HollowHills

There is no way cities are going away. They are getting continued rule support and updates plus feature heavily in the lore. The only way cities of sigmar is going away is if they decide to release actual new units for the major lore locations instead of using old whfb units. This is just more trolling.

It's a stormcast archer with a swishy helmet thing because it's being swept away by the Idoneth endless spell just out of shot.

If you just care about models there is a pretty strong chance underworlds season 4 will feature deepkin. There is a low chance warcry will have a deepkin warband (on the basis they will probably do destruction and death ones first, plus the next order one is not likely to be elves again). Otherwise I suspect one day, maybe next year, there will be a single character released in a box set (I'd bet embaillor) as most battletome armies seem to get that eventually. Plus 3rd edition means an inevitable new battletome which may or may not coincide with a new model (likely late 2021). The lack of rumour engines corresponding to deepkin like features makes me think we're a way off yet. With the exception of that crab claw which might be from an underworlds warband.

OBR, Ogors, Slaanesh. This is my prediction re battleforces

This update is great news, there is honestly no reason to feel negative about it. None of the units that were already good got changed and everything that did get changed is better than before. I'm just happy now that I can include sharks, turtles and eidolons in games without feeling like I'm deliberately playing with a hand tied behind my back. I also think we'll see at least some of these units start to feature in tournament lists. Plus I'd rather get a mini update like this now than have a book coming out right before the new edition like last time. It meant we got a weird mix of old style and new style rules writing and gradually became worse throughout the edition.

Yes, the jaws are only 2 damage now too. So their melee potential damage is now 12 (6 from bites and 6 from weapons) which used to be 13 but the damage is much more reliable now. The max size unit also got reduced down to 3 (was previously 4).

I'm not sure if Idoneth got shafted or not. One of the reviews said they got given some powerful elf souls by Morathi, which sounds cool, but at the same time it seems they got robbed and ended up losing.

I'm pretty happy with the changes, I don't think it will impact the meta much though. I can see an eidolon of the storm being taken now as a way to buff eels and compete at the objective game (on certain battleplans). I'd be interested to try a Leviadon but not sure how much it offers. I'm actually a bit unsure if the sharks are any better, the loss of the fin attacks coupled with a point increase makes that a bit iffy. Really hoping to see a new battletome or some more Idoneth love in 2021.

Are you trolling? Anvilgard was terrible anyway, it can't be any worse than it was. Also none of the Idoneth units receiving new rules have been used in top army lists. I highly doubt any of the rule changes are going to drastically impact that unless the Eidolons have suddenly become extremely good.

That art looks like Slaanesh being reborn.

Makes 100% sense. Umbraneth vs Slannesh mortals summer 2021. I've said it once and I'll say it again.

I expect skaven to get a major release at some point. They are fairly popular and are a good candidate for aosification to move into new design space. Plus most of chaos has already seen major releases during aos lifetime. I think in the long term we may see chaos dwarfs and skaven get big releases. In the short term I expect vampires and dragon elves.

Are we sure it's a new model not just some conversion? I only ask because the head and posture seems super similar to the existing Dryad kit.

It would be pretty weird if they replaced the existing deepkin start collecting set with a box that contains 2 sharks and a king. Unless sharks are becoming battleline with their new warscroll / battlion (I actually think this may happen as GW have introduced a lot of unusual battleline options since the deepkin tome first came out). Also seems a bit odd to me that the first box set is DoK vs Slaanesh but not Slaanesh in the book. I'm guessing it means waiting until 3rd edition for any new main line models for deepkin too. Personally I'm ok with that as I'd rather see a focus on getting good rules for the existing range. Going to call it now and say the aos 3rd box set will be mortal slaanesh vs umbraneth with the narrative announcing that Slaanesh broke free.

Pretty disappointing preview. Stuff we've already seen and no hint of new models for warcry or underworlds.

At the risk of getting more off topic this matches with what I heard. That the new xenos race would have a connection with the eldar and be focused on trying to stop the tyranids.

I think it's a credible rumour in concept even if it turns out not to be true. Sigmar has been very successful in the last few years by releasing completely new armies. I'm sure there must be a desire to do that within 40k too. Xenos are the easiest to add a totally new army to without disrupting existing lore. You can easily have some strange new force awaken on dead planets or arrive from outside the galaxy ala tyranids. Anyway what are the odds of something new being shown tomorrow for aos or related games? If its only the full reveal of the Underworlds starter set I will be disappointed. Maybe a preview of the first two warbands and the next two for warcry also?

40k rumour alert. 9th ed will bring a new xenos race with a battletome in January. Not long to wait to see if it's true.

All the signs right now are pointing to DoK getting the love. New battlebox, New warcry band, mortahi campaign book. I don't feel like we've seen enough unsolved rumour engines with idoneth motifs to suggest anything other than an Underworlds band. Which fair enough, DoK have a small range but a cool theme so good for the.

I'm not that bothered for new idoneth models. I'd love a new battletome but best case is looking like some supplement rules in the Morathi book. I'm guessing Idoneth won't headline their own due to not having an actual God.

Since 2016 Games Workshop have radically altered their approach to sales. Before that it was very much based around posters in stores, managers pushing new products and articles showing new releases in White Dwarf. However, there were also fewer new releases and more of a focus on getting new players into the game via store walk ins. Since then it has been heavily based on online "hype" generation and direct engagement with a hard-core fan base. GW have adopted the "whale" business model where it is much more profitable to get their hard-core fans constantly consuming new releases rather than trying to attract new customers. Hence you now have a company that ensures they release new product almost every week of the year, promote that in advance with leaks and previews and then dominate social media with constant "articles" promoting the new releases. This also makes it much harder for players to fall out of the hobby as even if they aren't playing or painting they will still see a lot of social media activity relating to warhammer. Lastly, this explains the reason why Age of Sigmar sees multiple new armies released each year. It is much easier to get the whales to spend £400 on a brand new range than getting existing fans of a particular army to buy one or two new kits for their existing 2k force.

I think part of it is that with the way aos rules are it ends up being easier to add a hero to an army than a new unit. A new hero can have a command ability or spell that makes an army better or makes an unpopular unit choice more viable. A new unit has to work with existing army synergies and try to fill a roll that isn't already covered. If Idoneth got a new unit my first question would be if they were mathematically better than Morsarr guard.

Regarding the price increases. I'm never going to be in favor and I do think it's a bit of a slap in the face given the record profits GW have been posting... That said I think it is more an issue for hard-core existing players than new guys. The price increases are small for people who might buy a box or two, paint them and then pick up another couple of boxes. It's the existing fans who are likely to plan a 2k army and buy it day one. Anyway glad to see the gargants coming at long last. Shame that Behemat himself got cucked by the Celestant prime but got to sell those golden boys I guess.

I sold my battletome, but I'm sure she is described as female when Teclis goes to the moon. Maybe I'm being assumptive based on the face though? Someone with the book can probably chip in and confirm.

Hey... I've been right about more than I've been wrong about I'd say. One day I'll live that down.