Is that the end of Warhammer fest? It is weird having the Horus Heresy reveal happen so much earlier in the day. Either way I shall do my typical impressions most of which I have stated already! I feel somewhat vindicated by this series of announcements because pretty much every thing I expected was announced although I feel like I got the degree/amount wrong on many things.
Warhammer 40k: Demon Prince - I have always attested to the idea of having different head options for a demon prince for each god and the kit looks amazing. Oddly, I think for my army I prefer the current more cartoony demon prince but the variations and possibilities of the new one are very much appreciated. I also think they fit the baroque opulence of modern chaos and I particularly love the head showcased on the 40k Demon prince and hope it is compatible with the AOS torso. Angels of Death: I am happy for animated content but this is not really for me. If it was on youtube I would eventually watch it on a boring bad weather day. I still feel like GW would make more from the ad revenue on Youtube than for a full subscription service. World Eaters: Huge and exciting announcement. It is strange in AOS and WHFB I prefer Slaanesh and Tzeentch and in 40k I prefer Nurgle and Khorne. The artwork shown looked very, very Blades of Khorne almost to the point that I feel like AOS players with a Khorne army can probably not buy a single model. The Primarch like all of the God Specific legions will probably be cool… although Bloodthirsters have a tendency to disappoint me model wise so we shall see. Either way it is exciting to see a new Chaos army. Chapter Approved: Hopefully Necrons get a boost because they are the coolest 40k Army… are they just Egyptian themed T800s… yes that is why they are cool! Leagues of Votann: Confession time, I think fantasy species in a grim dark science fiction setting is fairly silly and undermines the tone of the universe... but then it comes to Squats that is exactly why I like them. However, as much as that means that I secretly want campy and silly space dwarves… the League of Votann is weirdly knocking it out of the park as a realistic and unique faction. Hernkyn Pioneer is a great example of this as I was certain that Space Bikers would return to their silly roots. But instead of a tricycle motorcycle with a Heck's* angels dwarf, they gave her a hover bike with leather jacket and goggles, but switching them out from Biker to aviation themed gear was a stroke of brilliance. Squats are back and their mere existence makes Orks and Eldar more appealing to me. Of course I have always held firm that if I got a humanoid space fantasy army I will paint them to have 1950s green alien skin.
Chaos Space Marines: I absolutely loved every last one of them. Without going over each unit I will say that the focus on cultist and mutants makes the army more interesting and provides more visual variation for a game that is overwhelmed by Space Marines. This is enough to make me want a Chaos Space Marine army that is lacking in Space Marines. Sadly my budget would require that I rely on box sets and used models meaning that Space Marines would still need to make a large part of the composition. Still I am wondering how expensive and competitve an army of the new knight box and some cultists would be on the tabletop. AOS:
Ogroids: It is strange in the leak I was kind of like neat. But seeing them in proper images in higher fidelity I fell in love with them. A big group of mutated chaotic beast ogres given an empire by Archaon to help train the cultists and marauders is brilliant and the models are fantastic. I am happy for the leak but wish that this was the first time I got to see the models. I do not know if they will make into my army but if I decide to dip my toes into 40k I think I might find room for them as proxies and maybe I will use them as chaotic Man-eaters for my ogors. Black Library Models: No clue what to expect from these two as characters or units, but I Love the models and hope that Drekki Flynt’s colour scheme becomes the new standard for KO. Generals Handbook: I do not love the pay to play season strategy, but I do like the updated rules system and wonder if there is a nice balance. Narratively it will help round out the mortal realms and I look forward to more Ghurish action. I do like the idea that people will be able to pick seasons to play for internal balances. Like if gaming group has an unfair balance between players selecting a season that balances armies would be cool. Dawn Bringers: I am still hopeful that they do not remove the elves and dwarves even if the focus is primarily upon humans. I am less into the commoner human army than most people, but I love the aesthetic being showcased in the banners and symbols. I still hope that they use the Dawn bringers to showcase sympathy for the chaos and destruction tribes that resist displacement from the cities of order. Luckily two of my armies will oppose Sigmar’s imperialist might. Overall it is exciting to see a big project for AOS but I have a feeling that it will not be for me. However, make it a mix of elves, dwarves and humans that can be themed for realms and cultures and I will jump on board. Sylvaneth: I love that the new release emphasizes each side of the army’s aesthetic. The Lady of Vines is a beautiful model and will look great in pure tree armies. The revenant styled units incorporate the use of spites in spectacular ways and provide even more emphasis on the kind hybrid aesthetic of spirits, fae and nature. Overall Sylvaneth are going to be more interesting on the battle field and even just visually. I still really wish that we had gotten a Kurnothi subfaction instead. Skaven: The most contentious reveal so far and for fairly good reason. A single hero unit is not what Skaven needed to update. But lets be honest it is a fantastic model and proof that when shaven are updated they will be amazing. I am still hopeful that this was revealed early in preparation of the dual box and they will reveal a few more units before the Skaven release. I would still say this single reveal suggests it will be at most a unit or two at most. Misc. Games:
Warcry: I feel a little mixed about this reveal as I loved the models and the implication of more of my favourite game. But it also reminded me that I have a hard time finding opponents and moving away from the eight points means that I will more likely not have as much use for the terrain and models. However, if they do include the cool marshal and have the legionaries facing the forces of Hashut I will be able to justify the purchase. But the Marshal looks amazing in my opinion. Necromunda: Every nice thing I said about the Leagues of Votann times ten. I just hope they make the helmets the standard for the mainline army. The make your own vehicles rules sound really cool. I am interested in necromunda but none of my friends are remotely interested. Middle Earth: Beornings… I love Grimbeorn but the others feel oddly uninspired to me. They seem like villager militia when they could have done more interesting bear themed aesthetic. I would say that pelts would break with the nature of Beorn being a vegetarian and friend of the animals but they have fur lined clothes… I dunno how I would handle them but I am sadly unimpressed.
Kill team: The cultists are pretty great models but next to the previously previewed Chaos Models they are fairly generic. The Space Marine side is as boring as ever… the terrain is really cool though! If I do follow through with my interest in Chaos Cultists in 40k it might be worth getting this and splitting the space marines with a friend or maybe slapping on some chaos helmets and having them fall to the dark gods. Horus Heresy: 30K: You want some heresy… I might pick this box up! I am vaguely interested in the game itself and I kind of want to make a 30k Dark Angel force that I use in 40K as Chaos Space Marine Fallen Angels. I can add some cultists and some of my AOS models and call it a day for the fallen angels. Boom two full(ish) armies with one massive boxed purchase.
Do I hate space marines? Yes!
Do I like beaks and chaos more? Yes!
I probably won’t follow through with this plan as it is cost prohibitive for an army/aesthetic I do not love. But I think it would be narratively really fun to have an army that I can use in two different systems as two opposing sides 10k years apart. Overall: lots of really cool stuff and I am genuinely excited about all of it. I will share the grief of Skaven players but I still have some hope and can at least know that when they are updated they will be amazing! In terms of purchases I might go CSM either through 30k or cultists and the Ogroids and Warcry have piqued my interest. But overall I feel like I might need to save up for the Slaves to Darkness release this winter. Be'Lakor and Eternus will be a big investment and well worth the price of admission.
