Davariel

That was my first thought on reading this too. It feels to me like the writers are trying to reconcile the different takes on Bretonnia that have existed over the years - both in terms of good versus grimdark, but also by adding avenues to take stuff like the bombards in the variant army lists. It's not exactly the Bretonnia I fell in love with, but I'm honestly really liking what we've seen so far.

On the bright side, it seems like the rumoured Bretonnian box could be decent. Unlike the Tomb Kings, the core Bret plastics hold up pretty well considering their age (I'm biased here because Brets were my first Warhammer love, but IMO most of their 6th ed range still looked good next to 8th ed stuff). Plus their new kits should provide lots of extra bits to convert the old Knights with. That Tomb King box is a tragedy, though.

It's funny to think that those old skeletons put my friends and I off starting Tomb Kings over a decade ago. I don't mind old models but some definitely age better than others.

This is one of my favourite plogs on TGA, full of such wonderful conversions and creativity! Not to mention top notch painting Makes me regret not starting a Tomb King army back in the day...

Just dropping the full army list like that is such a tease. Now I want to see all these awesome sounding conversions...

Yikes, a single model painted to this standard is exceptional, an entire army... utterly defies comprehension Must just about be the best painted army I've ever seen!

Wonderful post - I love seeing the awesome lore and stories people come up with for their armies, and the background you've come up with for Nacht'Tor and Fendale is excellent. And your interests sound very similar to my own, exploring the opposed forces of life and death, to boot! I look forward to seeing how this develops

It's a minor touch but I really, really like how you've used the Osgiliath ruins as basing materials. They give the army such a strong sense of ancient grandeur crumbling away... which of course complements high elves perfectly (perhaps now more than ever with how AoS has treated them ) Looking forward as always to see what you add next!

That really is one impressive conversion. So many disparate bits involved, but they all look so natural and thoughtfully placed - the end result is just stunning. And of course your compelling background just elevates the whole thing even further

Those longbeards are sublime - the green and gold colour scheme is just perfect. And you've started adding a story, too! (It's a scientifically proven fact that stories make painting threads more awesome). I can see I'm going to have to keep an eye on this thread

This thread is full of so much incredible creativity! It's great to see projects that really push boundaries like this - keep it up!

This is awesome stuff. Your dedication to the nautical theme is truly impressive!

I never get tired of looking at Sylvaneth, especially when they're as well painted as these! I like the earthy, natural tones you've gone for, they work really well with the bright orange. Looking forward to seeing the rest of your army

This thread is full of so much incredible stuff it's hard to decide what to compliment first! You've put a lot of love into this army and it really shows. The conversions, painting, background... it's all just fantastic. Eagerly awaiting the next installment

This army's seen some amazing progress! I especially like the Archmage - the fiery staff contrasts the cool palette beautifully. Keep up the good work!

@someone2040 Pfft, everyone knows warrior priests never sport such magnificent facial hair - those mutton chops are pure Freeguild! Although the witch hunter does have a very dapper moustache so maybe you have a point

Ah, but you see, that's the genius of Games Workshop! No one could possibly have expected another Stormcast hero so soon, making the most expected choice for Order's herald subversively unexpected Joking aside I'm a little underwhelmed by our Stormcast herald. He seems like a random blend of ideas - Stormcast Warrior, village blacksmith, freeguild general... and is he wearing pearls? It's not a bad model per se but it doesn't live up to the awesome standard set by the other three IMO.

Awesome stuff so far, love how the colour scheme echoes the classic high elf blue and white - but in a very unique (and icy) way! Plus it's just nice seeing aelves on here, they don't get a lot of love these days! Will be watching this one with interest

Great stuff in this thread so far - Beastmen don't get enough love around here! I especially like the warpaint designs you've come up with, it works really well with their barbarian vibe.

Wonderful conversions you've got here, full of character but still very cohesive as an army. Plus it's always awesome to see someone doing a human army other than Renaissance Germans (that's one area the AoS model line really doesn't live up to its background)! Looking forward to seeing the finished result

Putting aside the issue of which faction is getting attention for a moment... am I the only one that thinks this new model's proportions look really off, even moreso than most Stormcast? Not sure if it's the crouching pose, the size of the sword or what, but he looks more like a duardin with a tiny head than a human to me

@Turragor Thanks for a very insightful and clearly expressed view. We get lot of people complaining about more Stormcast releases, so it's good to hear from the other side of the fence once in a while! You make a lot of good points about how GW treats their poster boy factions. I agree completely regarding the "main character" status of Stormcast; I don't like them much myself, but I can see they're going to stay in the spotlight. That's probably something we all just have to accept, for better or for worse. You're absolutely right (and I'm probably guilty of more than a few sarcastic asides at the expense of the Stormcasts myself - for that I apologise). Posts just complaining again aren't productive and should probably stay in our heads. I think there's still a space for criticism of Stormcasts (or anything else), but such criticisms should be well-reasoned and give people something to respond to and talk about in a civilised manner. Am I being too idealistic here? Again I think you've hit the nail on the head. But I think this also speaks to one of the biggest problems AoS faces (and probably the source of much complaining) - GW is trying to have Stormcasts stride across the tapestry when they haven't finished weaving the tapestry yet. So much of the setting, the factions, the backstory is given little to no attention, or only a few shallow pages or fluff, and so on, that when Stormcast get more attention it just calls attention to the holes in the world. But anyway, this is all getting a bit too far off topic. If you want to contiune the discussion I'd be happy to do so in another thread In the meantime, uh, RUMOURS RUMOURS RUMOURS