LuminethMage

It will be interesting to see like you said. It was a bit strange that almost all of the HE range got axed with CoS, while a big part of the DE range was kept. Even the ones they mentioned many times, like the Eldritch Council, in the core book and other supplements. And as you mentioned, the Lumineth are pretty big on Phoenixes, it’s one of their most common symbols so far, and represents the sun and Tyrion. There will be a Spirit of the Sun for Tyrion in the same way there is a Spirit of the Moon for Teclis. And in the Phoenix Temple section of CoS, they mention that the remains (smoldering ashes) of the Ur-Phoenix are located in Hysh. To become an Annointed you actually have to travel to Hysh and meditate there for many years. And there is a Zenith sub-culture within the Lumineth which is likely fire related. The whole vibe of the Phoenix Temple - scholarly, meditative, warriors dedicated to one elemental aspect, having a Greek related fantastical beast, and trying to re-establish the old High Elf culture, fits really well with what we know so far of the Lumineth. From an aesthetic point - we know that the special units and heroes look similar and a bit like their Hysh spirit. The Mountain Spirit has big horns and so does the Stonemage helmet. Now, the new Eltharion has a Phoenix themed helmet, and his armor, while of course looking different, wouldn’t be not too far away from the Phoenix Guard, which could be the special unit for the Zenith faction. He even has as small Phoenix on his chest. And it would pose a convenient way to tie the Lumineth to the other realms and factions because the Phoenix Tempel has outposts in those. Tyrion and the zenith sub-culture might not even be part of this release, and there are definitely other options, but it’s intriguing that the only old High Elf faction they left standing is dedicated to one of the 4 elements the Lumineth culture is centered on.

I don’t think the Lumineth get something on par with the Phoenix Guard in general, but can imagine that Warden of the mountain sub-culture (or with a mountain buff) and with a Stonemage nearby could be something similar. The most logical unit for something like that would be in the mountain sub-culture. And that Hammer unit looks more like an ... um.. hammer than an anvil. Totally agree on the glass cannon. Swordmaster could fit that, or some elite cavalry we haven’t seen yet. I think HE will get one unit at least that if you play it right (timing and buffs) can do such things. Sad about Adepticon, but well done GW. That’s actually scheduled so that most people even in Asia who usually can’t follow this stuff live can do it this time. Looking forward to it. But it could mean in a worst case scenario the Lumineth reveal gets spilt, and you won’t know finally about Tyrion until April 4th. And it means we likely get another lowdown before the 28th, RIGHT? (Eye twitch)

If you didn't plan to attend the event, it might not make that much of a difference. For me it basically makes only the difference between refreshing the Warhammer Community website or Twitch every 5 seconds. They can still show the release video and all the articles, either in the same way via a lowdown on Monday, or stream some kind of release event. It could be that it actually will shine more of a light on the Lumineth, because during Adpeticon they apparently planned to reveal a whole lot of things (40k, TV related etc.), while I guess this will be more stretched out now.

I'm really surprised that many people have issues with the look of the Lumineth (not meaning that they are wrong, as art is personal, just surprised). I think they did an awesome job with bringing the High Elves to AoS. The core troops are all reminiscent of the old militia troops with a bit of an AoE twist. Even those archer helmets which seem to be controversial are like that. I still have old HE archer models which similar looking helmets The Lumineth ones are just a bit more fantastical and look better in my view. And the heroes are more genuine AoS. I like that blend. It also offers some surprises. Who would have thought the new HE have a Stonemage? Or a sphinx. Speaking of the Stonemage, the model is great: The calm poise in connection with the over-the-topness of the "seat". The staff looks awesome. Really well done composition of old HE and new AoS elements. It's like Teclis was thinking, hmm now that I'm finally in charge, let's make some changes: First things first, let's get rid of the ****** robes for mages, I'm so sick of wearing robes. Ok, done. (looks at his Lumineth). I guess, that's pretty much it, after all we always were almost perfect. Maybe add some plums here and there? (Looks around). Hmm, we might not really fit in with the local crowd. How about adding some runes, that not only looks nifty, but will also help with control.. bonding with locals. Ok, ok, looks good. Still, we are not quite there yet ... . Hey, Stonemages, add some horns to your helmets .... and make them big! Perfect! Totally agree with @Acid_Nine . It's a good mix, and HE also always had some elements of these before. It also harkens back to the HE. The lore also seems to be more interesting. Can't wait to have the BT in my hands.

Sucks for all the people who put a lot of effort into planning this, and people who have to cancel flights, hotels etc., but it’s likely for the best. If the US follows the pattern of most other countries affected so far, in 2 weeks could be quite bad.

How can you say that??? Teclis is real!

To keep your spirits up a bit: That chalice lady could actually be also associated with Tyrion. Because the chalice represents him along with the sun in the same way as the moon does Teclis (my assumption). You can see that the Sentinels have either a small moon amulet or a chalice amulet hanging from their belt. The chalice is also on the High Sentinel scabbard. Eltharion also has the chalice on his chest (with the phoenix rising on top of it). One of the Dawnriders has it on his breastplate. It's kind of a long shot, her being all blue (just the Teclis color scheme!! : ) ), but maaaaaaybe.

I agree. But do you think the Lumineth Battletome will mostly be about Teclis doing his special forces thing somewhere, and not about their basic storyline in Hysh? Hysh seems to be still a big mess, and reclaiming that would look like something Tyrion is in charge of. There are a few tidbits about that in the Core Book and also in the Slaanesh BT (one sentence about him fighting some Slaneesh cultists/demons with cavalry). Wouldn't the Teclis storyline be more fitting for a book similar to the Wrath of the Chosen One, than a faction BT? I have only 6 of the BT so far, and most are about their realm and what happens there. The only one I can think of which doesn't have much to do with their realm is the Daughters of Khaine. Morathi is of course the other party in the Slaanesh BT who takes the threat seriously, but that BT is really old, where GW didn't have a lot of things flashed out yet.

I'm sure you'll get it eventually! I really wonder what they want to show us as a "wow effect" if it's not Tyrion in the end. I don't think the bull, lion thing spirit will do that for most people. Or some war-machine. 13 days left : )

That's interesting. The first thing I thought of when I saw his pose is Battle of The Finuval Plain, floating above the battle field. This might have been his pose right when struck down Malekith. I really like it. I agree with you. I like that he looks calm and also imposing.

What do we know? Teclis and Tyrion are both part of the Lumineth Realm Lords, but we don't know if Tyrion is part of this release. Teclis is connected to a Moon Spirit, and Tyrion to a Sun Spirit (which likely looks somewhat like a phoenix-dragon) There are a few sentences in the Slaanesh BT, in which it says that Morathi and Teclis are taking the threat seriously that Slaanesh might get freed soon, but Tyrion and Malerion don't (Tyrion is indifferent and Malerion is disrespectful). Therefore, "Teclis begins to gather armies of his own. He amasses the martial orders of the Realm of Light, and invokes ancient pacts with the Spirits of Hysh to bolster his gleaming war hosts for the new era of conflict to come". There are four distinct sub-culture within the Lumineth civilisation, based on four elements. Each of the sub-cultures comes with its own order of mages and warriors. So far we have only seen basic army models (Wardens, Sentinels, Dawnriders) which likely are shared among the sub-cultures and have both Tyrionic and Teclian aspects. The Dawnriders are more Tyrionic, and special units from the mountain sub-culture. The heroes and special units we have seen and have been hinted so far, are all from the mountain element. The Stonemage, the "hammer" unit (which has the same mountain rune on its helmet that the Stonemage has), and the bull or horned lion. The fluff also has only been taken from that element ("Lumineth warriors who bonded with the spirit of the mountain would be all but immovable in battle, stoically weathering the tide of enemies crashing against them, while their mages would bombard their foes with stones and crush them beneath rocks.") The only exception to this is the veiled lady and chalice. There will be some major reveals at the Adepticon on March 25th. So, is it more likely that they will reveal a major part of the Lumineth (3 out of 4 of their sub-cultures, and Tyrion) at Adepticon and there after? Or is it more likely Tyrion comes later and we maybe get the Teclis themed two sub-cultures (mountain and wind or river)? Or something else? If Tyrion is not part of this release, what could they still show us that wouldn't feel like a letdown for around half of the Lumineth fans?

It’s not 100%, but if you look at the chalice, you can see a hand and arm which seem to match her clothing. And if you look on the right side of her head you can see something at least similar to the chalice. And the weird hair dress looks also a bit similar to the stuff inside the chalice.

Tricky question. Hammerers as the Mountain aspect are pretty much confirmed (if we are not all wrong about that picture). I’m sure there will be Swordmasters. You can’t have a Teclis nostalgia faction which you liken to zen warriors and then not include Swordmasters. Wind is likely, yes (quick movers), but you could have them represent any of the others. If you need the wind aspect for flying units, water (flowing movements, calm & storm) also would fit, and of course if you ask Teclis, they represent the zenith of aelven sword culture, the zeniest of zen warriors. With all the Phoenix references, flying units (wind or zenith) could be some Phoenix related thing. Maybe they just incorporate the Phoenix Temple in that way. Give Tyrion a cool/hot Phoenix-dragon and the Phoenix Temple as his zenith (fire) sub-culture. The Ur-Phoenix, which conveniently is placed in Hysh, could be easily identical to the Sun Spirit. If Zenith is not represented by T&T themselves. As much as I would like it, I have a hard time imagining that GW provides 4 full new sub factions each with a new mage/hero, special unit and a monster plus all the rest for the Lumineth. I thought the veil lady maybe represents wind because of the veil and the coal chalice she holds with the smoke or whatever that is. But water would also make sense.

@Acid_Nine I'm sure we'll manage to do that. We have done this with less to work with. And in a way, the time flew by pretty fast. Just another two weeks. You are right, they have a short sword on the back of the quiver. I really love the detail on the models. It's really cool that the High Warden and High Sentinel (maybe because they also don't have a bow), are in charge of channeling magic while guiding their units. Really fits with elves. And yeah the Stonemage is great. Also typical high elf thinking, so Mr. Slann you think floating on a chair is special - challenge accepted. The gravity manipulating magic part also sounds great. Might be just throwing rocks or something, but it could also mean something like lifting up units and replace them, or get that old High Magic spell back that could move terrain. And that's just one of the mages so far. What I find interesting is, that it looks like they might not have much Light Magic (if GW goes strictly with the elemental theme, Zenith would be fire, not light). The Lumineth have a lot of connection culturally with the Realm Of Light, and also aetherquartz, but beforeGW showed us the range I expected a lot of traditional light focused magic.

Great to hear that. : ) . Because I would have been really sad if I wouldn't have liked the Lumineth after waiting that long. I'm also thinking about something with silver. But then the one "Zenith Spearman" art with the gold/purple scheme looked great, so I have to see. This scheme might also look really good on them:

Agree with @Jaskier . It’s a really stunning range and so far for me the managed the compromise between more classic, HE reminiscent units and the more fantastic AoS style really well. That mage is great. it looks like it’s meant to be a female elf. From the art and also if you look at the backside (very long, braided hair). The latter is from the Gama reveal vid, if you haven’t seen it. You also can have a look at the helmet from more angles. The sideburns look quite ok, when you see how far the go up in front. Can’t wait to see the rest, in two weeks now we should have the full range.

Could be yes, we might only get mountain and wind (if that’s what the veiled lady is). Which could be the more Teclian part, and see zenith and river later with Tyrion. Otherwise this would be really a big release. Maybe Teclis and Tyrion are zenith, then the would be “only” 3 other sub-factions. As they really haven’t shown anything (even unintentionally) much besides things that are connected to the mountain and wind factions that could be. The only things which still lets me think Tyrion and his stuff is going to be there, is that they need some kind of major reveal at the end at Adepticon (and the get the wow factor in right before the Lumineth are released), and the Phoenix banner they have shown in combination with all the talk about Tyrion. One of the two rumour “hammers” also doesn't fit that well so far. Could be wind connected though. Edit: I forgot a rumour engine picture. There is at least one more monster on the way besides the bull (assuming these are not bull horns)

It’s more likely though that it is a unit than a hero. The mage (hero) is already there, and it’s not really likely the get another hero for that sub-culture. But of course it’s not a given, we haven’t seen the unit/hero 100%, but if you’d bet on it, I think there is a much higher chance that it’s a unit. The hammer guy was standing right next to a spearman and didn’t look more sophisticated or anything like that. Like you say, I think that’s the point. To have something different. The whole mountain faction differs pretty much from what we had. HE never had anything to do with bull monsters (and that one is confirmed), they weren’t really into earth magic (although a few High Magic spells were a bit like that, mostly earlier ones). So a hammer unit would fit right in there. I’m sure the other will be more elvish if you don’t like that one. They’ll get at least a proper great sword unit.

Yes, this time they were pretty blunt with their hint "look at mountain rune on the flag pole with a big bull symbol". And you even can see the horns and tail of the bull on the Gamma reveal video (around 1:30). And then you have the hooves that you showed before, so that one is 100% there. And with the Alarith Stonemage, the Rumour Mill hammer head, and the hammer unit we saw in the background picture (if not clearly) all sharing the "cracked marble" optics a hammer unit is also very likely (if the one picture wasn't misleading). If we really get mages and spirits for all 4 elements that would be awesome. The veiled Wind Mage (maybe) is likely also shown in the Gamma video in the same scene.

I think the archers and the stone mage models are great. Couldn't be happier with them, and really looking forward to how the other mage models and special units will look like.

Just awesome. Sadly I already ran out of comment reactions today, but wow those models are amazing. 👍 The bows likely don't make any sense, but I love the models. And the full Alarith Stonemage ... take that Luke Skywalker! 😍 Close-up of the regular archer:

That's why she has that expression ... Nak milk doesn't get you that face. Let's not dwell on that though ... . But jokes aside (I find the face ok), I totally agree. It's a great model. And kind of interesting. I'd not have thought that they would give the Hysh elves into this kind spirit/elementalism feeling. I guess Zenith will be the one more aligned with what I had in mind, but I do like it. Quite a lot stuff they have put into the lore there, and makes them pretty distinctive.

I hope it's actually on the model, but it does look more like it's pained. Very scary for someone with my skill level. 😱 I'm really excited to see the first mage revealed. The pose of the mountain mage model is great. She sits there, sipping her Way of the Milk prepared Yak milk (that's how you get that facial expression, no amount of elven beauty and aetherquartz can help you there), all calm, serene, and relaxed, while leisurely bombarding enemies with giant rocks (not even lifting a finger), and a crazed bull/yak/aurochs spirit-thing is crashing through them. The staff is also great. A bit of an Aeldar influence, but I like the look a lot. I think the helmet would have been better without the sideburns. I like the horns though, we needed a bit more AoS in our faction, now we have it. Generally speaking, super happy, and the mountain culture is likely the least exciting for me, as it's the least "elvish" in a way. What are people making of the veiled lady and chalice? Maybe the mage for the wind culture? And we also kind of got new Sword Masters confirmed. You can't just willy nilly talk about "zen warriors" and then not follow up with a kick-ass great sword unit.

So a few things we’ve learned and speculations: There are at least 6 spirits: sun, moon, mountain, river, wind and zenith (if they don’t make zenith being sun & moon together). The moon spirit is a Sphinx, the mountain spirit is a kind of bull (which would also fit with the Greek theme), and the sun spirit likely a Phoenix-dragon. The Teclian mages could mostly wear more horned/half moon themed helmets, while the Tyronian warriors have the plume-style Greek helmets. All four elements seems to have their own mage, spirit and unit model (example mountain: the “zen” mage, the bull spirit and the hammer unit.), and their own style. (Mountain: One of the shown hammers, the armour from the unit in the background art from the Dawnrider lowdown and the mage armour all share the “cracked marble” style). This fits well with the four separate sub-cultures they mentioned in the first lowdown. And would be a lot of models, even if some of those came together (like Teclis with the spirit), and zenith being Teclis & Tyrion. if we get all of them. If you look at the mountain mage staff, both of the “hammers” from the Rumour Engine have very similar curved connectors to the top, to what the mountain rune staff has just below the rune. In case of the hammer with the hole in the middle they almost look identical. The runic stone base we saw in the rumour engine could be the base for the mountain mage. The link leads there, and it also shows the mountain rune. The design doesn’t seem to match well though. Lumineth-City’s doors must be among the widest and highest among all the Realms The Lumineth clearly couldn’t totally escape Slaanesh’s influence, being such a horny faction

Eddit: sorry somehow I missed your second (and some other ) posts. That’s the mark of Tyrion’s sun spirit (you can see it’s the long scabbard). And with this article it’s now really 99.99% that Tyrion is going to be there, and on this dragon-pheonix thing. Teclis has his spirit of the moon, Tyrion will have his spirit of the sun. But yup, seems like there is a connection between them and the temple.