Neverchosen

To start things off, I sadly do not have any dragons in my lists, nor have I ever owned a Games Workshop dragon in my collection. I am personally enamoured by the idea of dragons as wandering beasts that can be allied to any army. A kit that had optional builds to make it suitable for each grand alliance would be fantastic. However, I feel like the direction the lore is pointing towards right now is the idea that certain armies will have access to dragons and they will be tied to that specific faction. I do think there is something interesting about the manner in which dragons seem to be more heavily tied to Order as they are related to the Seraphon and both Stormcast and Cities have dragons as well as hints in artwork that Lumineth make use of dragons as well.

A well earned retirement, his work has lead to countless hours of fun and is greatly appreciated. 😁

Hey everyone, Between the recent Broken Realms short story and Kragnos' origin, I have seen a number of people extremely excited at the prospect of a return of dragons to prominence within the lore and hopefully on the tabletop. I thought it would be fun to have a dedicated thread to the topic and maybe even a place to share your own dragons. What are you personally hoping to see from one of the biggest staple elements of fantasy and such an important but currently underrepresented part of the mortal realms? I also want to start this thread with the notion that all dragons are welcome. No taxonomical discrimination between drakes, wyrms, undead, Dragonogor, wyverns/cabbages, dinosaur mounted dinosaur, or mutated demonic threeheaded horses. Heck maybe your dragon is a free guild general with the heart of a dragon! If it is a dragon to you it is more than welcome by me.

This is exciting news as I have just jumped on the Thunderstrike Express! I am split between wanting a new centre piece and wanting a unit of flying drakes. Alternatively, Seraphon are so cool they don't need dragons. "Hey Sigmar take this fire breathing winged lizard off our hands, it messes with our Mesoamerica/Jurassic Park vibe". I am not a fan of Space Marines but if that is how Grey Knights look going forward and they are doing a dual release with Thousand Sons (one of my friend's main armies) I might be in trouble. Oh that is a great deal, also the mage in that box feels much less redundant than the Lord-Imperatant as I can more easily use her as a Knight Incantor or Lord Exorcist.

I really like the new sets but as I have the SCE side of Dominion there is not that much value for me as I do not see myself taking an additional unit of Praetors (even if they are my favourite) or an additional Lord-Imperatant. The smaller box is a possibility if my friend that took the Kruelboy half is interested.

If this is true, the idea that I can run all my Slaves to Darkness in Old world has me really excited... I guess I have to invest in those regiment trays that can fit circular bases. Hopefully GW will understand the market for them an make some themselves but I feel like this will be more of a 3rd party styled thing to accommodate for different unit sizes. Actually I think my Ogors are fairly useable as well but I am not sure I would be able to run pure Beastclaw Raiders in that system. Also, if they are actually sharing a scale I will get an Old World army that I will run as Cities of Sigmar in AOS... with my Dominion Stormcast hopefully filling in any gaps for where proxies fall short.

As with most of these abbreviations I have been reading it as Chaos Dwarf rather than phonetically... although a lot of these shorthands often translate to gamers that like to keep things with a weird internal lexicon which I am never a fan of as it can be difficult for new players to keep up... I use the term wysiwyg online but I cringe each and every time. But if and when Chaos Dwarfs get released they will get an official army designation and likely a more suiting acronym... I assume they will have a Latin or Greek styled name followed by Furnace Kings... For example they could have a name like Igneous Furnace Kings which would simply become IFK.

I will echo these sentiments, I do not mind squigs but I am not the biggest fan of 40k Orks in general, nor the anachronistic and historical traits of many guard troops. However, I can absolutely say that I am really happy that these releases are occurring as both lines had been languishing for such long periods. I also feel like my thoughts on the Kreig unit might change as people add some Genestealer bits and make them something more visually compelling. Also I have no specific issue with squigs and I know that some Gloomspite players will create some fantastic conversions of these models for their armies. I also think that the orks will be great for conversion fodder for AoS which is also great as I feel that Kruel Boyz are going to get most of the love for this edition in AoS. I do strangely like 40k Orks when viewed in a vacuum such as in Gorkamorka or Speed Freaks.

I actually really genuinely love the idea of grand alliances and think that conceptually they are fantastic. Ironically enough the only one that causes pause is the sheer disorder found within Order. However, in terms of gameplay function I will say that it very much appears that GW is moving away from the grand alliances and overall it is a good thing as armies grow and foster more of an identity in lore and on the tabletop, but I hope they don't abandon Grand Alliances entirely for a few specific reasons. It is still a useful tool for compiling similar armies for marketing purposes such as on their website and things like the Grand Alliance Warcry tomes. I like playing in group games such as 2v2, and it makes deciding who allies with who a little easier. For example my friends and I have been planing a post lockdown game with Slaves to Darkness/Disciples of Tzeentch vs Ossiarchs/Soulblight. I actually think that the concept of Grand Alliances could be expanded specifically for allied matches, for example sharing a grand alliance could give the ability to issue generic commands to 'friendly' armies. Finally, I think it would be a really good basis for the eventual Apocalypse equivalent in Age of Sigmar. If someone collects primarily death but does not have 4000 points of a single army they might field an army between their Soulblight, Nighthaunt and FEC.

I wouldn't like this at all... I just started a new army and I could not resist the call of some beast allies. In the words of the great Joe Exotic "I am never going to financially recover from this".

Hooray, I got my second vaccine and have arranged my first 3.0 game against my friend's Soulblight. It will be a bit of plodding mess as he will be playing his first game with the Soulblight updates and we will both be grappling with the new 3.0 ruleset. I think maybe for those reasons we will make it a smaller 1000-1500 point affair. 😁

I mean going off the rumour engines I only see one thing that looks Nurgle like (the little bone instrument) and several things that look potentially Slaves to Darkness inspired (the eightpoint skull, the staff top, and the hoof). I think that the likeliest bet is Beasts of Chaos, Nurgle or Slaves to Darkness at roughly equal measure. I know it will disapoint many but I am still fairly confident that Chaos Dwarves will at least initially be a S2D subfaction.

Hmm, I wonder if someone recently posted a massive wish list of potential Chaos Champions to enter into the mortal realms... 🤔 Beyond that though I feel like this is a very likely wish considering that 40k seems to be doing something similar overall for their new releases. So I can imagine every army having a leader styled character at the fore. I am personally partial to Volturnos/Akhelian King styled models that give an optional generic build. I do think that this is exactly where soup lists can kinda hurt a line, particularly if that named character is the only major release for the edition: Skragrott is one of my favourite character models but other than a wand with some legs he might not fit perfectly into a Spiderfang or Troggoth army. The ven Denst's might stand out like a couple of sore thumbs in a Scourge Privateers or Dispossessed list. If they release an updated Greasus Goldtooth he would likely only fit in with my BCR army as I have a love of Gnoblars. This coming from someone who typically likes soup styled armies.

The reason I choose these specific figures was not to lead the whole faction but to work as mortal emissaries of their respective gods. I liked the idea of seeing the various champions as sort of iconic representatives of the aspects of the gods and not to be on the level of a 'Primarch' or God. However, it was a long winded ramble about how I think your idea of Egrimm van Horstmann is a great way to bring back two of the coolest chaos champions of all time. I personally would not likely run any of them as I typically do not use named characters but I like the idea of them existing as they typically have amazing models that can be proxied for more generic styled heroes. I was really excited for Be'Lakor as he is a cool character with a fantastic model and I could proxy him for a greater demon or even Archaon in a pinch. But I still did not purchase him as it is a relatively expensive model for me and I can wait for a character and most of the time will be run as a regular demon prince and I already have a regular demon prince. However, my wish listing was mostly set up for the final paragraph in which I stated that I have sadly seen very few chaos related rumours.

I want each major Chaos faction to have their Sigvald equivalent of a reimagined Old World mortal hero turned into a mighty champion to rein destruction on the realms. I also want a storyline featuring them answering the call of Archaon and taking part in a massive campaign with constant rivalries back stabbing and arguing whose god is the best. Each of these heroes would represent their god within the narrative and lead their forces in the name of their respective faction. Some already have their version of an appropriate equivalent but here is my list, I will also include a secondary choice if I feel the hero I pick might diverge to far from the Sigvald mold. The Lieutenants of Chaos: Blades of Khorne: Valkia, reimagined with a plastic kit and slightly more imposing presence. I know she still has a model in AOS but it could do with a refresh like Be'lakor and Kroak. She could be designed to be a rival of Sigvald and posed in a way to showcase their similarities and differences. I also think visually she would help diversify the mortal side of the line which is currently different degrees of Conan the Barbarian. As a demon prince she might break from my mortal rule in which case my second choice is Arbaal the Undefeated. Maggotkin of Nurgle: The Glottkin, this horrifying trio already capture the essence of a Nurgle champion and have a fantastic model to represent the lord of Decay's blessings. The Glottkin are slightly more of a behemoth styled centre piece model (much like Glutos) and as such Feytor the Tainted could be a potential alternative. Disicples of Tzeentch: Egrimm Van Horstman on Glaurauch, this is a stroke of genius I always considered the two as alternate builds but to take both characters together would be a great way to show an evolution of these champions. I can imagine the sheer scale and terror inspired by the first chaos dragon taking the field in the mortal realms. I would proxy Horstman and Glaurauch as Archaon and mark my Slaves to Darkness as Tzeentch in a heartbeat if this release took place. Despite being my most vaunted and hoped for champion(s) they fall within the Glottkin styled behemoth centre piece. As such Aekold Helbrass with some additional mutations and avian wings could be a cool Sigvald styled Lieutenant. Hedonists of Slaanesh: Sigvald, his return elicited a great deal of excitement and his model is a stunning representation of how the former champions of chaos can be reimagined within the mortal realms and brought to the fore in the narrative. Alongside Valkia and the Glottkin he is one of the champions I am suggesting that has an existing model and gives me hope for this becoming a trend within the hosts of chaos. Slaves to Darkness: Vardek Crom, the herald of Archaon reborn and the mightiest champion of the Lieutenants of Chaos. Quickly rising through the ranks and being brought to the throne of the Everchosen Archaon recognizes the talents and power that could only be the second coming of his most faithful champion and herald. I want to see him returned and as Lord-Commander Bastian Carthalos' rival in rules and model. Much like Guilliman and Abaddon in 40k, I want to see these two models facing one another down in front of a might Stormhost and Horde of Chaos. In terms of a new model I want him to be as terrifying as Varanguard and have rules that greatly benefit Undived marked units. I feel like his classic pose will need to be updated with a Lord Celestant helmet under his boot. Skaven: Thanquol and Boneripper, much like Nurgle and Slaanesh, I feel like Skaven have their champion already. From both the narrative prominence of Thanquol in the world that was to his ongoing presence in AOS I can hardly think of a character more befitting as the face of Skaven and chief Lieutenant of the Great Horned Rat. Despite being a large model I feel like Thanquol and Boneripper, do not run into the same problem presented by Engrimm and the Glottking as due to the looser connection of Skaven to the other Chaos hosts they will not need to be balanced or priced accordingly to their humanoid conterparts. Also, I absolutely love the model and see no reason for an update. Beast of Chaos: Morghur: I feel of all the unreleased models I have listed this is the most obvious choice to be released. However, much like Thanquol and Boneripper I see Morghur as a much larger model. But once again the loose affiliation with the more humanoid Chaos worshippers places Morghur outside of the more stringent character choices I placed earlier. However, alongside Krakanrok the Black I can see Morghur as a god tier character that goes in a tier beyond my list of champions. As such I feel like Khazrak One-Eye or Gorthor can duke it out to be champion of the beasts. Narratively: I would love a black library series in which the champions are all summoned by Archaon to help wage war upon Katakros' forces in the Eightpoints. I would want the novels to be self contained and independent but happen concurrently with each other. Each novel will showcase the cunning and power of the champions while indicating that the stakes of this war are much higher than previously thought as the forces of death have penetrated deeper and deeper towards the Varanspire. Their duplicitous nature and rivalries will also be on display but above all else their personalities and ideologies will get a chance to be explored in greater depth. Plus I think it would be great to have each novel begin with a war meeting in the Varanspire with the internal monologue of one of the retinue of champions. Whether the Skaven and Beast representatives would feature in that narrative or have their own separate side stories would be up to the authors. I would prefer the idea of two alternate stories as that way order and destruction could also feature into the collected narrative series of the Chaos Champions. With all of this in mind do we have any specific Chaos related rumours, I know there is talk about Chorfs and possibly an early chaos battletome. There was also that rumour about a dual box of Grots and Beasts from awhile back. However, beyond that the rumours for chaos factions feel particularly slim in these early days of 3.0. I would argue that it is because Chaos seems to be in a good spot but Skaven and Beasts feel like such a natural fit for the setting of Ghur and are both drowning in resin.

The Kruelboyz Vulture is pretty snazzy! 😁

New monster article includes an alt build for the creepy troll. Less fiddly polearms will make this the more transportable build option. https://www.warhammer-community.com/2021/07/05/monster-slaying-101-dealing-with-monsters-in-the-new-edition/

I get the anxiety, but I do not see the new models as a Primaris style replacement. I think that after a number of years we will get updates to the older models but this is no where near as drastic an update. Simply newer armour and some new units that fill similar niches to older ones. The Primaris were a huge update of the scale and proportion of the models, as the old space marines honestly looked pretty abysmal from an anatomical point of view. The old Stormcast look fine next to the new Stormcast I am not the biggest fan of the older armour or poses but they do not look out of scale or anatomically incorrect. Space marines on the other hand needed a drastic redesign to make them fit a modern aesthetic. I found these pics online so I cannot make these comparisons in person. I only own some currently unbuilt Vindicators: Different height is largely due to posture and the base having rubble under the Vindicator's feet. If the Liberator were lifted off the ground to the same extent the heights would be pretty close. I think the posture and the width of the armour makes the liberator feel a little more squat and broad than the Vindicator. This looks like a completely different company making a different product. The proportions of these are drastically different and the posture, pose and base are not to blame. Now back to the topic at hand: Wyvern Buzzards! I hope it looks something like a vulture inspired Cockatrice/Basilisk:

I thought of a really great place to get some inspiration for some stunning colour schemes Akira Kursowa's 1985 film Ran.

Honestly my friend, no words to express how much I enjoyed seeing that. ❤️ In a similar vein to my love of Brian Froud my childhood edition of LOTR was illustrated by Alan Lee. So you are hitting all the right spots with that paint job. These capture the essence of how I imagine orcs!

Oh wow this looks absolutely fantastic, I would be interested in seeing the dracoth having a reddish brown hue, maybe a doombull brown with a highlight of Khorne red. But I actually think I prefer the related cloak and Dracoth, it gives a sense that Vandus' cloak represents his status as a drake rider. I always think the best colour schemes tell a story. However, if you run a unit of Dracoth you can give them this green colour and make Vandus' dracoth red to stand out against them. It puts my hypothetical colour scheme to shame although my scheme is actually meant to oppose my red and white chaos scheme, I am intending to use black on the pauldrons and shields both of which are both not really showcased on the Praetor image I posted. Although I am thinking of ditching the green and going black and white for the fabric to give them a priestly vibe.

I just used photoshop and found the image on google. I am not great at photoshop so there are a lot of gaffes on my part but I do really like the scheme. I am also considering trying to do a tartan style look for my Stormcast but that seems far beyond my skill set to do in an adequate fashion. Maybe I will try it on a specific hero or unit.

Thanks for the advise! I really love the Lord Castellant and his little doggo too. I think that for as cool as Stormcast are, it is often difficult for non-stormcast players to tell the difference. As much as I prefer soldiers to have helmets, I am thinking of doing all my heroes and unit champions sans helmet so that my opponent can more easily tell the difference. Furthermore, I am thinking of painting their armour to denote 'rank'. I will use Runelord Brass on the battleline troops, Leadbelcher for 'the elite' units, and Retributor Armour on the heroes. I expect many an Olympic joke at the expense of my army. 😄 However, as you said I should really take my time as I still have some ogors to build and have yet to paint any of them. I am however really excited about this project though and might build and paint them alongside my ogors. Bur I am still shooting for a rather small Stormcast force as I have limited shelf space and my Chaos army kinda got a little more horde-like than I had anticipated thanks to Warcry. This is my current mock up for my 'elite' Stormcast theme: Keep in mind that my paint job will be significantly messier and more flat. This is just a mock up or proof of concept.

Hey everyone, I am new to Stormcast jumping in with Dominion. I am really excited about this project and creating some angelic paladins to battle my forces of Chaos and Destruction. I had a Knight Incantor and five Sequitors which I purchased intending to make a Chaos Sorcerer Lord and some Chosen (originally just bought the paint set and decided to round out the unit), but I never got around to it. Then when Dominion was announced I realized they would make for a good jumping on point. I was thinking of adding a couple of ballistas and possibly a hero to round out 2000 points, but these new reveals were so cool I might hold off for a bit until the book is released and I can really plan out my list especially as the points are subject to change in fairly short order. I will say though that I really love the Vigolors and Bastian Carthalos... I might just have to find a way to include them in my list. I will be busy working on a small Beastclaw force but I will pop in here occasionally to ask dumb questions about Stormcast rules.

First person to paint them using a Brian Froud (one of the lead designers for the Labyrinth and Dark Crystal) colour palette will have my gratitude. I grew up with his art books and they really inspired much of how I imagine fantasy worlds. ♥️