push back. Together, they drove eastwards into the Bloodlands, establishing an outpost upon the western cliffs. From The Last Watch, humans, duardin, aelf and Stormcast fight to reclaim the lowlands from the forces of Chaos. While the orruks and khorne warriors battle in the east, the immediate threat comes from Nurgle’s forces from Grolack’s Manor. The diseased host has tried to take The Lightning Arcanum on multiple occasions, but now its defenders look to take the fight back to them.

Got to work on my cogfort factory table over the weekend. Pvc fittings and some boxes look great.

There goes my bet for the upcoming Nova's studio preview. A new edition of Mordheim. Period.

There’s this, which may be what they mean?

We decided to play the variant of the ritual battleplan that was played out a couple of times in White Dwarf this year, where the Aelves are stealing souls from one of Nagash’s Soul Siphon’s. Unfortunately I don’t have a game board like the one they used at Warhammer World so instead I used the ‘chained stones’ objective thing from the recent objectives set and placed it on top of a hill. The IDK started and the Leviadon headed for the centre of the board with the Soulscryer and 2 Tidecasters using him as cover. With the potential threat of units that had been set up in reserve popping up behind the Aelven battle lines, Volturnous and a unit of 6 Morsarr stayed behind. On the right flank a unit of 30 thralls and an Allopex advanced towards the opposing black coach. Nighhaunt began their turn by casting the Purple Sun and Quicksilver Swords and they headed down the centre of the battlefield. Lady Olynder and the chainrasp entered the fray and the ghostly horde descended upon the Idoneth. The ethereals decided to go first in battle round 2 and had to endure the Purple Sun crashing in to the Chainrasp horde who were locked in combat with some Namarti Reavers after a very lucky charge roll. This didn’t prevent the Aelves being wiped out in the preceding combat though. Olynder, Reiknor and the Black Coach went out wide to the left and after magic and yet another high charge roll easily wiped out the Shark. In their turn the Aelves responded with charges of their own despite it being so close to high tide. The Morsarr demolished the chainrasp whilst on the other flank the Thralls formed a meat shield for the soulscryer who was about to start his ritual. Magic had seen the unbinding of the dreaded Purple Sun as well as the death of the final Glaivewraith who had dared to charge the Leviadon. This left the giant turtle open to charge in to a tomb banshee and form another barrier to allow the ritual to take place. The Aelves won initiative in round 3 and opted to go first, everywhere the quicksilver swords went the emerald lifeswarm followed ensuring the Soulscryers’ safety. The ritual began and immediately 7 souls were stolen. The ensuing combat saw the Idoneth go first and again do a lot of damage as several units were wiped out. Another 7 souls were stolen at the beginning of the Nighthaunt’s turn and things were looking bleak for them as they had been decimated. However there was still hope on the left flank where Olynder, the Grimhailer and a black coach were still lurking – plus a gap had opened up where the Thralls had been gradually whittled away. It was now or never as the Black Coach hurtled towards the exposed Scryer. Yet again a 10 was rolled and this meant he could fight in the charge phase where a double 6 saw him defeat the Aelven priest and win the game.

Amazing work Chris. As you know I’m a huge fan of this army, and once again an inspiration - now I’m hankering for an army with a similar sense of stern, stoic soldiers resplendent in glorious uniforms! For a while I was thinking of Disspossessed, the most recent plastics of these are still ace, but the lack of a centre piece and the high model count eventually put me off. Now I’m thinking Sacrosanct Chamber Stormcast will fill that niche nicely.

I did some math, one month ago and the difference between the same points of warriors and ironbreaker is not massive, defensive wise (the gap is at 0 rend and -1, tho). Warriors are way more offensive; from a competitive point i think warriors are better, still bringing ironbreakers is not an huge error! I just like them... Same with the Steam Tank, i bring it to the table cause i love the model and i try to make it as effective as possible!

I'm gonna go with the rationale of "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is." There is just no way GW would let you roll that many dice for that few models.

Been having some success with this list. Nagash Necro Cairn Wraith 30 Grim Reapers 40 Chainrasps 2 Morghasts 5 Wolves Spell Portal Comes to 1950 for extra command point. I know.... no Skeletons, but Rasps are harder to take apart. They dont deteriorate as much as skeletons and have decent damage output with Nagash buffs. People seem to be down on Morgasts due to non summonable, but that extra attack and being battleline is hard to pass up. They are a great hammer, and a decent distraction opposite the big guy. People tend to ignore the Cairn Wraith, but he packs a small punch and another hero is required to spread deathless minions. With the right relic such as the Sword of Judgement, this little guy could end up being quite a surprise. I could maybe drop 10 Rasps to fit in a Lord Executioner, but i think 40 is a good number. In the end, just trying to think outside the box a little.... Plus the army looks great all painted up with the new units.

If you're playing at 2k, that might be hard to fit. I've been looking into a Shrieker Host list and finding it difficult to effectively get in at 2k. EDIT Didn't see you only plan on running units of 5 Dreadscythes. I think that's just too small. I'm thinking 30 and debating between two units of 15 or a unit of 10 and 20.

Thanks so much!

Easiest bits to get hold of will probably be the Stormfiends, Warplightning Cannon and Doomwheel, as they all have very nice plastic kits and are generally available. Some of the rest, like the old metal Arch-Warlock, can be found on GW's website, but the really nice plastic Warlock, poison wind mortar and warpfire thrower can only be found on the second-hand market these days. For Skryre Acolytes, you'll have to cough up for ancient metal models or, as many people do, convert your own (mine are mostly kitbashes of Stormvermin and gasmasked heads from other Skaven kits). Skryre allegiance abilities can be found in the General's Handbook 2018, for what they're worth (not a great deal), and the rules for the Skryre battalion and Enginecovens are in the Grand Alliance: Chaos book. Hope that helps, now go forth and delete your opponents with mortal wounds!

I fully expect to see Idoneth and Daughters of Khaine get Endless Spells considering both were made with 2.0 in mind and thus one would assume Endless Spells. GW doesn't have to re-write a battletome to release new models or Endless Spells for a faction; they can release warscrolls and rules as a separate release. They have done this many times with new units for 40K and I expect they will do so also for AoS as it matures. GW won't put models or now endless spells (as they are models) into any material unless that model is coming out when that written material comes out; this helps limited 3rd parties making models for the market before GW can sell them directly themselves.

I don't see this happening unless they announce more LoN-style anthology battletomes or rewrites to battletomes. GW does not usually sell models without selling the rules for those in some way, and new editions are a prime opportunity to rewrite a battletome (even if it barely changes) and then sell it again. That is easy money that I don't expect GW to ignore and they rarely ever have.

Im very interestedin this as well. New to AoS, but after playing a lot of Total War i LOVE warriors. Ironbreakers are expensive toughness. Nice to have a unit that never dies, but at that price i want more damage. Again tho, this a just Total War expierience.

10 Sequitors appear to be the Sweetspot concerning size. They‘ll pretty much kill anything because free Rerolls ??‍♂️ I am still pretty sure that they should cost 140 points (anything is vulnerable to shooting btw)

20 models on 40mm bases is too big of a footprint. They seem really good until you get into a game and get double flanked and cant pile in. Im falling out of love with Sequitors

Just realised how long this is taking so will quickly summarise the last 2 games. Game 4 was against tony and his nagash vhordrai and vlozd lin shifting objectives tony made me go first so I put some chaff on the objectives to score 5 before he came and smashed them off the objective. I got the priority and sent the keeper in to nagash and a unit of daemonettes in to the other 2 characters and had all 3 units pile in and attack twice. I did 5 wounds to nagash and 3 to the vlozd. Tony then started wiping my army off and won the next priority to make it comfortable, I kept in the objective game for as long as possible but in the end tony had a well deserved tabling and I had scored 60 kps. Harsh game on a scenario that I felt I had an advantage for. Game 4 was against Mark and his clan skyre another army I haven’t faced in focal points I made the mistake of not asking him how close he can tunnel and was then promptly found out as all my hero’s were Killed by the storm fiends and warp fire throwers so I only had the Sorceror on foot left. My turn 1 I had managed to return the favour by killing 5 of the 6 stormfiends with 1 units of daemonettes whilst the others tore though 30 acolytes to put me 8 4 up. I won the priority and it was all over bar the killpoints as both units of daemonettes torn through everything within reach and absolutely brutal game but Mark was great fun to play and took the carnage in his stride as I racked up another 1960 kps. final results came and I had managed to place 5th out of 52 and achieved best in alliance as we,, as a painting nomination so was a good result all around. So the question can slaanesh win a tournament and gets that 5th win, in my mind no question about it we have the units available to do it and with our summoning the in game options to change things if needed. Cheers to boots468 for the company and nice to see another slaanesh player on the scene

Computer says no.

Yup, today's NOVA preview supports that notion. There was some blurb about "we will finally reveal who that bull-formed endless spell is for" which has now been edited out, it seems.

It's not the release order that was forced to change through leaks but the reveal. With the endless spell shown it's more likly they wanted to build some mystery and hype for Wednesday rather than have a full reveal the following day.

I think most people here are playing to the narrative that taking Allies is not the Duardin way. I think that if you find a hole in your strategy, then there are numerous options with allies to fill that void. Like afore mentioned: meat shields, tunneling support, artillery, etc. And by all means, I love the narrative. So kudos to those holding to it and those that break the mold with their own narrative! I personally find that 400 pts is not a whole lot to take a sizable force to do more than just one simple thing for you. People of other factions often take a big beefy hero just under 400 points, spell casters where they don't have good options, or a hero that buffs a general allegiance over a specific one. I've taken a unit of Bezerkers and a Smiter to add additional offense to the alpha strike, or an option to take objectives, etc. I find that the most useful with what I have available to me. Regarding sky ports, I think Sigmar promotes maximizing on one strategy. Whichever strategy that is, I think there are sky ports that can assist with any of them. My reasons for the different ports are: Nar: This is anti-magic spam-a-lot! Zilfin: Deep striking alpha. Zon: Extra chance for the epic charge. Killing Nagash/Cauldron/Drake/etc. out of the gate will cripple an army. Going for that hero/monster also gives you buffs! Urbaz: Double my khemist abilities. I was planning for this one to do Riggers and Thunderers and Company in an Ironclad w/ 1 Khemist. Then do 2 units of skyhook Company in the back w/ 1 khemist. The Khemists can buff 2 units a turn. Mhornar: In your face shooting. Party bus with the general works great for the general's posse getting to reroll hits. Thryng: Really good shooting buff if I get 2 or 3 on the roll.

All maps look smashing ? mine was made in cc3 with a little gimp aftertouch, so looks pretty oooold school haha, keep hearing about this inkarnate thingy, will update using it when I find the time! I'll post the campaign intro text from my blog below. The campaign is an open ended, games mastered narrative type affair, set in Ghyran. ---------------------------------------- The City of Umbhr Umbhr was founded as a client city to Hammerhal and though largely autonomous, its rulers owe allegiance and homage to the Twin-tailed City. Located far to the East in a land known as the Wylderlands, Umbhr acts as a forward operating base for recolonisation efforts and the control and exploitation of its dangerously untamed but realmstone-rich hinterlands (the purplish local manifestation of which is called Feystone). The city is governed by a high council comprised of the leading figures (known as Dynasts) from the primary racial communities; Aelves, Duardin & Free Peoples, mediated by Lord Celestant Eldenor of The Verdurous Legion stormhost. Positioned below these rulers are The Delegation; important leaders of factions, guilds and sects from across the city. The Verdurous Legion spent bitter decades fighting heroically against the pestilence of Nurgle during the War of Life on Ghyran, long before the founding of the Seeds of Hope. Though they gave great account of themselves, such was the overwhelming odds and twisted nature of the land that nearly every Stormcast gave their second life and suffered multiple reforgings before being thrust back into the fray once more. A quiet despair had begun to creep its tendrils through their ranks as each rebirth stripped away a little more of each warriors dwindling sense of self, undermining moral and threatening the survival of the host. It was at this time that the goddess Alarielle returned to Ghyran through the valiant efforts of the Hallowed Knights Stormhost. With the Everqueen reborn in a terrible martial aspect, she led vast hordes of Sylvaneth warriors to the aid of the beleaguered forces resisting the corrupted forces of the Grandfather and finally, the tide began to turn. It was in these final years of the war that the Legion were exposed directly to radiant aura of Alarielle; to this day each stormcast bears an unshakeable devotion and gratitude to the Goddess (whom they refer simply and reverently to as, "The Lady"), for it was through her divine intervention that each legionnaire did not wholly lose their humanity. The races have thus far lived in relative harmony, though away from the shadow of the God-King the utopian society of Azyrheim has begun to show cracks as the years have passed. Each of the racial groups are referred as the Kindreds and they have their own internal organisation and, increasingly, they inhabit different quarters of the city. Each Kindred has its own primary area of responsibility and activity; Duardin – civil/military engineering (including Feystone mining works), Free Peoples – agriculture and trade, Highborn Aelves – Lore keeping and magical research. In addition, each Kindred is also responsible for maintaining a military force in defence of the city and its hinterlands, some of which is in the form of conscripts to the Umbhrawardens. The Umbhrawardens are a non-sectarian ranger guild tasked with patrolling the fledgling road networks through the Wylds, protecting isolated mining & agricultural Wylderfolk communities from bandits and other more exotic denizens of the uncharted forests. Their ranks are drawn from the Duardin and Human Kindreds with support from the Stormhost garrison (the Aelven Kindred are tasked with the permanent garrisoning of the city defences and are largely exempt from Warden-service, though they can occasionally found amongst their ranks under special circumstances). Recent years have seen the high council commission a push to colonise the land far to the east of the city. These efforts were spearheaded by the Verdurous Legion who, during a gruelling two year campaign, smote their way through the recalcitrant tribes of man, orrruk and ogor infesting the forests. These diversions aside, the stormcast sought primarily to beat back those minions of Nugle which still lingered on after the Blight War. In this they were to all intents successful, and the Grandfathers pestilence has been largely exiled beyond the vast and foreboding Peaks of the Lost. In the wake of this period of slaughter, settlers and explorers were quickly despatched, while veteran Duardin engineers set to clearing land and extending the cobbled surfaces of the Wylderway road eastwards. Though the eastern Wylderway remains a dangerous frontier zone, many are the folk who flock here, keen to reap the rewards of the realmstone-rich hinterlands. The fortified town of Gillinbhad now stands as a trading hub and forward operating base from which Umbhrwarden patrols and stormcast retinues alike venture forth to provide a measure of protection to those who seek to make a livelihood in the forests. Another organisation, the Aelf controlled Guild of Remnants also now has a strong presence in the town, from where they seek to catalogue and exploit the large number of sites dating from the Age of Myth which can be found overgrown in the depths of the wilderness, by those with the skill and courage to do so.

The key theme to FEC is deranged cannibals believing themselves to be noble warriors. The Batteltome only seems to equate that with traditional Knights and such, but expanding on the core theme, that probably shouldn't always be the case. Maybe I'm not 100% up on my Realmslore, but I would assume there are plenty of realms/regions that never had that sort of 'Knights of the Round Table' culture. Could ghouls on Ghur actually see themselves more as noble tribesmen or something? Seems possible. I went with Chamon, because we happened to have that first Realm Gate book, and I like the Bretonnian idea of revering a Lady. The tragic character of Celemnis fit the theme and SCE were the 'good guys' during her time. Looking at the background to Aqshy, this Orb Infernia region looks pretty cool. http://whfb.lexicanum.com/wiki/Orb_Infernia During the Age of Myth it was a proud sky kingdom. A rich world of miners and artisans. Orb Infernia seems to be in ruin now, but I would think that an FEC army here would think itself to be what ever martial force was in place back during the glory years. I'm doubting it was knights on horseback, but the area seems ripe for imagination. How did the citizens get around? Sky ships? Wings made of some contraption or another? Maybe go heavy on Flayers due to the FEC force being the guardians of this once regal sky kingdom? (Deadwatch is a great battalion) This region also looks ripe for conflicts with Chaos (deamon princes of all four chaos gods) and Order (slann). This is all just an initial idea. There are plenty of other areas to go into. Hallowheart. Maybe do something related to the rain of stars that fell from the sky ruining many chaos cities. Do the ghouls living in those ruins think they're Star Children? What about a group of nutters who think they're a fyreslayer lodge? Ghouls with mohawks!

Wow! What a weekend that was! I managed to get the army sorted to the point where it was table legal, but it was still to far away from being finished for any sort of look in for best army, but I shall carry them on over the next few weeks to get them sorted. On the whole the army looked impressive model wise all amassed together, but there wasn't enough definition in the bases (they just looked black) and without highlights nothing popped. But onwards and upwards! The weekend told the story of the Necroquake's wake, how it affected the wars being fought and there was a host of endless spells in play. Over the weekend my Moulder took on my friends Stormcast Eternals, a mixed Order list of Khardron's and Stormcast, then some Idoneth Deepkin and finally Khorne Daemons to finish day one. Day two started off against Sylvaneth, before facing off an army of squigs and finishing with me charging into a Stormcast shieldwall! There were so many cool moments from the games its hard to remember them all: bringing down a bloodthister with charging Rat Ogors, my grey seer tracker getting caught in the explosion of his own melevolent maelstrom, an akhelian king flying over my Hell Pit Abomination to skewer Throt the Unclean (and then being eaten by the Hell Pit in return). Amazing weekend, amazing venue and a very fun army to play. And they came away with 3 wins, 3 loses and a draw too which I'm super happy with. Here are some awful shots from various games, and my army list I handed out to my opponents as souvenirs.

If Ogroid Thaumaturge is in then I'm diving head first as well. That's the one model I always wanted to paint but wasn't interested in Tzeentch (daemons) esthetic.

My one wish for beasts of chaos is... 2 damage dragon ogors! (3 on the crushers) If they don't remedy that in this book, then the writers just be clueless about the ogor part...

Has anyone of you a recommendation for Khorne themed dice (blood & skulls)? GW doesn't offer any, maybe some non GW ones?

Love, love, love that chariot conversion, what a phenomenal idea amd execution.

I agree with @Skreech Verminking. Stormvermin will slaughter anything they touch, but have to deal with the threat of getting wiped out before they get to it. Thanquol or tunneling both work towards fixing that. If you can get a 40 rat stormvermin unit into the enemy's main lines, the game should tilt heavily in your favour. Keyword being "if".

So, finally got round to updating my spreadsheet with our heroes. Here's a link to the latest version. Some observations: The Cairn Wraith is by far our most points efficient hero in terms of damage output, vs both units with no save or a really high save. Lord executioner's output is disappointing by comparison. The next tier consists of Kurdoss, the LE, Harrows and Reikenor. They each have pretty reasonable output, but looking at their total wound output aren't going to be soloing that much. That said, all of these outdo the Mourngul, point for point... On the charge the Harrow becomes second best (to the Wraith)! The ST is pretty decent given his high rend, and the GoS with maul outperforms the sword VS all but a 2+ save. Not that you really care about the GoS' damage output... The Wraith is also most durable for the points, with a comparable score to Bladegheists. Olynder and Kurdoss are the frailest units, per point, in the entire book.

When allies fled left Chaos to roam, and evil pillages farm and home. When cries of aid met deafened ears, our people suffered dire years. 'Twas then when our need was most, when hounded by the endless host. Our forebears sought to hide below, Through paths they could not truly know. 'Neath darkest hold and hidden forts, through halls of stone that came to naught. Past seams of golds and jewels of wonder, lies the darkness of the Under. Vast halls echo empty across the Realms, a mere relic of times long since passed where stories are still told of vast carriages of gold that left the mountains to flourishing civilisations of Man and Aelf. The oldest still remember the days of the Duardin might across every realm, vast bastions of strength and wealth that formed the bulwark against the tides of Chaos in the early days of invasion that Sigmar might pull back all those unable to defend themselves behind the walls of Azyr. These mighty halls became islands of civilisation in a sea of chaos and death, and for a time their great stone walls repelled all who sought to pillage those that lay within. Yet as months dragged on to years the duardin within began to realise their part in Sigmars great plan, with his gates now sealed they had simply been discarded, a neccessary loss in a war that was only in its opening days. In Ghyran the besieged Duardin of the Mender Conformation turned to their ancient crafts to tunnel beyond their isolation, with chaos on all sides they began to dig deep through the realmplate. So dire was their need that vast seams of gold and jewels were ignored, every man woman and child wielding pick for every moment of their waking life. As supplies began to run low, the hope of ever emerging from the great work began to dwindle, yet seemingly failure encroached on their task the mountains rewarded the perseverance. The Menders emerged in the darkness beneath the realmplate, a vast and empty madness that even the stars dare not stare upon shielded from the light of Hysh by the vast realm of Ghyran above this desolate landscape stretched seemingly endlessly onwards as little reward for a lifetime of labour. The only life that flourished in this deep and unrelenting emptiness came at the Hub, a massive mountainous spire jutting down from the Realmplate above, here seems of the Realm stones that invigorated the lands above allowed some small trace of green and life by way of a nourishing fungus to perservere even in the Under. The Menders set to task building their new home here hidden from the realm above, the Hub becoming a network of vast new holds as they sought to cultivate the fungus to feed what remained of their populace and for a time they were sated. In time the Menders sought to revisit the vast network that has lead them from their holds above, finding that years spent staring into the vast emptiness of the Under has robbed them of any joys the gold and jewels once bestowed. Yet deep within their heart the Duardin greed still lingered, hungering for something they could as of yet not truly understand, they turned their hands to task and made the seams of metal into a vast array of tunnelling machinery to widen the chasms through which they had made their escape. It was only as they emerged, the searing sun now offensive to their very eyes and bleached skin, turning their gaze to the changed world around them that they truly understood that which they craved. In a world where wealth was in an abundance it had lost all value, the only thing of true value was life itself, it was a currency without comparison and valued beyond even the rarest of jewels. The Menders looked upon the realms abandoned by Sigmar, upon those who had been felled on the field of battle and tried to save the wounded that were not beyond their talents. Those who could not be saved on the field of battle were instead taken to the vast depths below that they might be worked on hidden from the eyes of the Hosts of Chaos. Key Characteristics: Pressure Suits Sunshield visors Medical Gear Axes for amputation instead of Mining Picks Mechanical Arachnid mining constructs

Welcome to Age of Sigmar second edition people. Lets kick off the first blog post for this edition with how mixed skaven measures up thanks to the chages to Grand Alliance: Chaos rules. Allegiance Ability The GA: Chaos allegiance ability is nothing too overpowered, par the course for the Grand Alliances. "Unbridled Malice" is a slight rework of the old ability they had, in this edition you roll a dice for a unit when you select it to fight in the combat phase if that unit is within 12 inches of your general or 3 inches of a hero, and on the roll of a 6 they add one to all their hit rolls. I like this one (on the event anyone remembers to actually roll for it) because Skaven field a lot of heroes and a lot of units that really benefit from +1 to hit like Clanrats, Plague Monks and Gutter Runners, and I'll be adding this to my reminder sheet. Command Traits Dark Avenger - This grants +1 to hit against order units for the general. Not great really. Spiteful Duelist - Reroll one wound roll per combat for the general. Somehow worse than the above. Cunning Deciever - Roll a dice at the start of your turn, with a 5+ netting you a free command point. This is pretty cool to be honest, great for a pasive long range force like a heavy Skryre or a Moulder force that needs all the command points it can get. Lord of War - Pick a unit within 3 inches and roll a dice, on a 4+ it gets +1 to hit. Definitely neat, this one will usually not ever be a waste especially considering Unbridled Malice as a rule. Terrifying Pressence - Enemies within 3 inches of the general suffer -1 to bravery. Not awful, definitely not better than Lord of War or Cunning Deciever. Malicious Conqueror - Add 1 to all Unbridled Malice rolls made within 12 inches of the general. I like this one, and in my army that runs a heavy amount of minimum size Plague Monk units i'll be taking this every time. Artifacts I literally have no interest in covering 5 out of the 6 artifacts in this list because they're absolutely worthless. However one of them is a classic from the last two editions of the GHB, and it got one HELL of a remake. The Crown of Conquest - Friendly CHAOS units within 6 inches of the bearer don't need to test for battleshock. I'm sorry, what? How on earth did this get past the design team? Did they think the new coherence rule somehow would make this not completely broken? I'm switching from Pestilens Allegiance for this. That's how big a deal this is. This takes Strength in Numbers and kicks it out the door. This thing on a Plaguesmog Congregation Plague Furnace pushed by clanrats for the Look Out Sir rule? Totally broken. This is now a 12 wound model with -2 to hit it providing a 6 inch bubble of NO BATTLESHOCK. This is stupid. I basically wrote this entire blog post to cover this ridiculous artifact.