Neverchosen

I have a really strange and oddly specific hope that Grungni and Valaya get there own separate followers. I think it would be really cool if one of them got a traditional Dwarven Force that just pushed forward the Dispossessed aesthetic. Meanwhile the other could have an army of clockwork powered battle-suits and mechanical golems. Personally I would like Valaya to lead a Sisters of battle styled force of classical female Duardin and Grungni to have the mechanical Cogforces. I would like them to share a tome and be distinct playable sub-factions that can be run together. I feel this would give the 'classical duardin' a more distinct role as female dwarves are often underrepresented in fantasy and combined with clockwork mechanical allies would give a very AOS vibe to the faction as a whole. But if the two were switched I would still be fine as I think it would be cool to have an additional Duardin God and an army that let you build both traditional and untraditional units. 😁 I also know it is next to impossible but I would absolutely love 3.0 to be a Duardin vs Destruction box and I think Grotbag Scuttlers would make an ideal opponent. But I digress as I am turning this into a wish listing thread again. Back to rumours: I have always considered Demons and Seraphon to be the true representatives of Chaos and Order hopefully we get a dual box between the two.

I am reading Grotbag scuttlers confirmed?

I am thinking these are going to be part of the 3.0 starter destruction army... not sure if that be ogors, ogroids, warclans or something completely new.

I think this is likely a silly question as there is not much in terms of answers but do we know the aesthetic that will likely be taken by a Grimnir styled Duardin faction? Will it be like the current Dispossessed or something that is more easily trademarked or do we simply not know? I am aware that there are certain Duardin depictions on Gloomspite models and the like but do they indicate any specific aesthetic direction for the army. I feel like there are concept artists working on it currently but I am honestly unsure of the direction they would be taken beyond what we have/had. I have heard a lot of talk about cogwork beings and golems but I have seen people debate whether or not that would be connected to a Duardin release... I still feel fairly confident that the next edition will have a heavy focus on Duardin and Humans defending Azyr against the Forces of Destruction so any info would be much appreciated. This is my round about way of saying give us these models! 😋

Wow that is soon, I wonder if we will get any further Battalion Boxes? I feel like that will be too quick of a turn around for most Hobby Shops... Still I really enjoy the concept of these boxes and how they tie into the narrative. Even if some of these boxes are significantly more impressive than others.

Are Monday Model reveals ending for sure? It has been such a fun little thing to look forward to each week. Hopefully they end on a big reveal. I suspect it will be 40k related as the reveals have been highly geared towards AOS so far.

Oh heck yes, now I can be jealous of Death Players amazing range not just Slaanesh and Lumineth! These models look really dope and I am still desperately hoping for a Knights of Azyr army. 😍

I mean it is Be'Lakor, I imagine a major victory followed by a massive downfall caused by his hubris 😁 And as a massive fan of the character, I am all for it! Archaon: "Be'Lakor, did you really seize the Varanspire from my control, turn my loyal Varanguard against me, summon a guard of greater demons but forget to change the locks?"

I mean wasn't Eltharion already killed by Arkhan? This fight now just makes the win lose ratio of the two 1/1 and has raised the stakes for their eventual rematch. Maybe in that fight the two combatants can destroy one another or end in stalemate or whatever serves the purpose of the story. As you point out here this is a paratextual story used as a horizontal marketing strategy to promote the core game and miniatures. This was a book about Teclis and the Lumineth and so it was about their major victory, much like Morathi's story was one of ascendance and likely Be'Lakor's will involve the character having some form of victory (being Be'Lakor he will probably mess it up somehow). We still don't know all of the books that are releasing maybe we will get a Broken Realms: Nagash or Broken Realms: Random Mortarch and the story will entirely be about Nagash or his followers creating a massive death toll across the realms to replenish their forces. The reality is that this is an ongoing narrative and throughout the edition there has been a major focus on Nagash. He has suffered some huge defeats but in response to making a massive play across the realms including a resource heavy attempted invasion of the Eightpoints. Within the diegesis Nagash has had numerous setbacks, but on a meta/paratextual level we have gotten Nighthaunt, Ossiarch Bonereapers, and now Soulblight Gravelords out of the deal. I feel most Duardin or Destruction players would gladly let Grungni and Grimni or GorkaMorka get wrecked in a few stories if they got that level of support to their Factions/Alliance. Honestly, I feel that Death has become one of the most coherent Grand Alliances in the game alongside Chaos. I think Broken Realms: Teclis is a pretty cool story about one of the Order Gods actually being proactive in the face of Death and showing the true power of the Gods when it comes to actual displays of might and magic. Nagash also made a mistake stepping into a rival God's realm as I assume they have the most power in their respective realms. Arkhan's defeat was a forgone conclusion because it only makes sense for the reborn Eltharion to show a display of power in response to the enemy that had killed him in a past life. Luckily it is hard to keep an undead sorcerer or his deathly God down. So I wouldn't be overly worried about the models and their rules, as they will likely be back before the next edition releases as already showcased by White Dwarf. I actually really love the use of Gods in this narrative for this very purpose, the narrative can give them dramatic deaths and defeats but they can still be used in the narrative and game. I am more worried about the characters that are not divinely powered immortals, undead or demon worshipping champions... like what happens to Skragrott, Lotann or Brokk Grungsson when they die?

I do think that this is an interesting example as we are dealing with a different format for storytelling. Lord of the Rings was part of a greater narrative cycle including the Hobbit and the Silmarillion, but is ostensibly a stand alone narrative. Whereas BR: Teclis is a paratextual component of a tabletop wargame with an ongoing sequential narrative. Each instalment ends with the promise of more tales to tell and the end is always just outside of reach. I think that Teclis was hurt fairly badly but defeated Nagash quite thoroughly. Yet despite it being a clear victory, Nagash will return angrier than ever. This is similar to other ongoing narratives such as Batman defeating the Joker, Laurie Strode standing up to Michael Myers, Bart and Lisa foiling Sideshow Bob's scheme, or James Bond quipping at Blofeld. The MCU had an issue with killing its villains and now seems to go out of the way to keep them alive, even when I would argue it was at the detriment of the narrative (I would prefer they not always rely on life and death stakes for the villains). This is a temporary setback in the villain's masterplan and they will return more deadly than ever, now with a greater personal stake in defeating the hero. Which will invariably result in the villain being relatively more successful but likely suffering an even greater defeat. But we had roughly an entire edition focused on Nagash and this defeat opens countless narrative opportunities for Death. So I am excited to see what happens with him off the table for a little while and also look forward to his Galvatron moment in which he arrives at Manfredd's coronation...

Hopefully they get to rest in peace. 🙃

I think on a meta narrative level having Nagash be defeated is an essential component for story telling. Nagash is a pure existential threat that goes beyond 'Chaos' or 'Order' as he is the embodiment of death and the lord of entropy. Invariably Nagash will win out as the old saying goes, "Death only has to win once". I believe that it is important to show Heroes and Gods dance with death and come out on top as that is a core component of most heroic epics. It is possible to temporarily beat Death, but never to truly defeat Death in the long run.

I am still curious how much of these new rules have been designed with 3.0 in mind and how that will reflect our community's relationship to that edition. I still think that LRL will invariably suffer the fate of Idoneth, Maggotkin and Legions of Nagash a relic of the transition from one edition to the next.

Dragon Ogors are the obvious parallel to what you are looking for despite not being Ogroid's proper. That is why I am having my doubts towards Kragnos being an Ogroid, as there is already a Centauresque design for Ogor-like monsters. I could be proven wrong and wouldn't mind it but Dragon Ogors are a classic warhammer concept and it would be sad to see them lose some of their lustre. That is also why I was initially hoping Kragnos would be a Shaggoth before noticing the hooves. 😩

So what roll if any does Malerion play in the narrative, is it just a few passing refrences or do we learn anything new?

Death more than any other Grand Alliance's factions feel rather arbitrary. Thematically and aesthetically the armies make perfect sense but in terms of Vampiric lords, ghostly mages and bone constructs I do not see any of them really turning down a horde of zombies, ghosts or skeletons in their battles. But I am with you on spirit hosts in particular they are such a classic unit for Vampire Counts and would feel sorely missed from the faction. Also their models fit well with Nighthaunt but also have a unique feel to them that seems appropriate for mixing and matching.

My thoughts on the Warscrolls: The Loreseeker has cool rules and the Bladelords also have cool rules and they look great together and have some synergy but the Loreseeker is going to likely start on an objective away from his guard. Maybe if I go LRL I should instead look to the skys and play foxes and kangaroos natures, oldest friends. The wind units all seem really fun and have great rules with lots of speed and not drastically over powered. I am not crazy about the flightstand on the windmage but that is a small price to pay for such a cool unit. I think that I would likely lean more towards whatever gets better supported by the eventual Start Collecting set which will be released in what feels like an eternity. I think people were too concerned about powercreep with this army's rules, but they should have been worried about model power-creep as everything looks fantastic. I have a strong feeling that if I get into this faction I will make the least meta capable army possible as I love pretty much everything other than Teclis* and the Sentinels... 😅 *I might simply take Teclis off the Celennar and run him as a Loreseeker. My only real issue with the model is Teclis unbalances the beautiful silhouette of the Celennar.

That is amazing news hopefully we get some more artwork and a better understanding of his followers. I am hoping they are are not entirely draconic or demonic in appearance. I would much rather Aelves riding ferocious beasts with only a few taking on their appearance. If we can have pointy Aelves I hope we can also get (more) Spikey Aelves. My prediction going forward: Broken Realms will set up all the Aelven factions for 3.0 before focus shifts towards Destruction and Azyr (even if they are not all presented on the tabletop). People will complain and memes will be made about Aelves getting to much focus but when all is said and done AOS will have a nice balance of armies and fantasy races represented. Duardin will probably get a similar narrative push in 3.0.

I think that the mane on Kragnos is just the beard being blown back over their face between the horns and onto the back. Kind of like a massive beard mohawk. But in all seriousness that is a valid point. I think that the visual evidence is narrowing down more and more towards this being something Kurnothi or new faction entirely... still this is a really fun mystery.

I do not know if I am familiar with this piece, is it available to see online? I am very keen to see any more concept art or lore pieces that will hint at the possibility of the next starter set. I find the knowledge people purport about the unopened chambers rather contradictory at best. But part of me is considering forgoing the Aelven/Duardin animosity and shoot for a human faction to battle my forces of chaos and ogres.

I mean these are ostensibly modernized Wardancers... I know it might be silly but I am really excited to see someone paint up the new Quest model in a matching scheme and place them alongside these models and get a sense of what a Kurnothi Wanderers faction would look like 🤭

I am both really excited and nervous at the prospect of Brettonnian themed Stormcast. Stormcast on horses would look odd due to their proportions. Stormcast with Bretonnian style heraldry and armour, I would be into it but overall neutral. Stormcast on various mounts with the appropriate armour and heraldry would be great. Knights of Azyr as a mounted horse riding force of heroes on their way to becoming true Stormcast and useable within a Stormcast army? Now we are cooking!

Reroll ones to hit on nearby Vanari Bladelords in Perfect Strike form! Followed by a Teclis style Y-Pose! Why win with victory points when you can win with style points 😎

This image is so lovely the photography for the new LRL stuff has been really fantastic. Lots of playing with levels and wonderful showcasing of scale. I love seeing the different spirits on the same field. I feel like LRL would be a very very expensive faction for me. 😧

Well if they are included in the Starter set they will likely be easy to build monopose... but I am with you on a sweeping Skaven and Seraphon rework. Now that I am writing this I am thinking how amazing a Seraphon/Skaven starter set would actually be and they have history with each other and are iconic fan favourites to boot 🤔