Flippy

The Namarti warriors for my Warcry band are ready. Very happy with my efforts so far!

Of course this would be much, much better for the setting and all the factions involved. "All Death factions under Nagash" is an extremely limiting and dull concept. As much as I despise the current iteration of Teclis, I am also very happy that he removed Nagash, even if only temporarily.

I use varnish, and for many different purposes. In my head, varnish application is a rite which confirms that the model is done. In the material world it does actually protect the model; I use a lot of contrast paints and these rub off very easily on the edges when unprotected. It can also significantly alter the final look. I used to apply predominantly satin varnishes (brush or can) and once I switched to matte the difference is very noticeable- though hard to describe without the pictures, so… the first picture is all-satin varnish from AP (I would rather classify it as gloss). The second one is matte (Tamiya TS-80 flat clear, extremely good), with gloss varnish (Vallejo brush-on) applied to eyes, jewels and metals.

Good question. In the past (i.e. 25 years ago) I used to collect Elves exclusively – High Elves , then Wood Elves (and some Eldar). That was very much a Tolkien-inspired sentiment and I always felt that the main story of the Old World is the story of Elves. Fast forward to AoS and it turned out that the High Elves are no more and their so-called spiritual successors are aesthetically very different. I love Dawnriders, Wardens, Lord-Regent and Eltharion… and that would be all. I started with Ironjawz, as the physique champions of the Mortal Realms. They seemed easy to collect (not many kits), easy to paint and easy to play with a very high level of verisimilitude (vey important!) – they act exactly how you would expect them to, based on the fluff and the looks of the models. I also had some Kharadron, bought for me by a friend after he organised the sale of High Elves. I really like the models, but at the same time I find their strong ravenously-capitalistic theme problematic… Anyway, I finished a small but reasonable army and shelved them. No intention to expand here. Then came Bonereapers, as they really scratched the “proper army” itch. Infantry, cavalry, war machines, military supremacy. It also helped that – of all Death factions – they are the least “evil”. I think they are the biggest army I currently own – and almost fully painted. I will likely expand them once they receive their second wave from GW. Seraphon swept me with their refresh; not a single weak model! I really like their current “magitek deamons of order” angle and intend to expand my force even further. I’m also building an Idoneth Warcry band and this may of course lead to the full AoS army. So, it seems that in the end (as IDK are the last faction that I was always interested in) I will always come back to the Elves. As for why – I would say it’s always the combination of models, background and the way background is reflected in the game. I never really cared about the win ratio and even stopped using OBR and Starborne Seraphon the moment they felt OP.

Thanks! This combination is prevalent in my Seraphon and I've also used it for OBR (slightly different hues though). I now have to remind myself to avoid purple for Idoneth.

Isn't that as close as it gets?

I was asking myself exactly same question. My bet is that the kroot rider might be smaller, 60x35, but let's wait and see.

Very nice; the conversion potential is strong in this one.

Aquaskinks done!

I will not argue with you. But I think that my main points still stand. First, GW does not care that much about some obscure parts of Skaven lore. Second, the GHR is not (as a lore element and as a plot device) treated in the same way as main Chaos Gods - which means that whatever GW does with him should not be extrapolated to the Big 4.

But the Horned Rat is a minor, tribal god of rat-people. Again, I don't like these god-level models at all, but his incarnation would not be out of place alongside the likes of Nagash or Teclis.

I always struggle to understand this. The chapter identity will be restored, sooner or later, and marines will not dissolve while they wait in the cabinet for a year or two. If someone is so attached to the lore of their army, why sell?

I am by no means an expert on the Skaven lore, but my feeling is that some of these theories are way over-complicated. The GW site describe the model as follows: Verminlords are living icons of ruin; towering figures possessed of raw power and feral savagery. As avatars of the Horned Rat they can call upon fell energies, manipulating the weak-willed into doing almost anything they will. Can a minor Chaos God appear on the tabletop as a result of narrative in which he tries to achieve more? Sure thing. Even though I don't like huge god-level models, we already have a plethora of characters on similar power level.

Regarding the Battlescroll - I just noticed that that there are just two Orruk Warclans in existence. Guess it's semi-official now. The BoC points were touched though... barely.

It's not hard to see where this sentiment comes from, to be fair.

Spam lists should be obliterated ASAP, always. Otherwise factions end up in a strange place - at a glance everything seems fine, as the overall winrate is good, but then you dig deeper and, behold, it's always Fuethan Allopex circus. Gross.

I think GW is to blame, not the people. For many players this document is far more important than new minis.

It's rather simple, really. Good index is better than old tomes which are better than bad index. Time will tell.

Almost there…

Made some unusually good progress this weekend with the aquatic Skinks and assembling and preparing Idoneth warband for Warcry.

100%, I've just assembled these.

No way. Space Marines removed from 40k is more likely than GW abandoning D6.

It might have been what GW intended, but AoS is not a quick game, not even close. Lack of customisation can help in preparing the army list on the run (is that really important for anyone?), but the game itself is bogged down by different factors. So, you have a game that's supposed to be relatively quick & accessible and sacrifices certain aspects for this purpose, but ultimately fails to reach the goal.

100% agree. Disagree. Using points for enhancements is simple and intuitive, points are already main "currency" to pay for everything you use in a game. The whole "enhancements" idea, tied to specific army composition through battalions that in turn affect deployment order and priority was a design mistake. To be very clear - I'm not into the ToW simulationism level in AoS, stuff like various armours, shields, weapons is unnecessary.

You can do this one specific thing with the Battlemage and it's only because of the multiple models attached to this warscroll, all of them transferred from WHFB. The regular AoS situation (at least for small heroes) is that you only have a single, non-customizable model and the corresponding warscroll with extremely limited customisation options. Even if you believe that the result is lower barrier to entry (I don't think that's the case), this also means that you lose the potential to field two similar heroes, unless you customize the model by yourself (and that is an actual entry barrier). How am I supposed to field two Endrinmasters if there is only one model available? Does GW really expect me to buy copies of same hero model? How is then AoS supposed to keep refining its focus by committing to lowering barriers to entry further? Remove any unit customization altogether? You are of course right about the importance of fun during downtime element, as most of the hobby time is spent either on models (building, painting), fluff, list-building or activities such as TGA discussions - and AoS is no different from WHFB in this regard.