Neil Arthur Hotep

100% There were so many great AoS models this year that people probably won't even be able to agree which one was the best for the model of the year poll. Wait, was Lion El'Johnson this year? In that case Big Space Marine will probably win, anyway.

I'm pretty sure we won't see coalition rules again in the future. GW seems to be really against cross play now. Even Cities of Sigmar, who used to be able to coalition basically every order army, now just get "You can ally some guys in and they benefit from one very specific subfaction ability". Not even an exception for Stormcast.

TK shields on that 2008 kit look a lot better than the original kit, as well:

Not necessarily, GW frequently leaves models for the monday after a preview show. I think there is still a chance that we will see another model (matching the Morghast rumour engine). We could be seeing armies of renown for Ushoran, Morghasts, and something for Soulblight (Vengorians? Mortarchs?).

AoS Grand Alliances explained simply:

Sadly, the old skeleton kit is confirmed to return. The existence of that bone dragon also confirms that sand mummies are real, right?

Crinkle fries confirmed to be chaos tainted. What are the lore implications of this?

Really great reveals for AoS! I am happy that my FEC bros are finally getting to play a real faction. Ushoran looks like an insane centerpiece. I like how characterful the new models are. I don't think I will be starting FEC, but I can totally see myself picking up a few of the character models to paint and for role playing games. Sadly, that underworlds warband is kind of weak. I don't know why Kruleboyz are getting a second one when they have so low unit diversity. They really need another unit archetype, in my opinion, not just for Underworlds but AoS, too. Until then, everything is either a Hobgrot or a variation on Gutrippaz. Of course, new Tomb Kings are especially exciting. The dragon kit looks like it has a lot of cool bits. I love everything going on on top there with the pulpit, and it is great that there is an updated Liche Priest sculpt. Sadly, the dragon itself suffers from being less cool than a Warsphinx. Still, though, the existence of an even more direct Vampire Lord on Zombie Dragon proxy is great news for people looking to proxy Tomb Kings as Soulblight in AoS. Boo for old skeleton warriors returning, though.

For human goodstuff lists, Flagellants are also worth considering. They are Battleline with Zenestra, which if you are running humans you are probably bringing. Only a 6+ save, but they do ping back mortals, so if you are running min size and don't expect the unit to survive anyway, they might be a good option. I am personally not 100% sold on the Wildercorps. At least at min size. For a screen, 140 points is more than I want to pay. That kind of points should get you an actual anvil, which 11 wounds on a 5+ save is not. I find that their upsides are not really something I care enough in a screening unit to justify the extra 40 points over Steelhelms.

Odds are in your favour for getting it off if you play Hallowheart. They are also otherwise in your favour if you burn your own primal dice on the spell unless your opponent has +2 to unbind.

I find the do OK in game in a unit of 10. Their 4+, 6++ is tanky enough not to die to throwaway attcks, so that is nice. If you are going mostly humans, anyway, then I think the benefits over the cheaper Dreadspears are worth it. I suspect there is play in 20 man units if you actually invest in them. They can receive all the HUMAN buffs, after all (counting double on objectives, mortals on 6s, 5+ ward, human orders...).

Incredible miniature! I love watching FEC transform into the faction the lore always said they were.

She seems like a piece with some competitive viability, but not in any of the lists I am personally interested in running. Since you need to really make use of her 4+ rally to make her worth her points, I really only see her used in horde lists. And painting a horde Cities army sounds like a pain. That combined with her price makes me want to sit out on getting her for now. Maybe next edition.

They are certainly my favourite thing about Cities of Sigmar. And I love the army! I hope now that the Gargoylians exist independent artists jump on the train of designing variety packs of little marginalia dudes on Etsy. I would put these guys on all my bases if I could.

I did not have much time to paint yet this month, but I did have time to add this little sweety to the base of my Hurricanum:

Honestly, I hope GW just starts treating them like every other army starting with the next edition. Either have one unified Orruk faction or three properly independent ones. The current system where we have to pretend these three not-quite-subfactions from the same book are actually separate armies is not working.

I don't know about that, I think the diminishing returns of running more than one unit of Fusiliers are pretty substantial, so I don't personally see doubling down on them as the way to go. I think the sweet spot is one unit of 20 to 30. However, I agree that not bringing Fusiliers at all is worth considering. The Alchemite is such a valuable support piece that basically all human units benefit from having around. Now that you are effectively limited to bringing just one of them, freeing up the Alchemite buffs, your command trait and possibly subfaction choice by just not running the mortal wounds shooting Fusilier setup becomes pretty attractive.

Oh, that's a stealthy buff to the Ven Densts in the form of two Orders for one leader slot, then. Also makes forming core battalions a bit easier.

On the positive side, the FAQ answered most of the questions I had, like if Zenestra counts as mounted or not and whether you get Orders turn 1. I also like their Warforger fix: He can still do all the exciting stuff he could do before, but he is now a little bit more expensive and you can only get his spell/buff once at a the same time. I really like it when an army has pieces like this that, realistically, are a bit ahead of the curve, but are not spammable.

Personally, the only points increase I am not sure about is Fusiliers. The Alchemite was definitely too cheap and Zenestra was also kind of an auto-include. Points can always go back down later if they turn out to be too high. Ironically, one of the changes I am considering to my list after the points increases is 10 extra Fusiliers because of how the points work out after having to cut a Steam Tank.

I am embarrassed that I didn't recognize him. I'll blame it on my colour blindness: Actually thought he was red and was supposed to be a Khorne guy.

Who or what is that demon guy supposed to be?

So, Cities FAQ. First off, points: Alchemite Warforger 110 +20 Pontifex Zenestra, Matriarch of the Great Wheel 180 +30 Freeguild Fusiliers 170 +20 Unsurprising, those were the units most people though were undercosted I think. Fusiliers +20 is perhaps a little unexpected. Some explanations of the other errata: You do get to give orders turn 1 even though there is no priority roll. Wizards with fixed Collegate Arcane spells can take only those spells from the lore even if they get an extra spell enhancement. They can still take generics and Andtor spells, though. Misthavn 2d6" move changed to not include companions and crew as mounts. This makes the rule no longer applicable to Zenestra. Alchemite Warforger changed to limit his +1 saves/+1 cast ability to one friendly unit, so you can no longer get multiple stacking +1 to save bubbles (or +1s to cast, for that matter). Notably, the warscroll spells were not changed, which means the mortal wound bubble is still applicable to ranged attacks. Hurricanum storm is now just in your hero phase. Sadge. Freeguild Command Corps: War Surgeon and Soul Shepard now get attack profiles (they previously forgot to list them). Hammerers get the command group they deserve. The black dragons get the MONSTER keyword. Hexbane's Hunters and surprisingly Doralia ven Denst lose their hero keywords. Mostly changes and fixes I expected, personally. Sad to see the Hurricanum get changed, I really liked it when I used it that one time. Hope it goes down in price a bit now, because currently I feel it is doing a smidge too little for its point cost.

I have another variation on a tank list I am considering: The main difference to the previous list is that this one runs one more Steam Tank and a Battlemage instead of a unit of Cavaliers plus Marshall. Pros: The Battlemage adds an extra cast and another high value spell in Pall of Doom. Best case: shuts down crucial command abilities fairly reliably at 24" range. Worst case: prevents Inspiring Presence on a unit that I want to shoot. Another Tank makes it so that the Tank Commander can actually make use of his ability to get a free command. Need to paint six fewer models because I already have the tank and battlemage painted. Cons: Less mobile Realistically one fewer threat in a list that is already in danger of being a death star One fewer banner for the Grand Strategy Other possible variations I am thinking about are: Bringing a Gyrobomber instead of the Battlemage Cutting the Battlemage and bringing upgrading all Steam Tanks into Commanders instead.

You are right, I forgot that Tomb Kings are famously the only faction in Warhammer that has skulls on their models