Neverchosen

Yeah I run a unit of 20 with Sword and Shield... I guess I will have to create a new command and split off a portion of my unit 🤨

Well I am offering it to them with a specific but still very friendly catch, namely if they pick up any of the further starter sets to keep me in mind for splitting the other half... but considering that it will either net them a discount or some terrain (if it follows the 40k release model) then it still seems like a pretty good deal to me. 😳 However, the city I am in still has most lockdown restrictions in place, so I understand how it could feel a little burdensome to worry about starting a new collection/project. This of course has effected the employment of some of my friends as well. But still from my prospective I am trying to offer half an army that they can repay one day down the line if they were so inclined. I have also offered the Orcs to my cousin as trade bait to round out his soulblight army but he is refusing on principal as he is in a better financial situation than me but I keep explaining that I am going to try and nab the box either way.

I mean there was a decent amount self consolation in my post as I am not sure if I will get my hands on it 😉 I think both halves look fantastic but I am also leaning towards the Stormcast side as well. I have been working on various colour schemes for the army as well. It is weird though as I have asked my friend's group if they want the other half free of charge and no one has taken me up on the offer. I do not have the space or time to have a larger destruction army especially as I have a small Beast Claw army already. It is strange as I prefer them just slightly to the Stormcast half but I feel they will be slightly redundant next to my Chaos Warriors and Ogre Mawtribes. But if I do not get it I will likely settle on a Duradin or Aelven faction to provide some more variety for my hobby efforts. So as I said I am trying to brace myself for missing out by considering other potential options. 😅

I am in a similar boat in that I want to support a local game store, however as excited as I am for the box if I do not get it I will not be overly sad. I will only be collecting half either way and as much as I love the models there are other armies I love equally, so if I do not get my hands on it I will pick up something else and find peace with it... after maybe a week of bitterly complaining online.... 😏

As fun as it is to joke about his lack of armour, the reality is that saves in AOS pull double duty representing armour, toughness and in some senses martial prowess. So I personally have no issue with our giga chad taking a lance to the chest as giga chads often do! 😎

I have mentioned this in the Slaves to Darkness thread but I feel like they kind of released the first four of these articles to represent the most iconic or metonymic factions of each grand alliance. I think it makes sense as they are the armies I most directly think of in relationship to each alliance*: https://www.warhammer-community.com/2021/06/10/outlast-any-enemy-with-the-soulblight-gravelords-in-the-new-edition/ Fantastic looking shot of the army. *Note this does not make them my favourites since other than Slaves to Darkness I prefer several other factions for each Grand Alliance.

Is this the monster article we were waiting so patiently for? 🤣 https://www.warhammer-community.com/2021/06/10/the-only-thing-scarier-than-dominions-killaboss-is-the-hungry-looking-mount-they-ride/

If I am reading this right I will have to convert my unit of 20 Chaos warriors with Sword and shield into 2 units of ten? Or a unit of 5 and one of 15? Because taking 20 would = 4 reinforcements which is more than they could take as a battle line unit 🤔🤯 Just when I thought I was done with the army... 😢

Yeah I was really hoping they were going to at least hint at or indicate new directions like an off handed reference to Furnace Kings (hinting at Chaos Dwarves) or the further rallying of Darkoath tribes (indicating new Marauders). But no, instead we got some pretty pictures and pretty much a retread over some previously previewed rules. Even in terms of retreaded rules they seemed largely arbitrary... But still first Chaos army featured was pretty nice, I also wonder if this indicates we will get priority in terms of army updates. We don't have the oldest army but we could really use an update... of course such an early release would mean drowning in the eventual flood of power creep... 😦 But considering that our Warscrolls are often designed to balance against Stormcast, I suppose being on the top towards the beginning will be better than being a book balanced against an early edition book which is how 2.0 felt to me.

Out of interest for our Kaiju loving expert what monsters are you hoping for? I feel like a lot of mythical/monstrous creatures are now iconically linked to specific subfactions like Hydras, Giants, Dinosaurs and Sea Monsters. I already posted about my embarrassing love of Unicorns, but I feel like a number of the fantasy monsters are currently tied to specific factions already. Dragons and their draconic kin are clearly at the top of most lists. I have a suspicion that the Chimera is moving away from Beasts of Chaos and more towards just a generic monster. I feel like non-chaotic versions of certain creatures would be awesome like the Sphiranx and Fomoroid. An AOS equivalent to Baba Yaga's house has been tossed around before and would be awesome. Fimir might work better in this role than as a standalone army or expansion to any destruction force. I do not think that a Sphinx is currently represented in AOS but I could be forgetting something. I could also see Rakshasa or Oni like creatures that could split the difference size wise between ogres and gargants. Various God Beasts would all be fairly cool although their potential scale might make this difficult.

https://www.warhammer-community.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Lw4o3USx1R8sU7cQ.pdf The core rules for 40k are still available online. I think that AOS can expect the same, and they have shared a number of Warscrolls already. I think that GW is still banking on AOS being more accessible in hopes of winning over some 40k players while also functioning as a gateway for newer players.

Wanting to get back on to the topic of rumours. There is a type of creature that is not currently present in Warhammer and I deeply want to see represented as a neutral beast. Where are my Unicorns at? A rare magical creature that is not simply a horse with a horn, but a creature with the beard of a goat, body of a horse the tail of a lion and cloven hooves would look really cool. Although many medieval depictions made them smaller than horses I would love to see an elegant creature in the scale of a Mindstealer Sphrianx. It could be a fast creature that has magical abilities. But I think the most interesting thing about unicorn's is that they are often portrayed as divine creatures whose lives are sacred. I keep thinking how amazing it would be to have a mystical creature whose death could demoralize it's opponents. I think that maybe the army that slays the Unicorn will have a de-buff to it's bravery as the army questions their resolve. If an army somehow one the favour of a unicorn and saw it fall in battle maybe their resolve will double and they will get a buff to bravery. It would be a unique presence on the battlefield and it would become the centre of many memorable narratives. I think that it would be a weak unit in combat but with an amazing impact on the battlefield. Either way a dragon and a wild unicorn would both be instant purchases for me. But since I am likely to get a small Stormcast force thanks to dominion I will be able to run a Stardrake just leaving a unicorn shaped hole in my collection.

It is not only telling that people feel threatened by critique but also an indication of how structurally unstable hegemony can be. If exerting some critical pressure causes a narrative to unwind what does that say about the narrative, and more importantly about the narratives we tell ourselves? However, I do not consider all artwork to be aspirational and I think that art invites criticism. Warhammer is a highly polemical and parodic expression of fantasy and science fiction tropes. I have always loved the transgressive elements of Warhammer and it is why I have always been drawn to it. But polemical and parodic works are not above criticism and scrutiny and actually more readily invite such investigations of the work. The imperialist fantasy is something that exists within the narrative and player base, but so does it's opposition and unlike many other game systems Warhammer allows you to oppose the conventions that it's narrative sets up. So if someone wants to indulge some imperialistic fantasy of manifest destiny they are permitted, but know that there is a fun loving anarchist with 3d printed chaos warriors or lego built Orruks there to tear down the walls of order.

I think the thing that benefits Age of Sigmar's narrative over 40K is the ability to showcase multiple points of view. In establishing a stronghold in areas that belong to Chaos or Destruction we can see both sides of the narrative unfold rather than simply the perspective of Order. In this way we can have stories showcasing sympathetic people allying with Chaos to oppose a tyrant imposing Feudal law on the land, or a Destruction force taking down the army allowing the farmers to demand freedom from oppression. Again I am not sure what narrative dictums exist but I think that nuance can be accomplished much more readily by showcasing different points of view.

Here is the updated look at Slaves to Darkness in 3.0 obviously nothing earth shattering but it is nice to see this faction being placed alongside Stormcast and Orruk Warclans as the Iconic face of Chaos. https://www.warhammer-community.com/2021/06/09/the-slaves-to-darkness-are-out-to-conquer-the-new-edition-and-heres-how-theyll-do-it/ Also Warshrine #Bless

I just hope that when we get Grungi's model he is a stressed out engineer with a coffee and some blue prints stuck under his arms. He should have a special rule "Do it yourself". Whenever an opposing Order God issues a command Grungi rolls a dice, if he rolls a one he can no longer contain his anger and he tells them off! They can no longer issue commands for the rest of the match for fear of Grungi quitting. Even when facing Grungi in battle the Order Gods realize he is the only one keeping things together.

Pretty building the forces of order are building, sure would be a shame if someone came and smashed it

Ward Saves, Miscasts, Shorter spell ranges forcing mages to get in the action, new objective holding mechanics? I feel like this new edition was designed with my personal hopes in mind. I also even like the more regimented unit formations, even though I think they are a little unwieldy in combat or for certain base sizes and I am a huge fan of the new table sizes.

I must say that this is going to result in a lot more sales for movement trays, I know I will be investing in some but the question remains which strange cavalry formation will the movement trays be sold in?

So math enthusiasts how would rally be best employed? In a hypothetical scenario would it be better to use on a high volume horde of one wound infantry in the hopes of bringing back the most models. Or would it be best to use on an elite unit of ogre sized models to mitigate the most points lost? Or somewhere in between such as elite 2-3 wound models and cavalry? Finally do the models come back at full wounds as the phrasing makes me assume that it will. In this case I assume it is always worth using on units such as Dracoths and Varanguard due to their massive cost investment? Obviously for my level of strategy I will use it on the unit I think is coolest because that is how I roll.

The article about Orruk Warclans on Warhammer community mentions that tomorrow they will cover Slaves to Darkness. I doubt we are going to get any actual useful information about the army but I am looking forward to some pretty pictures and hopefully hints of things to come. Odds are there will be some army shots featuring Be'Lakor and Varanguard that will make me feel sad and poor...

So here is proof positive that they are part of Orruk Warclans alongside an overview of how things will play in 3.0: https://www.warhammer-community.com/2021/06/08/discover-how-command-abilities-are-the-key-to-success-with-the-orruk-warclans-in-the-new-edition/ Warscroll for the Killaboss:

The new artwork is amazing and the command abilities look great. I am excited to see this articles for the older armies and try and glean insight for more speculation. https://www.warhammer-community.com/2021/06/08/discover-how-command-abilities-are-the-key-to-success-with-the-orruk-warclans-in-the-new-edition/ Fantastic new banner art, I wonder if we will get updated art for some older armies?

These wizards are so fantastic looking. Two of the best models in the box but also somewhat easy to overlook next to some of the crazier models included. Knight-Arcanum: I am conflicted on Mask vs unmasked head for the Knight-Arcanum as I was thinking of no helmets on the Heroes and Champions to make them easier to read on the battlefield if I get stormcast... a mask feels like it falls in-between visually, I think it should be okay if I paint it to contrast the armour as this is simply an aesthetic rule I am making up on the fly. I do think rules wise like all Stormcast Wizards she seems pretty straight forward in terms of abilities a standard wizard doing standard things. I like that Kruel Boyz seem to have a similar mechanic of ethereal swamp magic like Idoneth have with the sea. I think it would be fun and fluffy to have them battle and fight over which ecosystem is dominate. Pot Grot is adorable and I really like its rules. I like when mages are not just focused on magic but have additional effects showcasing their position of wisdom within a society such as being a shaman or in this case an apothecary. Overall the cooler of the two units and I am really looking forward to seeing how people paint this model. I think these buffs seem like it is a must take as opposed to the Knight-Arcanum who seems like just another decent SCE wizard.

And people called me crazy for theming all of my battles to take place in a big empty ballroom. I do not think that this rule will be terrible (although I do have some reservations) but I really love rank and file gameplay in WHFB. I do like that this rule gives more reason to run smaller unit sizes for elites... but five still seems like too small a number, I would have rather it have been ten. I do think that it poses some issues for cavalry but that is largely due to the oblong bases. I just think it will look odd having the forward charging models turned sideways but that already exists in the current style of play and would occur in rank and file when flanked. I also think some of the more dynamically posed models will become frustrating with this new coherency system... Lumineth pikes and Dryads branches are already a pain from what I have seen.