OkayestDM

From a sales point it would certainly serve them well to invest in alot of lore for them, particularly as that's a heavy draw for many hobby enthusiasts. Additionally, the fact that Gargants will be able to ally into other factions almost necessitates some delving into their history with the various other groups. If they do it right it could be really good. I'm holding out for Lumineth, but if I have some cash left over I'd love to pick up one of the big guys. The kit just looks fantastic.

Agreed!

I'm trying to keep my expectations low so I don't get discouraged, but hope is a hard thing to keep in check.

At the end of the article on the website they say it's coming out in July. So it won't be on preorder for at least 2 weeks, and possibly upwards of a month.

Alternatively, they went waaaaaaaaay overboard on the hand sanitizer.

I'm currently of a different mind on the matter, but I get where you're coming from. In the past I've certainly felt overwhelmed by the volume of product releases.

It's got to be some sort of policy - and by all accounts the people who have to answer the questions are kept out of the loop - but I agree I don't get it either. With everything being thrown out of wack, a more generous dissemination of information would go a long way towards appeasing people. The not knowing is rough. I could easily wait out a couple of months for the Lumineth to be released if they told me that's how long it would take. Heck, at that point I could even save up for a big ol' gargant, or commit to some other GW purchases that I'm currently holding off on. There's enough uncertainty out there right now, I'd rather not have to deal with it in my hobby too.

I mean, this would be the year to do it.

I think it's more likely that they're waiting until the next edition drops to release another chamber and update everything. It's just the price we pay for being the first faction to get updated I guess. I don't play 40k, but I hear that's what usually happens to Space Marines too.

I was surprised by that as well, but I imagine that they had to completely rework their reveals and content due to covid. Most companies have their timeline for such things prepared months in advance, and the uncertain nature of our present climate means that they've probably had to shuffle reveals and articles around last minute to fit the new developing release schedule. There were bound to be some hiccups, and with 9th edition being the next big thing, it makes sense that it would take priority. Don't get me wrong, the silence was vexing, but I'm sure they're doing the best they can with the hand they've been dealt, and I'm determined to be gracious about it.

I certainly hope so, but with everything being what it is right now I wouldn't dare bet on it.

In the short term, I wouldn't mind some points drops across the board just to make Stormcast more playable (and yes, definately would like to see Juds go down.) That said, I think we're all in agreement at this point that Stormcast need a full overhaul. Point drops may make the faction a little more playable, but they don't feel like they should. When Ironjawz got updated they felt right, An elite army that wanted to get stuck into melee and that hit like a mack truck! They feel like they're tough as nails, eager for battle, and that they love a good fight. SC used to feel like the heroic warriors of thunder and righteous fury encased in formidable armor. Now - with how the meta has changed - not so much. They need their "umph" back. Point drops will get you more models on the table, which is nice and fun and good for those who have a good collection of them (such as yours truly) but it doesn't make up for the fact that in aggregate the faction just feels bland, uninspiring, and a bit pillow-fisted. Sorry, turning off rant-brain now. Honestly, Juds and Libs should both get a price drop, if only because they're the only generic battleline in SC and it might give people an excuse to use them more. Maybe even ratchet Sacrosanct models back down to their original price points. It would be ice to be able to field a few more Sequitors and Evocators in a fight.

With the release of 40k 9th they're updating and expanding the necron line of models, and it's quite plausible that they'll be doing this with each of their factions. Expanded ranges create incentive to purchase new codexes, all of which is money in pocket for them. While 40k and AoS don't exactly mirror one another in release methods and practices, businesses tend to use what works. I imagine they'll start fleshing out factions once we hit AoS 3. The current edition has been used to establish the factions and bring them all more or less up to date. They've also taken the opportunity to expand upon GAs that had limited options. A lot of the excitement for factions this edition was that they were all finally getting their Battletome updated (and by all accounts, this has been pretty unprecedented for GW). A great way to duplicate that level of excitement and give people a valid reason to purchase a new Battletome would be to give them some shiny new models to go with it. This is all my head-logic, so take it with a grain of salt, but at the very least it seems like a pretty plausible plan.

Gloomineth?

So, obviously Petrefix Elite is the go-to competitively. When it comes to more casual play, what are the others like?

With some minor converting and a head swap, an Eldar Spiritseer or Farseer can make for a pretty good mage.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't there a reference to Lumineth units that sounded like bolt-throwers in Wrath of the Everchosen when Archeon was closing in on Slannesh? Or was that just the archers? (I don't own the book, so I can't look it up.) I like what they've shown of the new endless spells: one offensive, one defensive, and one utility. I try never to judge the look or design of the models until I've seen them in front of me with my own 2 eyes. It can be surprising how a different paint scheme can turn an "ugly" model into something amazing. For units we've got basic infantry, cavalry, ranged, elite infantry, monster cow/monster cow character, wizard hero, support hero, Eltharion, Teclis. Technically everything you need for a respectable army, plus some characters. That said, I'm cautiously optimistic that we haven't seen everything. The pool of generic heroes seems too small and limited, unless there's some alternate builds for the named characters that we haven't seen yet. Additionally, I feel like there would be some sort of mid-weight model in the range (gothizzar harvester, akhelian allopex, celestar ballista), but we haven't seen anything like that either. If I'm wrong and this is the entire line for the faction, so be it. Ironjawz have a very limited model pool and I freaking love them. Given what I've been able to glean about the Lumineth rules so far, I'm pretty sure I'm going to love them too.

Anybody else notice that they gave us a close-up of the alternate hammer guys?

I imagine they'll wait for a new chamber to give us an updated Battletome. With all the lore, info, and warscrolls they're going to be filling into it, that books going to be expensive when it does eventually come out.

Adds some dimension to that whole "like lambs to the slaughter" cliche.

When they come out, I'm going to buy 2 sets, these models are fantastic. If the Shadowstalkers are to Malerion's elves what the Cypher Lords are to the Lumineth, Malerion's range is going to be amazing!

No, you're not totally nuts. The only reason my pile doesn't look this big is because I've built a metric spit-ton of models over the last few months.

"Da Lite Red Boyz!" High in the snowy mountains of Ghur roam one of the fiercest and most bloodthirsty Ironjawz clans that has ever terrorized civilization, renowned for their merciless brutality in battle. It is said that the tribe found their iconic name by merging the two things that best defined them as orruks: blood and snow. Believing that sprinkling streaks of red into the white paint for their armor, they could mimic the iconic and beloved image of blood in the snow, they discovered that the two colors merged into something new, and they took it as a sign of Gorkamorka's favor. Now, these pink and white clad juggernauts reign violence and death across the mortal realms, absorbing more and more of their orruk kin into their clan. Their goal: to build a Mighty WAAAGH! that will rival Gordrak himself, and take their rightful place as leaders of the baddest, toughest Ironjawz of them all!

I'm wondering if the elemental spirits they keep referencing will take the form of Lumineth Endless Spells. Since GW has started moving in the direction of bound spells recently, it would be a solid way of including them on the battlefield.

I don't have a reference to confirm it, but I've heard it said that when Warhammer was first conceived, they wanted to use percentile dice (2d10, representing the numerical range from 1-100) to determine combat success. The d10 wasn't widely used at the time and so an alternative was devised using the far more commonplace D6 to approximate the results. Thus the 3 tiered hit/wound/save mechanic was born. Since then GW has discovered the breadth of tactical options inherent in the 3tiered system and the rest, as they say, is history.