Baron Klatz

I think I’ll be much longer out than that. If they’re going by chambers then ideally it’d go: AoS4 Warriors (still suspect 2025 to be an actual refresh for 10 year anniversary) AoS5 Extremis & Vanguard(staple down what the new heavy cavalry & light cav will be with the hunters and whatever new Dracothion units or warriors they make) AoS6 Sacrosanct (newest of the bunch with a ton of ways to drag their feet on needing new armor with their soul enhancing powers) AoS5 being Order vs Death is a good shout but who knows what Death will throw out next. Maybe Nagash will enslave the spider death gods living beneath him that make those portals that undermine him so he can get revenge on the Skaven’s gnaw-holes with his own “webway” portals and Sigmar unleashes new Vanguard and the Logisticar Chamber to quickly locate, teleport to and stop the undead spider hordes? (Just for an example) With GW it can go either way. Like back in 2010 the rules design team working on AoS was called Project Stanley. 😄 We still have Ruination Covenant Logister (newest one made during the Age of Hope to help coordinate troops & supplies from Azyr to the other Realms. I like to think that’s where all the Stormcast scholars, engineers and eggheads are) So Covenant should be after Ruination. Maybe that’ll attune with Extremis refresh for Dracothioncast kinda stuff? 🐉

Lore-wise there already is variants with smaller Sentry-Keeps & Border-Walkers which are smaller Cogforts than the walking fortresses/city ones. I’d imagine Border-Walkers are what we’ll get as mobilized defenses for all the new settlements out there that succeeded and need a visible walking tank deterrent against stuff like Kruleboyz and BoC eyeing up the place as an otherwise easy mark.

I mean AoS4 starting with Skaven that could be the prevention of them pulling that with the tower as the new Chamber is unleashed to defend their strongpoint. That said I don’t agree with that last bit. Skaven’s last major play was Malign Portents and that wasn’t even a resolution but just changed course on Nagash’s plans from sucking the life from the realms to flooding them with ghosts & undeath magic the hole in the UnderWorlds opened from the damaged pyramid. Before and after that it’s been everything from Stormcast, Orruks, Daughters of Khaine, Lumineth, Kharadron and other resolving story arcs from the closing of the All-Gates to Archaon’s plans to invade Azyr foiled from his Varanite staches siphoned dry.

Very likely. I’m thinking based on Poseidon’s Hippocampus(high five to people that remember that unit from Age of Mythology RTS) while their Eastern inspiration side nods that the Zodiac has the horse for the water elements. Will be interesting to see how that translates to units since they opened up design room with “River Aelementals are the most numerous of the spirits” so they can throw in any kind of water units they can think of while the Pachyderm Sages give them a tanky ally. Which does leave Deepkin fans envious but we all know the solution. Battle crabs 🦀 ⚔️

Uhh, that’s a good point. Makes the Lethis “serve for the rest of your life on the giant hamster wheel that powers our city to earn your safeguarded underworld” more reasonable when you consider you’re in a Soulsborne-like cosmos where almost every mook can capture & use your soul like cheap currency.

That’s actually an interesting theory. That’s similar to what Deepkin do to summon their Eidolon by sacrificing soul reefs to it of their sealed away sacred kin so Stormcast could do something similar to make them apart of Sigmar for that “rest” as he re-absorbs the essence he gave them along with their souls and summon forth his elemental war aspect as a Prime 2.0. Certainly would hit those Noblebright tones of the setting to set broken Stormcast on a penitent path so even if they can’t be forged anew they can be recycled into something greater and live on that way. Even goes back to End Times when Sigmar first reincarnated and those in the hall saw a great number of different king faces before Sigmar’s manifested over them, making him like a divine soul collective. Yeah, it’s been a pretty long time rumor even going back in AoS1 of duardin forged engines housing their souls. GW have certainty been happy in bringing out AoS1 characters & places like the Lady of Vines and now we’re back in the Scabrous Sprawl from the 2016 God-beast campaign so maybe those ideas will be reforged as well.

Then don’t call it rest when there’s nothing left. That makes it sound far better than it is when you cease even existing. (That is the fate of Soulbound too. They don’t age anymore but a Soulbound hero killed has their soul obliterated. Grungni theorizes what happens next is it goes down to the bottom of Shyish to combine with other soul fragments to reincarnate into a new person) Pity if that’s the direction they go with Vandus. I’d think giving him the Bastian treatment would be better but I guess they want to move on from older characters. Edit: your confused reaction is warranted as they don’t really want to move on from him but this does feel a janky path to put him on compared to other options that don’t make him a timebomb they’re ready to off.

Well that’s the problem, their is no rest for weaponized souls save oblivion. That’s why they become lightning gheists as Azyr pulls them up instead of Shyish in the UnderWorlds to rest at. Doesn’t really go against a stronger shell for them but eh or even better armor like Bastian got for his wounded soul. I’ll wait to see what they come up with. Would be interesting if that’s the purpose of Lethis and the underworld Cthorak went back to search for a soul vault of sorts instead of oblivion they’d suffer otherwise. I imagine they’ll set him up in something that could be risky for his fractured soul.(like a construct body to go out in a blaze of glory) Because if Khul gets him then I assure you that’s no final rest in chaos. 😬

Even before that, first mention was back at the end of the Seeds of Hope campaign in 2016 and the shift to the 2017 Firestorm Campaign. The Cogforts expanding Hammerhal Aqshy’s borders so fast is what lead to the 2017 WHQ:Shadows over Hammerhal as the slums used to be thriving markets until the city expanded and left them behind in the center. But also yeah just fun speculation, though I do think AoS is at it’s funnest when it embraces itself as “40k fantasy” going crazy with what it can do. Besides it’s not like super tech is alien to the fantasy universe. Just watch the final battle of the chaos dwarves when it’s copter & bomber air raids with rapid-fire guns & bombs vs mecha, artillery trains and rockets. (30:00 minute mark) But that’s the beauty of AoS and the Mortal Realms. You can easily have Freeguild common sword troops marching alongside Ghyran giant beetle riders, Ghur troopers in spidersilk mail with monster bone weapons and chamonites on clockwork creatures with grenade launchers and it all fits like a cosmic glove for the setting. 👌 He k this guy just posted his Freeguild general today and I’d love to see this mechanical monument in melee. 😍

Also makes more sense with the latest stories. (Flagellants honestly sound like they were going off the Christmas rumor engines that looked like zealot flails) Sigmar & Ionus both want to save those older frayed souls and now that Ionus is bringing in Lethis equipment that could point to a stasis project and Peacewater which is a export from Lethis that can be distilled to make medicine that “soothes the mind and boldens the soul”. Venerable souls being put in big shells as they await a solution to the reforging flaws and called in dire circumstances(like Hammerhal Aqshy being duplexes by multiple chaos hordes) works better if those hints of Skaven exo-suits happen and we end up with quality duardin-made stormdreads vs quantity explody Skaven mechs. Then all that’s left is to finally give us Hamilcar vs Ikit to symbolize the move from Ghur to Chamon focus. 🦁 💥 🤖

😍 And yeah the concept artists on Artstation for SCE are kind-blowing my good at how creative they get. Really hope GW one day employs some ideas from them(especially the multi-arm Asura Stormcast for a holy version of 4-armed Ossiarchs but 6 arms and in groups of 2 for Sigmar’s holy number of 12, so cool) I hope so and that’s it’s a Cogtaur in the shape of Kragnos. Would be a fun way to show their worship by reverse engineering a Cogfort to look more like their earthquake god with four powerful legs instead of multiple spidery ones. On the BoC and 4th index rumors. I’m firmly in camp “I’ll believe it when I see it”. I mean it’s not impossible they get moved to just a disorganized background threat with Morghur’s god powers waxing wrongly so their powerhouses melt into primordial goop but they just feel too tied to things as it is.(plus all the recent new and great art) Only thing I can think is they’d do it if they want an overhaul of either the faction or it’s placement like Skaven becoming the furry figureheads of Chaos while we get new Beasts of the Realms in Destruction that finally give all the neutral animal peoples a place instead of just daemon goats.

Haha, literally if possible. 😁 (Artstation fan-art SCE concepts):

I get that but on the otherhand I think that’s really dumb to deny a faction a really cool concept like a siege golem because it might be similar to something 40k(which riffed completely of fantasy ideas) has. That’s like ripping out all Khaine statue mentions from DoK because they’re too Eldar and making sure Orruks never touch dakka or squiggoths to seperate them from Orks. Nothing will stop haters from calling Stormcast Sigmarines anyway unless the faction stops existing as it is because even now they still get bashed for it like with Ionus. So I say heck with them and lean into it if GW wants, Stormcast Eternals are epic as hell and most of the time even out-style the marines at their own game so go wild with Sigmarine & Roman Demigod aesthetics and bring out the dreadnoughts, the gheists the Questors and more Annihiltors! Chadcasts can do it all!! ⚡️🤟⚡️

Honestly wouldn’t be surprised. Y’all look up the Adamantine Chain where the Spire is located? it’s massive volcano chain central that’d be perfect to forge fiery golem bodies for stasis souls while Skaven, Duardin fighting to reclaim their lost homes and Duardin that fell to dark gods battle to claim it’s forge powers. https://ageofsigmar.lexicanum.com/wiki/Adamantine_Chain

That’s my thought. People thought Stormcast were purely golems at the start(though it does happen with them becoming living storms in armor) so with their new armors magnifying their human warrior elements it’d make sense to bring back the golem warriors. Would especially fit if Chamon, Gholemkind and Skaven exo-skeletons are next with even Chuardin body mecha to move their stone forms around being things for big mechanized melees. 💪 🤖

Likely will next edition or so. They already shown off the smaller Border Walker design variant enough and with steamtanks in TOW they already have an out for that model.(though I hope they drag their feet on that since the last few tournaments were won by steamtank spam, would suck to have your force squatted like that and it can’t be easy to put a big model like that on legs to convert 😆) on the rest of today’s news. Very happy my boy Gavriel Sureheart got in today’s story!(loved him when he came out, his backstory of Grub and love his model, favorite in my collection!) That finally rounds up every older major Stormcast character to get a moment to shine in the campaign but one! Can’t wait to see what Aventis Firestrike will inevitably do about the siege being the magister of Aqshy. 🔥 The blackspire is definitely interesting with its ominous presence. With Ionus’ & Cthorak’s touching conversation about “a Stormcast saves his friends” and it’s Relictor nature which is the Temple of Ages that controls the flow of time I wonder if it’s gonna put souls in stasis until the reforge fix can be found? (That way they can retire the old models due to bloat and bring them out new in the future. Certainly GW’s productions probably wish they could freeze time. 😂) I think Beast of Chaos will just get revamped. Kinda suspect it’ll happen late in 4th edition with Bonesplitterz too as our links back to the Era of the Beast and Ghur as we move on from it(both were the main antagonists in the Thondian tome afterall) Their heroes from the first starter set also fell in The Long Hunt so they’re probably gearing up for some big hero replacements & even revivals into daemons.

Sketched a doodle for a reminder that tomorrow is the last day to get the game 50% off on Steam and that the Feb 6th is when the Diorama contest ends. Absolutely love the entries I’ve spied so far. I hope the Brightspear defense one gets recognition especially. 👌 ⚡️ Edit: Oh, missed this one. Temporary Alliance is a beaut with that angle of holy angel flying before a daemon.

Drogrukh have been more peaceful in some descriptions, only going to war against the dragon-Ogors who they and the Draconith saw as a common threat and then when Kragnos pushed them into war. However that was during the Age of Myth when things were more ideal compared to now when they’ve had to spend centuries running and hiding from chaos(and likely vengeful dragon-Ogors) making them more ragged & feral and possibly part of Kragnos’ character arc to see his people fall so low because of his hit-headed actions.(mind it won’t change him from being a big brash basher but now he’ll have goals to set to see his race back on top) As for duardin, I imagine it’ll either be Gholemkind or Freeguild city-duardin that carry that runic torch with a noticeably different AoS spin on things. Especially since Cities of Sigmar are becoming the new “we wall!” faction so their traditional dawi shieldwalls fit better there than making a redundant second race focused on being a moving castle. That whole “Oh Grungni’s coming back with some kind of great power!” has been kinda debunked in-universe as the new armor for Stormcast Eternals. The Kharadron book goes into a bit of detail they feel that’s a second betrayal by him to them. If Morathi-Khaine is the order equivalent to mutants & cultists then Malerion could bring shadow Aelf “chaos warriors” & daemons to the fold with stuff like animated armors(reflections of Eltharion), shadow Aelf Ronin to match the Lumineth samurai vibes and just twisted shadow daemons everywhere. Replace Sylvaneth with Deepkin and you’re right. 😄 (Sylvaneth are more about the plant people and even counting Kurnothi those can be humans too, that even mutate into satyrs, so the aelven aspect is extremely washed out on them)

Would also work if you wanted to do a Lost Legion theme for the Aglorexi Empire of Aqshy. Back in the Age of Myth that actually had magic laser rifles made by concentrating their fire magic into beams like their country-frying Prismatikon towers(basically giant magnifying glasses) did. Would be an awesome thematic Freeguild proxy either way. 👌 Also agreed on the pyregheists. Wish GW would hire the Blasphemous videogame indie guys to give us an AoS platformer with those kinds of enemies.

Aww, we need more love stories like that. ”Would you love me even if I was a monkey” ”Would you love me if I was a zombie” Together: “of course!”

Nah, that’s the emblem face of Hammerhal Love that design though, glad they’re just updating it rather than replacing it with the Hammerhal Aqshy Freeguild emblem It is the major Hammers of Sigmar installation afterall. Should have their face mask. 👍

Ran out of reacts but aaaaahhhhhh! That hero set looks so cool!!! Rven has that huge Stormcast with the skeletons on his back from the animations. Turning the animations into models and a full unit is so gosh dang amazing!!🤩

Ooooh, very interesting! Love new characters for the Realms who expand how the narratives can advance(in this case a more neutral stance from Morathi-Khaine’s path)

Loving the Fury of the Deep 2.0 feel of the Warcry set with water vs fire and their lores. Now we wait to see if the watery rumor engines are part of a River Temple battletome supplement ala what Ironjawz got or a proper Deepkin update since no creatures appeared with these water healers. Great start!

Me before this: meh, this presentation is probably gonna be 90% standard stuff. Me after seeing an image of a bird-like winged Khainite pop up: wait is this gonna be legit full of surprises?! Super interested by that, especially the right wing being puffier than the left wing, is it cloaked in shadow magic and the shaper edged part is the actual demonic wings being revealed? I remember the 2018 Corebook saying Malerion’s aelves having a devilish appearance with twisted wings & tails to match. So maybe he leant some over to the Hag like how he gave Morathi his Shadeborn?