Knight Scáthach of Fimm

I think they chose 'later this year' in order to not give it away, because they can't announce it via an after article comment so casually. It's deliberately ambiguous so that no matter when it's announced, they weren't lying. I expect it this Sunday.

Do you reckon these guys have bones inside their bones?

Two units of 6 Rockguts is ideal for a 2k list

I think Inspiring Presence should let a unit use the Hero's Bravery characteristic. Then a Hero's Bravery actually matters for once.

I highly doubt it, I think they will have access to all the factions in the book + Stormcast; not sure about Kharadrons. If they're not in the book or are not specifically stated to be usable, I don't think they will be included.

Heads up, the Forgeworld Free Peoples stuff is going. Manann's Blades are now out of stock in the UK. I actually decided to order a unit yesterday just in case.

Some interesting info that suggests previous speculation could be true. I'm inclined to believe this, as the repurposing of the Watchtower TM is so lazy but so GW. Also the Demigryph general makes a lot of sense, and is feasible. Edit: I actually like the watchtower and will be happy to have it. No endless spells makes me happy.

Troggs are surprisingly effective if you have excellent positioning. Get caught with your pants down and things can go bad quickly. Provided you can annihilate infantry off enemy objectives, and you will, scoring isn't too hard. I'd argue they're one of the few elite armies that perform okay when it comes to capturing, just through sheer damage and being last man standing. They certainly require more general skill than most armies, despite appearing relatively simple on the outside, but that's actually what makes them a challenging yet effective army. With enough skill and knowledge, they will put in work. That's more than I can say about most elite armies, bar say Stormcast. Avoid playing against Nighthaunt, as they are the perfect counter. The recent points reductions made Rockguts a very good pick, even for Gloomspite as a whole. They are certainly competitively priced, and this off-sets things like the Dankboss' cost and the Battalion. I gained 160 points with the changes, to put it into perspective. My favored tactic is to take Moonface Mommet on a Madcap Shaman, behind units of 6 Rockguts. Cast Itchy Nuisance on a target unit, make sure the Dankboss is nearby and charge with whatever trolls you have. I try and do 2 units of 6 Rockguts on high value targets if I can. They're now (essentially) striking first with -3 rend with reroll 1s (this is why the new reroll 1s command ability did not invalidate the Troggboss). This combo will kill anything that does not have rend immunity. When charging against multiple units, I've crippled an entire army many times with one strike. I usually pin a unit with the Troggboss and prevent them from striking the Rockguts between the effect of Itchy Nuisance. His small base means that he can usually get off safe and sound while the Troggs go to town. The Moonface Mommet is important, because every attack the Rockguts get is super important, and your opponent can and will roll more 6s to save than you like. I don't care what statistics say, I like 100% guarantee when it comes to getting their damage through because they have so few attacks. I did this to Hedonites of Slaanesh, despite them having the advantage against Troggs. If you have good spacial awareness and general game mechanics, Troggs are a perfectly reasonable and potentially middle tier army to choose. Just supplement some regular grots in to fill gaps in your list, like home objective holding. Also, don't overlook the Troggboss' +1 Bravery aura, as it's the difference between losing a troll and not. As always, you'll want a Fungoid Cave Shaman. Also, treat your Troggboss as a backline support hero until about turn 2-3, as you can't risk losing him with a wild play. Don't throw him in first; let the Troggs start the battle and move him in to back them up in melee. His lack of a degrading statline means he will be effective into the later stages of the game while most things with his stats would not. He really becomes a force to be reckoned with turns 4 and 5, when most things of worth are dead. Just be aware that he, unlike regular trolls, probably won't make his points back in kills; although this is not necessarily bad, just don't expect him to play like a Bloodthirster. Personally, I like Tough as Rocks as a trait for my boss, as, while Loonskin is usually better, it doesn't help against Alpha Strikes. Not that you should be positioning him anywhere to get struck first turn, and he is extremely easy to protect given his small base, cover and look out sir. Currently I'm testing Mighty Blow and Gryph Feather Charm as a balance of damage, movement and durability. +1 move is not much but it's certainly something. These are my thoughts on a Troggoth army. Certainly playable and effective.

How are you getting Furies from a Merc Company? They were released after the book came out. Is it Slaves to Darkness keyworded?

Troggboss: 270 Fungoid: 90 6 Rockguts: 280 3 Fellwater: 150 20 Stabbas: 130 That adds up to 920, so you can add in whatever else you want, be it spells or a madcap. I run a madcap as well as a Fungoid as shooting is becoming more a thing now.

If we get a new model at all, it'll 99% be a mounted Freeguild General of some kind. They're the poster boys of the book, and there's a very puzzling void to fill, that being the loss of the mounted general kit (it being the superior kit in every possible way). People's thoughts on a Demigryph General seem accurate to GW's methods. I imagine the difference will be like: Loonboss, Loonboss on Squig, Loonboss on Mangler Squigs. That seems logical to me. Alternatively, as someone pointed out, the Demigryph kit could be used like how Flesh Eater Courts works with Courtiers. It'd be better than nothing, and gives us lots of options when it comes to converting, because if there's something the Freeguild range is good at it's being modular and convertible. If that's the case, then aside from having two spare Demigryphs, aesthetics shouldn't be an issue given how many left over bits we can work with from other kits.

A lot of Freeguild players seem to mostly be upset about the militia guard of all things. It seems like they were some kind of top tier unit that everyone took and invested in, when they really weren't, not even close. Sword and shield is the most common one followed by halberdiers. Secondly, they don't have a kit and haven't since AoS began, which, with a little foresight, would suggest that they would be axed when any update came out; I'd have loved to make some for aesthetics purposes, but knew they wouldn't stick around. And no, converting them is not a valid option from GW's point of view; everything must come in the box if it has in-game consequences. Freeguild got the best of an already positive (for them) update. For the most part, they're sticking around. Sure, I have 20 archers that became invalid, but I'd rather have a new book and rules in exchange for an OK unit that I field as chaff. The general options aren't that big a deal, unless you're on horseback (of which, people have suggested, is likely to be remedied with a plastic solo kit, as that is both concurrent with GW's current practice of giving new solo models, and was an absolutely bizarre change considering it had a good kit the whole time. The current general available has a sculpted base, like a wight king, and you need to physically cut that base out of the plastic and put it on a circle!) If you have a foot general, you simply won't be able to fire that pistol your boss is pointing etc. He's still here. My general is the Ludwig Schwarzhelm model so believe me, I'm suffering too, especially if the banner goes, but again, it's hardly a big deal in the grand scheme of things. We're trading some options of a single hero, a single unit, and a warscroll option that hasn't existed in model form for years, in exchange for the means to become relevant to the bigger game as a whole. Besides, you could always be an elf player. Freeguild aren't the ones really suffering here.

Me: today is a likely day that they will announce Cities of Sigmar pre-order. GW: here are the new SPACE MARINES that we literally only told you about less than 24 hours ago.

My new favorite quote

I have a new general for Bal'lahast under construction. I'd post Hector Wallace, but he's the Ludwig Schwarzhelm model, him being the 21st Schwarzhelm.

Universal as a trope in fantasy I mean. Nearly all fantasies have horses. They use Demigryphs often because they're trademarked.

Horses are almost universal, and if we're talking about them being mundane and boring, then I'm afraid Free Peoples being human just got cancelled.

I don't think the Greatsword on the cover is 100% accurate to the models either. I don't recall a time when GW outright replaced an existing plastic battleline for AoS, in fact it's one of the recurring themes; that being a pre-existing plastic troops kit for a range of models to then be expanded, like Daughters of Khaine. We won't get knights back; Demigryphs fulfill this role with a more fantastical approach, which AoS almost always has when making new models. I don't know why Ironweld, Collegiate and Devoted would become Freepeoples when this isn't a Freepeoples book specifically. It's their book too. GW are very much an: if it ain't broke, don't fix it, kind of company. Guard and Gunners are dated, but they're not exactly horrible models.

Well, archers are actually a competitive pick because of their pre-game move, allowing for a wide screen or even an early objective.

I'm not even convinced that Archers are not commonly taken. People use them for their utility all the time.

I doubt any Freeguild models bar maybe Finecast will go, and even then Finecast sticks around after new releases. The general on horse is marked the same, and it MUST stay, otherwise there won't be A: a general on horse kit, and B: a plastic general on foot, because if anything the general with the sculpted square base would go. I know the Wight King base has his foot in it and you need to cut around it, but that's because it's the only option (that isn't finecast). The general would have his foot up in the air without the correct base and I know GW wouldn't do that. I'm not sure where this common line of thinking has come from; Archers being the most likely kit to go. If I recall, one person made the comparison that the kit didn't get a cost increase and then everyone lost their minds shouting it from the roof. The cannon didn't go up and that's sure as hell not going anywhere.

Wait until that list GW said they'd release before assuming models are gone. They're probably being rebased. And Archers were useful in a number of ways. Also if anyone is wondering why they didn't have a cost increase, it could well have to do with them being a single option kit, in comparison to say Gunners.

Hold off on the replacing of the Ironfists, since they may end up being valuable in the new book.

Hey, at least the guard aren't chaos marauder levels of derp. Or Eshin infantry. I like to mix in some Greatsword pieces when applicable. Also, I forgot to link my Free City write-up

Wait, when did I ask that question, or is the heat making me see things?