Flippy

I don’t usually post same model twice, but this picture is much better 😁

Ok, I’ve finished my first IDK test model and I’m really satisfied. The Reavers themselves are cool, but I think this scheme may work well for the whole army. By the way, I seriously enjoy doing these test models… anything is possible at this stage 🙂

Some progress with aquatic Skinks.

C'mon, GW creates induced demand. If the faction is not selling it is usually because it has been left without any development for a long time. Whether it's GW out of creative juices or the business decision is made to prioritise something else (understandably, they cannot do everything at once). I can imagine that they should track sales in particular with regard to new releases; if they put a lot of effort into new / refreshed faction and the sales are still sub-optimal then yeah, that would be something to consider. But the sales argument is simply unfair when used against factions that lack any real development for years.

You make some good points. At the same time, I don't think anyone would have the audacity to announce up-front that a faction has a limited lifespan. It would be a radical change of a decades-proven (WH40k) business model. For many people engaging with a faction is a years-long (if not lifelong, at this point) endeavour, and such announcement could very well mean that certain products are dead on arrival. I firmly believe (and I've stated this before) that GW is not a miniatures company. Their business is a mixture of models, games and background - and their customers tend to assume that their armies will get at least official rules & stories (i.e. narrative presence) for as long as the game remains in existence. This effectively means that GW can get away with some pruning (people generally seem to understand that it is necessary) but they cannot fail the trust of their customers constantly. I am currently willing to invest in Idoneth (and have already bought some). It will take me approx. a year to build and paint a small army, which means I don't really care about the current rules. The moment GW would announce that they intend to support this faction, say, for the next 5 years only, I sell everything and shift my attention elsewhere. Little plastic sculptures mean nothing without their ecosystem.

High Elves were pruned, but the process was slow and included both introduction of Lumineth and (simultaneously) keeping elements of the HE in CoS. I'm not sure if the quick cut would be a better way of handling this.

Well, a new faction with completely different models, units, thematics, aesthetics, characters and play style should indeed be classified as purge of the previous faction. But GW doesn't have to go this far. You can serve the existing players and still introduce a lot of new element to the faction - new names, new models, new themes, new play style. Isn't this the recent case of CoS? They purged (or rather pruned) a lot of bloat (rightly so) and introduced many new elements - and I think they balanced the old with the new rather well. I would assume that this is the way, going forward, for the bloated WHFB factions - Skaven and BoC.

This is most likely.

I've done much work with the Skinks recently and also painted new Hunters of Huanchi. The Hunters are obviously much better models, in terms of quality, detail etc. But the painting was a chore. Old Skinks are far better in this regard, especially if you plan to use them in large quantities. The mould lines are awful, though.

Finish my aquatic Skinks unit; start the painting of the Starfyre pylon terrain; maybe some Idoneth test models.

Tough month. After the pyramid, I’ve only managed to assemble and prime some more terrain a a handful of nice models.

Tomaszewski 😂

Saying Arkhan was human-sized is like saying Archaon is human-sized. Technically true, if you ignore the huge mount. If you judge by the base size he is already Katakros-equal, second only to the catapult and obviously bigger than Morghasts. I dare GW to make a bold move and return him as a regular-sized character, a foot wizard, max. 50mm base size.

I would be in favour of nerfing them, that's a natural solution. A limit is just an additional lever you can pull, if needed - on top of the current options (warscroll power & point value). What I meant with regard to Blissbarb Archers is that even though they are supposed to be a basic unit (fluff), they are in fact an elite shooting option (in-game). If, for any reason, you are not willing to nerf them, you can currently only increase their value.

I know the pain, my close friend is a HoS player. Just put a limit on these damn models and people will be happy knowing that they only need to paint 22 at most. Problem solved. As for the fluff... maybe they are meant to be the lowest rank of Sybarites, but in-game it's usually the other side that becomes the arrow fodder. Would you rather increase their point value till you reach the breaking point or introduce some limit on the number of units? With the second solution you can still use them, they still feel strong and fun - you just can't field a hundred, which doesn't bother me that much.

There must be a lot of reasons, seeing how many users are against the restrictions. I would love to hear them though, because it usually comes down to "tank list is cool". And sure, why not? After all we play for fun. Still, the introduction of proper composition rules (not the current battleline system, which does not accomplish anything) solves a lot of problems with unit design and both internal end external balance. You can grant a powerful ability for a 0-1 unit. You can make a unit stronger (for same price) then comparables from different factions - but also limit its availability. You can allow to bypass some limits as a faction trait. I think these are all pretty obvious pros. And finally, this approach teaches new players on how the army is supposed to look and how the game is supposed to be played. I strongly believe that the reason why some skew-lists affect the meta so much is that a game is designed and balanced for a combined arms lists.

To be very clear - I don't have any personal problem with this. Maybe I would even play against such "army"... once, and then I would just (very) politely refuse a game, as such lists usually make for a dull one. From the moment I started AoS people point out how the Gargants are always a DPS check, which kind of proves my point.

Yes, I agree. This is the only justification and it is also obviously a purely business-driven one. Command corps 0-1. Blissbarb Archers 0-2 base size units for each 1000 pts. This is already generous. All sharks... 🙄 Sharks 0-2 for each 1000 pts. Maybe more for Fuethan sub-faction.

So would I and I'm not a fan. But it is what it is. I've noticed that this is a common sentiment here, which I do not share. This ain't Panzer General, and the Steam Tank (and the likes of it) is like a salt - fine in a pinch only, to add some flavour.

In casual battlepack? Seriously, though, I can see some (just some) space for thematic-driven list compositions in the army book (such as your Beastclaw Riders), specifically if the army book is a conglomerate of sub-factions with strong themes. Other than that, the lose of wacky lists charm is a sacrifice I make gladly.

I'm a long time proponent of 0-X type restrictions on units. This approach has so, so many benefits... it allows to introduce units with flavourful and powerful abilities while avoiding the risk of overuse. It usually goes very well with the faction fluff and the universal "feel" of how almost every army is supposed to look like. It enforces the use of standard units, which in turn can be made weaker (which just makes sense). Like, seriously, how can one justify multiple command corps? Nine-sharks-IDK? Blissbarb Archers spam?

I just bought some and this act of reckless spending may just turn the tide. Have hope!

You could just provide some thematic lists in the army book, with nice pictures, some lore and explanation of how it's supposed to perform in game. If I remember correctly, my WHFB 5ed. HE army book included such example list.

The Forgotten Nightmares Idoneth rule is so strong! Seriously though, the Sylvaneth are hardly an elven (elvish?) army. I have a friend who collects and plays Sylvaneth and we discussed recently how the elvish flavour is now all but missing from this army - for better or worse. My personal view is that currently, if you would try to play something similar to the Wood Elves of old (Elves, not forest spirits) you should pick Idoneth.

It used to be almost every second evening, for an hour or two. With such consistency I've almost finished a nice OBR army in less then a year. Nowadays I've slowed down a bit, so it's more "weekly" or twice a week. BTW, I also have a 3-year-old daughter , and a 10-year-old son. All the painting (save some holidays) is done when they are asleep.