Rogue Explorator

I consider him to be more of a textbook example for a particularly strong Chaos Spawn really.

Apparently I am the only one to read it that way, but as far as I can tell nowhere in that article does it say that the picture represents an exact lineup of the next few Shadespire factions. Maybe we should wait for an official reveal before we pull our hair out over even more Stormcast and Bloodbound releases? As well, I do not think if GW plans to preview something like an entirely new aelf faction, they would announce that via an artwork reveal. This is no more than a teaser, it certainly does not tell us what isn't coming out or a timetable, just gives us an idea on what additional releases might bring.

Both the feather and the parchment sort of remind me of the old empire and are yet different, so that points to Free People. I think if the herald for Death is part of a pattern, then we can asume that the other heralds may also be from factions that will not get an update anytime soon, which we know by GHB 2017 Free People belong to. So Free People Herald of Order for Malignant Portants is my bet. Edit: Also, there is a short article on factions in Shadespire: https://www.warhammer-community.com/2017/09/12/the-factions-of-shadespire-sneak-peekgw-homepage-post-3/ Nothing really new in that picture. The most interesting bit is that there are Skaven and their Clan is kind of hard to pin down, the front one is entirely generic, the middle one looks like Eshin (I do not think we have seen punching daggers on any other Skaven) and the one in the back more like Pestilens.

Curiously I can not think of any instance of Moonclan finding mention in any background text, not even in any of those small timeline snippets. Considering how iconic the likes of squiqs, fanatics and hooded gobbos are, I think it is likely GW has some special plans for them. Unless my memory is riddled with Moonclan shaped holes of course (it is quite possible).

I think it is for something bigger than we have seen for Shadespire. I thought it might be an element of a new skeleton chariot (it looks a bit on the aerodynamic side) or a weaponhead or decorative element of something larger than human (maybe a new ushabti or Morghast like construct? Admittedly, both would be units I really want to exist, but I still think at least the first may be likely.

Genuinely looks like something for Death to me, with this sort of arrangement of "spines", like you find on the "bat-wing-ear" helmets or the black knight shields. Certainly does not look Aelf/Aeldari or Skaven to me. Might be Drukhari or Ynnari, but I can not think of any comparable shapes on those either, they tend to much smoother surfaces.

I do not think we are in disagreement here, as I never said he did not fit GA:Death, but rather that I feel he is bit to unspectacular and traditional compared to other representatives of unified Death. However, it is concievable that the other heralds are just as basic and meant to blend in with all factions in their respective GA's, but that is not a context we have and thus not a basis the reveal can be judged on right now. Well, Death already has the smallest amount of subfactions out of all GAs, so I think GW divided up Vampire Counts into as many small parts as they could. Sadly we do not know GWs reasoning for getting rid of the Tomb Kings range. Part of it may well be that most of the Skeleton kits where really showing their age and Deathrattle makes sense as a relatively early release anyway, providing an easily recognizable force with the potential for a lot of callbacks to some real Warhammer classics, but we have nothing confirmed and it leaves the question why even the relatively hot and new kits where taken out, nor does this explain why GA:Death was split along that lines of kind or the question where and how GW wants to fit entirely new Factions for Death. Every GA so far has gotten entirely new factions, even if Ironjaws included a single pre-existing kit, and I don't think Death will be an exception.

Well the Endtimes certainly reinforced the ethereal being a defining feature of the range (though that is a much older of the Vampire Counts range, having started around the time the von Carstein SCs where redesigned), but the Knight of Shrouds really only bears the most generic representation of the theme, manifest in him being a "Sheet Ghost", like the plastic Cairnwraith. If he where accompanied by some matter of ghostly manifestation (like the Morghasts for example), I could see in him a continuation of the etherealy haunted theme, but as he only carries the basic signs of his Nighthaunt nature, I think he is a bit lacking. Don't get me wrong, it is a very, very, nice model, but for the role he seems supposed to play, the herald of Nagash in universe and a signifier to Death players that their GA going to be back in a major way, I find him lacking. To me he looks more like he should come in a box with two to four more of his kind to form a new Nighthaunt unit, not like he is some kind of big cheese for GA Death.

My issue is that Undead are particularly often saddled with a generic aesthetic and conventional approach in Fantasy, so I am eager to see more of that. The Endtimes Models for Death and some of the art for AoS show that GW has some very good ideason how to do less conventional Undead that still aren't to "out there" and that do not go into body horror (the most common time of unconventional Undead, but in Warhammer the department of Chaos). As I am happy to repeat, I feel the Art Deko inspired look of AoS meshes very well with the mix of faux-egyptian and old-europe GA:Death inherited from the World that was. So, I am still hoping we will see skeletons that look more like the group picture we got with the initial Shadespire reveal. I guess I would be fine with the occassional Death model being a nod to old aesthetics or even with Deathrattle being altogether traditional looking, if these wheren't the first Death models we have seen since the Endtimes. In that context I find it concerning that, apart from the Knight of Shrouds helmet, these no continuity to the Style the End times models developed and seemingly previewed.

Sure, it is hardly a damning point. Its just part of an overall developement that rubs me the wrong way a bit, like Rotbringers at the moment having only one regular unit, but five special characters. I feel special characters should be reserved for only the most significant figures, the gods and their highest servants. I really liked that figures like Kuhl and the various Lord Celestants where the central characters of the Realmgate Wars, yet where just examples of generic hero models in game, and was hoping that would be the overall approach for Age of Sigmar. But now it looks like that was just a stop-gap and now AoS is moving in the opposite direction. I find that a bit disappointing.

I was afraid they would do that. If GW keeps up the pace of releases a competitive organized play game, like Shadespire supposes to be, needs, warbands will start to add up quickly and with them a large amount of low-tier Special Characters. That really has the potential to snowball and drive AoS into a direction I personaly would not enjoy, particularly as fast Shadespire releases will quickly outpace regular army releases. And all for miniatures that represent slightly fancier battleline troops and thus already would have had a warscroll to represent them. My concerns are far from guaranteed turning out as fear, if GW ensures Shadespire models don't get remotely optimal rules or does not give them points for matched play, it is no more than a gimmick. But the potential of an Age of Special Characters is there, and that is something I would find rather off-putting.

I am really digging the helmet on the Knight of Shrouds, but, apart from that, he looks very generic. Like the Shadowspire Deathrattle, I just don't get that "Yes-that is definitely an Age of Sigmar miniature" feel I got from all the other releases so far. I hope the Heralds are generic characters and not uniques. I'm no fan of SCs and GW has been doing a lot of them lately . Good to hear something is coming for Deathrattle next year, though I am trying not to get to excited, we really do not know, what, when or how much. But Death is going to get support in 2018, that is definitely something to look forward to.

I respectfully disagree, the converter and kitbasher in me is currently on fire, those shouldn't be very hard to bring over into AoS, delivering wonderful material to anyone with mortal humans in their force. In this regard, Necromunda coming with multi-part plastic kits is great news for AoS as well

That Fateweaver looks like he is on a great start, but I feel like the helmet is just way to iconic to use in this conversion. I can actually see that a lot of work went already into changing the model, but whenever I look at the front, it simply looks like Ahriman with a weapon swap to me, which is a pity.

Nope, they did a few art mills before. One for Kharadron, one Death Battlemat looking one and the Shadowspire head icon, that appeared in the Skirmish books, though we still do not know what or whom it represents. Current one looks like Nurgle art, no surprise, with Codex Deathguard around the corner.

I am not getting my hopes up on getting Tzaangor (and the other god-gor) in Brayherd allegiance. But being able to get some Bullgor or lesser beasts (warhounds and such) without using up that precious allies allowance (that is quickly used up with a behemoth or two). The current rules are 4 pages. That certainly leaves space for something other than ally rules, unless they take more than a single page.

Points of interest in the article and toc: -page 113: Warscroll Update! You don't update anything about Warscrolls in a single page, so I expect this will be a paragraph drawing attention to Warscrolls being updated around the release. -Picture with a Nurgle army drawing attention to the faction, yet no Nurgle allegiance. -similarly, the text draws specific attention to Clan Verminus and Bonerattle as a main army in the context of taking alliues, even though, right now, these loose little to nothing in a Grand Alliance (black knights as battleline for bonerattle, absolutely nothing for Verminus) and they don't get allegiance abilities where smaller factions from the same GA do. -around 6 pages on Sieges in the narrative section. This will be interesting -around 7 pages matched play. Looks like MP might get a few more rules in addition to allies. Conclusion: A Nurgle release may be close, but I think with Deathguard confirmed for 40k, most of us expect that already. More interestingly, Bonerattle and Verminus may not be far of either. Narrative play doesn't get much that is really new. A point of purely personal interest: -I did not expect Brayherd on the list of Forces to get allegiance, nor did I expect that Beasts of Chaos support in Path to Glory. I am a Beastmen fan, so I am happy for the support, even if it means we will not get a battletome anytime soon. But this does mean we can at least hope to get a battletome and new miniatures for undivided Beastmen at a later time. I just really hope they widen the scope of units that qualify for Brayherd allegiance, the ally allowance does not really allow anything close to a mixed herd.

If the rumor mill was 40k, I'd expect something other than hammered on parchment. Also, I think those bones are so low-detail, because they are stylised representations and not actual bones. GW is well capable of making low detail bones that actually look like bones if they want to (but then, they are well capable of putting some variation on copy-paste parchments and didn't). It is clearly some sort of reliquiary shrine, but not one we have seen before. Considering all that, I think it could be 40k Eklesiarchy, something Death (one can only hope), Faithful, more Stormcast or Terrain.

I am placing my bet on a Shadowspire Clans Eshin Warband. Clans Eshin are propably the most outdated Skaven model line and judging from Silvertower they are up for a redesign that is more in line with Verminous models. They propably are thebest fit thematically.

I doubt GW will throw away their conception of Sphinxes and Ushabti, those where one of the very few unique takes GW has ever had in its Undead/Death factions. On the other hand, throwing out the specific realisations of those concepts makes sense, since they where so heavily tied to Tomb Kings and their less than unique undead ancient egypt vibe. We won't see a return of the Khemrian Warsphynx and Nekrosphynx, but we may eventually see some new Sphynxes of Shysh. Really, I think ultimately will leave almost the entirety of currently existing Death units and models to the dust and tackle the entire concept of Undeath anew, since most of the VC line has the same issues TK had (a dearth of unique ideas and realisation, weak iconography compared to all other factions, conceptually all over the place). I just think they nixed TK first since offered less variety and could be more easily replaced. This is what really excites me so about GA:Death and why I do not mind waiting to see it at the same time, GW will really have cut loose and put in a lot of work on the Grand Alliance and as Kharadron Overlords show, we can expect great things when GW goes all out. That, and the combination of design elements we have seen used for the newest Death models so far happen to have a surprisingly large common share with some 1920s styles, which I find amusing and awesome. p.s.: To illustrate what I mean by my last comment, for example, there was a huge ancient egypt craze in 1920s, resulting in a trend for faux-pharaonic jewelry. So where many may see Toomb Kings in the new Skeleton illustration, I also see a bunch of Skeleton Flappers.

Both are gray stone with lines and cracks. But the adepticon image has the lines thin and curving, while the new Rumor Engine image has thick lines in a right-angled flagstone pattern. Also, the major images are of a completely different style. I would say those two are not even the same kind of image, the first looking an illustration in a battletome and the second looking more like a gaming tile or battlemat.

Looks a lot like the Morghast to me. One thing is certain though, it is the first Rumor Engine picture pointing at something new (though not necessarily miniatures) for GA:Death. That alone is good.

I do not think the adepticon teaser image is part of an actual portrait, going by the background and straight on perspective (rare in the usual GW action shot style). It is far more reminiscient of the various "icon" style representations we tend to get from GW. As such. it would not be a direct representation of any individual or miniature, thus the metal is not necessarily a mask, nor the eye or skin color necessarily representative. I am placing my bet on it being an iconic representation of Malerion.

Wrong on Ironjawz and Bonesplittaz I think, I am less sure on Beastclaw (but think those where split of before the Battletome as well, but I do not have the GA:Destruction book). The closest precedent I can think of is the inclusion of the individual Zombiedragon and Terrorgeist, who where exclusive to their own faction (Beasts of the Grave) previous to Battletome:Flesheater Courts. Those still exists in both factions in the App, with seperate Warscrolls, the main difference I can make out on the fly being the Beasts of the Grave Warscrolls lacking any faction keywords. It is hard to tell if this is a goof (the app has a few, such as the Gaunt Summoner on disk loosing his specific Warscroll). A similar but different exists with the Chaos Spawn, that got Tzeentch specific War Scroll in Disciples of Tzeentch and even though it is still also given as a Slaves to Darkness unit in the App, had its Warscroll changed to Tzeentch specific one in the StD section of the App, with no word wether that is another goof or intentional as far as I have heard. So, word on what happens with the old factions when units get shifted between factions is muddied at best (and also, the App needs to be updated with more care or needs its own FAQ, which would beat the purpose of a fluid living document gaming App).

I am not so sure about Teclis=Moon considering the Crecent Moon themed designs on the Mistweaver Saih, who is propably on team Malerion. I think the rumors where that Shadowkin and Slaanesh are both on the way as seperate forces, but there are also some Aelves among the Slaaneshi stuff.