AshCrow

I don't think they would have kept them for 3 years and included them in the core book if their intention was to squat them.

So? The horde of orcs is a concept everyone knows of and newcomers can find appealing. There's no need to have a spin on everything if the formula works. Beastmen were also old and look what supporting them and making them playable did.

If I wasn't building a horde army already (Nighthaunt) and waiting for the StD battletome I'd fall hard into that. Maybe in a couple of years. I guess they both tame beasts and you can also find spiders in caves? Gitmob and Greenskinz are sure to be merged (maybe with Ironjawz) so I guess ut's better to consolidate the other goblin factions.

We know marauders are getting a new sculpt, I bet at least the warriors, chosen and the exalted hero and the chaos lord on daemonic mount are getting new sculpts aswell. What I don't see getting new sculpts as they are far newer models are knights, marauder horsemen, the chaos lord on foot and on manticore, the sorcerer lord, the chariots and the warshrine.

The thing is, StD is an evolution of that, it's what happens next to the tribes, just like it was to the Norscans. Just like an orc that fights a lot and survives gets bigger and turns into a warboss (one of the reasons why I don't like Ironjawz being separated from the smaller orcs), sometimes a tribsman will wander off seeking the favour of the gods. Sometimes they even return to those tribes and lead them (like Vardek Crom). You can't separate them because they are, essentialy, the same thing. You can't have StD without the tribes that brithed them nor you can have the tribes without the warriors of the gods they worship. That's also why StD are different to the god's specific armies, they aren't cultists, they worship the chaos gods as any tribe would worship their own gods. And all of this can happen with the tribes having their new Conan aesthetic and the warriors having armour and mutations.

Again, if they were going to do that, they have had every oportunity to do it, they could have sqautted them along the Tomb Kings (it's been 2 years already and they've never done it again, there's no reason to think they will) but instead they kept them in the fluff and gave them rules in the GHB. They are expanding and updating the range, not replacing it. Look at the Silver Tower elves, that's how they do it, not giving two models to a faction and then making them their own thing. Notice how they don't have a DARKOATH keyword. Darkoath isn't a faction just like skinks aren't a faction themselves.

Oh god, no. If they were to do that they would have done it along with Bretonnia and the Tomb Kings, not 3 years after and after giving them support with the GHB for 2 years. Do you even realize what you are saying? You are saying it's completely acceptable and even good to trash an entire faction that has been present both in rules and in fluff for the entirety of AoS to replace it with a faction that shares those rules and fluff but it's models don't have spiky armour. Darkoath ARE Salves to Darkness, even GW has said so, they aren't rebooting anything, just updating some old models to the current standard. You speak as if every concept derived from Fantasy was flawed and had to be completely and fundamentally changed for no reason. StD are Archaon's army, in their entirety, even the marauders and the tribes. Even in fantasy, the tribes ere"mortal-tribesmen-who-don't-quite-realize-they-are-bad-guys army". That concept is already in StD, it makes no sense to separate them because they are the same thing, just a bit closer to the final prize in the path to glory.

I doubt neither the knights, lord, chariots and warshrine are getting replaced, so that leaves a box of warriors that even if they get new sculpts, all those bits will probably be useful.

But that's literally what Slaves to Darkness are. It's pretty stupid to separate the marauder part from the warrior part as they are the same thing, just like they were back in Fantasy.

That's highly unlikely. They've been shown time and time again in the fluff, darkoath are known to be part of the slaves to darkness, they got allegiance abilities, a Start Collecting box and now a Battleforce. They aren't going anywhere as a faction. The oldest models? Probably going to be resculpted, but darkoath can't replace StD if they are StD. If you are suggesting darkoath would be an entirely new faction, normally you don't make two factions with the same theme, aesthetic and background.

Considering the amount of new kits both Nighthaunt and Sacrosanct got, I'm hopeful StD will get new warriors/chosen aswell as marauders (and other new shiny things).

My prediction is that the "Godsworn Legions" (or however they name it) battletome will merge Slaves to Darkness, Everchosen, Daemons of Chaos, Monsters of Chaos and Chaos Gargants; include the mortal and daemon magic lores that are in Disciples of Tzeentch, Maggotkin of Nurgle and Slaanesh when it gets it's own; same with the artefacts; new allegiance abilities and 3 endless spells. Then some kind of points for summoning (you could summon daemons from every god), new marauder kit, new chaos warrior/chosen kit, new exalted hero sculpt, maybe a new named character and maybe if the gods want it, a plastic chaos mammoth as a centerpiece (or Forgeworld starts selling it again).

To the people saying that they want MORE stormcast releases. What do you even want? What else do stormcast need? They have more heroes than entire armies have units and more units than Destruction. Why do you feel the need for more when half the other factions in the game are not only unsupported, but some even unplayable?

I'm having trouble deciding between Soirit Hosts and Grimghast Reapers. On one hand, Sprit Hosts can do mortal wounds and I've usually seen them in units of 6, which costs just a bit more than a box of Grimghasts. On the other, Grimghasts are more anti-infantry, seem to want to be in units of at least 20, but Soul Wars comes with just 4 which is... underwhelming. I should say that I'm trying to expand from Soul Wars and I'll get at least 20 Bladegheist because tham they look good and their rules are fantastic. Not sure how that would influence my choice in my second battleline though.