madmac

What I will say on this, and not drag it out, is that I get annoyed at so many people conflating designs and models. I don't have any problems with the design of Fyreslayers, that's not the issue. The problem is that they are one of the oldest of all the AoS original armies, (basically on par with 1st wave Stormcasts) and as such many of their models are not very good on a technical or sculpting level, especially compared to stuff GW has put out in the last few years. In particular the infantry kits are lackluster, they're basically on the same level as some of the more mediocre 8th edition WHFB kits, which makes sense, they would have been made back then. Look at many of the first run KO heroes and compare them to the various special characters and event models released in recent years, the difference is massive! The frustrating thing about Fyreslayers is they get so few new models to put that theory to the test. The new hero looks good, as uninspired as he is. The Underworlds band looks incredible compared to the normal vulkite/Runefather, and that was season one, not even close to Underworlds at it's best. I do want new models and unit types for Fyreslayers, but even more than that I want to see new anything for Fyreslayers to better showcase their potential. C'mon GW, give them a new underworlds band, they're due. Or even better, Warcry.

Confusingly enough, the starpriest is a wizard and not a priest.

What I really love about this drawing is that even all the tiny details here, the ur-gold runes, the small differences in headcrests, beltbuckles, loincloths etc, it's all dead on accurate. If you don't play Fyreslayers you can't even fully appreciate this picture.

New Kharadron book blatantly teases Gholemkind, so that's one direction to expand them into. Agreed that Fyreslayers are always assumed more unpopular than they really are, they've had a consistent mid-high meta percentage in tournaments their entire lifespan and I see new people picking them up often enough. Maybe not a massive wave but I do feel like they are due a real update in 4th edition, it's been more than long enough. As for new Dispossessed, since the entire storyline of Grugni returning hasn't resulted in dwarf soup or any real changes for Fyreslayers or KO, either updating Dispossessed or adding Grugni focused Dwarfs seems like the most plausible path for all that teasing to lead into. Probably not anytime soon, though. Still, Dispossessed have endured this long, even apparently into the revamped CoS.

A lot of single hero releases are probably just repurposed test models (either having the new guy practice making a model using established elements, or experimenting with a new design direction) just like Underworlds has always been a way to monetize the same sort of thing.

Yeah, I've noticed recently that every single mildly interesting 4)k release lately seems to sell out before I even get a chance to think of picking up, like almost every boarding patrol box. Saves me money and all, but it reminds me of the days that every FOMO release was like that and I don't miss them at all.

It's actually the first time TOW has gotten any kind of reveal at a preview event, so that's a very major step. It's incredibly unlikely that they'll preview something that's more than six months out, also, so I'd say TOW release later in the year is also pretty much confirmed.

Running out is basically impossible, we get a new one every week, but with Warhammerfest coming up fast I think we are probably going to hit an all-time low for banked rumor engines.

All I'll say on the matter is that there was a time I actually paid close attention to GW's painting tutorials, they used to be excellent and easy to follow for good results, but the quality and consistency of their videos has just keep plunging further and further over the years, to the point that they really might as well not exist at all.

He's a surprisingly small model for being a mounted character and only a single sprue, so it's not that out there.

Well if nothing else, I think lately Underworlds has proven itself to be a decent indicator of future releases on a long enough timeline, at least the ones that aren't just straight copies of existing models. Sylvaneth got a Revenant Warband and then a Kurnothi warband, and then a Revenant model update followed by (apparently) a Kurnothi one. The Snarlfang pack got turned into a real unit just this year, with some lore indicating that there might be more to come. Seraphon got modern redesigns in Underworlds before the avalanche of new models since then, etc etc. Bonesplitters got their own Underworlds Warband which was literally the first new sculpts the had gotten in many years, and the designs were different in a lot of subtle ways from the existing models, reminds me a lot of the Seraphon situation. Not that I would expect them to get nearly as much as Seraphon but it makes sense to me that GW has been experimenting with new designs for them.

That's a weird one, I think probably it's horns suspended from chains. Combined with the rune carvings I can't really think of anything that matches...

I think it's more like, if GW is going to keep making Stormcast anyway (and they will) they might as update some of the clunkier models instead of bloating the army further with new units they don't need.

I might be wrong, but I think in this case it's mostly just because the edition rules changes are so large that the old codexes are going to be basically unusable as-is, so it's necessary for GW to provide an updated version of all factions on day one.

Yeah I was always wary of jumping into CoS, which still didn't stop me from accruing patchwork models from the range over the years, in isolated bouts of optimism and temporarily relaxed self-control. I've got a full painted Frostheart Phoenix in my closet among other things. At this point I'm likely giving up on most of my City Aelves, painting my dispossessed, and using my random human models as proxies where I can.

Yeah, in the case of Ironweld I expect they just don't need to exist anymore. Dawnbringers will come with their own new artillery kits. Phoenicium always felt like a weird tacked on city, lorewise they haven't been relevant since the Realmgate Wars and in 2E felt like they stayed around only to justify the continuing popularity of Phoenix Temple. Which is understandable, I love the old phoenix and phoenix guard kits! I note that the new list of cities included in CoS also looks like it omits Phoenicium completely. Basically in general my takeaway from all this is that Wanderers will be fully replaced by Kurnothi as part of Sylvaneth, Ironweld will just be part of Dawnbringers with new models, Phoenix Temple will be replaced with future LRL releases, Dispossessed will apparently continue to limp on with fewer kits than ever until they finally get a revamp, and Dark Elfs will continue to exist as basically a mostly complete WHFB army range until Malerion finally decides to show up.

You'll have a regular box and a killteam box that costs a little bit more and includes the upgrade sprue.

The Lumineth Books have been calling Tyrion "Lord Phoenix" for a while now, so I'm expecting his model will come with a big ol Phoenix and probably at least one associated unit.

I said ages ago based on the renders that they were going to make them Sigmarite Brettonians but I was even more right than I expected! Real Man-At-Arms vibes with the new models. I do like them a lot, the full range should be fun.

There's no missing faction. It's either a 2nd tome for an existing army or a new army.

It's funny, I felt the same way about CoS for years, but now recently I've spent the last month or so painting the Dispossessed models I already had because at this point, what the hell why not? I can always use them for something or the other, even for TOW if it comes down to it. I just like painting CoS models here and there because most of them are a lot simpler than modern GW models.

The gap between the first season of revamped Killteam and Into the Dark was basically nonexistent, I expect it'll be the same for Warcry. New boxes every three months, this being the last of the four just means that next one will be another full size starter with a new core book, more terrain, etc etc.

Hey Hey hey, every army got at least a special battalion a couple of months before warscroll battalions were removed from the game! And Fyreslayers got two of the lowest effort warscroll updates in the history of the game, it wasn't technically a lie!

This might as well just be a big pack of Proxy Heroes for SC players, especially if you want to run a full Thunderstrike army, that's kinda amazing.

As an Ogre player, yeah that's 100% an Ogor mace. No one else has weapons in that style. Really the curious thing about this RE though, is that it seems a little plain to be a Character weapon. Butcher, maybe. Maneaters seem unlikely. New Ironguts would fit perfectly, but I don't think anyone expects new Ironguts.