Well this certainly was not what I was expecting to see out of James Workshop today. Was thinking of a little rat tease, not James beheading 2 factions and enucleating another. I thought we would have to wait a while longer before an announcement.
Pretty sad to see the Bonesplitterz go. They where my favorite variant of Orcs in the old WFB days, and they are the basis of my Snakebites army in 40K. Hopefully their legacy will live on with Beastsnaggas. We might even see some of their themes be recycled in the Kruleboyz and Ironjawz.
I didn't believe James would flat-out squat the BoC, but the release of an army box containing a Stompa despite how improbable that seems should clearly have taught me I have to expect the unexpected.
I don't know that they will release Beasts as their own faction again, but I think it's possible we might see new Beastmen kits spread all over the Chaos alliance. That's no consolation for those who lost their army, of course.
The theory of some new beastmen kits being released alongside Chaos Dwarfs intrigued me. That would solve the issue of how to replace their old greenskin chaff. It would be an immense lore downgrade to Beasts, though, that's for sure.
I've seen Kragnos' people be mentioned earlier in the thread. I don't think that one is happening if Kragnos is representative of his species. Destruction already has a Giants faction. Of course it's always possible it's an entire faction of mini-Kragnos but I doubt it. 😄
I don't care for the Stormcast kits by themselves, but it's ominous to have an entire swathe of the posterboys get the axe like that. If they can get eliminated so easily, it does not bode well for smaller factions that don't receive nearly as much support. The Wacry news also worry me. I was thinking of getting in with Briar and Bones but I am reconsidering. Those kits might not even be legal a year or two after release for all I know.