This month’s White Dwarf has a feature on the Lumineth Realm-lords, the reimagined High Elves for Age of Sigmar.
They look great, and I’ve mentioned a few times now that I’ve been tempted by the army. I think I like the clean look, coupled with the weird cow/horse vibes that imbue some of the models. While 40k has some great looking things, I always get the impression that Age of Sigmar designers just go all-out and give us all sorts of crazy stuff.
Despite the goofiness of a massive cow-like creature with a mountain range on his shoulders, I do like the look of the models for the sort of dignity you still see in these kinds of elves. I don’t think I play AoS often enough to justify another army of course, as I’ve only had the Bonereapers out twice in total, but I am considering a Warcry warband of these guys.
Back in 2021, when I think these guys were still new, we had DLC for them on the WarCom website, followed soon after by one of those big boxes where we had a couple of units, plus the cards and tokens, which in retrospect were an amazing deal. I picked up the Slaanesh box, but had my eye on the Lumineth stuff as well. However, I snoozed too long on it, and they’re no longer around.
A box of 10 Vanari Wardens, which I think is the basic troops, will build a warband somewhere in the region of 680 points, so I’d definitely need more than just the one box, but of course there’s something else coming soon that was previewed at the LVO.
The Pyre and Flood box is Nighthaunt vs Lumineth and could be an interesting thing to pick up. So far, I’ve not bought any of the new Warcry stuff, mainly because I’ve not been able to get it at my local shop. But you never know…
I’m very, very interested in these guys at the minute, and of course the beauty of Warcry is that you can tell yourself you’re not starting a new army, because it’s only a warband. Just a few fighters, that’s all. Totally not starting a new army, no way…
It’s taken me a little longer to get these guys painted than the Guardian Defenders, but my second Aeldari unit is now finished! I think I had less of an idea for how to get these painted, so there was quite a bit of to-and-fro as I worked out my colour scheme as I went along.
With these gents finished, I’ve now got my first 250 points fully painted, and I’m feeling good! I think this is partly due to the approach I had with them, to just paint a little bit each night. Juggling real life and the hobby has proven to be difficult of late, but I can be reasonably sure of an hour each evening where I can get some work done. In a change to my usual approach to batch painting, though, I made a conscious effort to plan it out, so I would aim to get all the leather done in one session, then all the weapons, then all the metals, and so on. It worked really well, too – having that structure really helped me get them all done.
I’m also trying to be more structured in my approach to writing my paint schemes down. Not only in terms of actually making sure I do this, but trying to think about the stages and whatnot, so it becomes a more efficient process. In the past, I’ve written these things down on a part-by-part basis. But if two parts both need a Nuln Oil shade, I’m trying to do so at the same time.
It’s tiny stuff like this that I’m hoping to incorporate that will make my painting easier, and allow me to be reasonably confident that I can get stuff finished when I embark upon a project. Especially with the Aeldari being a whole new thing that requires me to buy more models.
And on that note, I’ve bought an Autarch! I had been planning to get Eldrad first, but the local games store had him instead, and I want one for the list regardless, so now have a character to lead my force! Once he’s painted, that will bring my list up to 350 points fully painted.
I’m really enjoying this new army project right now, can’t wait to get my first game with them soon!!
Hey everybody, It completely slipped my mind, in the midst of all the blogs about my various armies last week, to check in with my new army progress! I was intending to paint up the squad of 10 Guardian Defenders for the Aeldari army (I suppose I have to start calling them the proper name now!), and wanted to get them finished by the end of my week off.
Well, this is just a bit of a gloating post really, to say that I actually got them finished by the middle of that week, and was very impressed with myself!
I’ve therefore started work on 10 Corsair Voidreavers, the battleline version of the Corsairs. All of these guys can either take pistols and swords, or rifles, but I’ve decided to go for all rifles on the Voidreavers, because this allows me to build a shooty unit that can not only include a blaster and a shredder, but also a wraithcannon!
I have a lot more to say about the Corsairs, and indeed the Guardians too, but for now, I just wanted to make this short progress update, even though it is a bit late, to show how well things are going so far with the new army. I’m trying my very best to not buy any more for it before I have these Corsairs painted (I actually have 20 of these, the Voidreavers and the Voidscarred), which does mean I currently don’t have a legal army because I have no HQ to lead them, but given how quick my progress has been so far, I’m hoping that it won’t be too long before I end up with an Autarch on the painting table!
I’m on a huge Eldar kick right now, and have been enjoying plotting how I want my army to eventually look. I have no interest in competitive play, of course, so have been pondering pretty much every unit in the book to see what it does, and what I could do with it. I find this process kinda fascinating, because I have honestly no idea about this army, having only come to the Eldar in 10th edition.
With a game like 40k, while efforts are of course made to make sure each faction is unique and has a different feel, there are still some basic crossovers throughout each army. Of course, every army has a basic troop unit, a captain style unit, and so on. So I’ve been trying to keep this in mind while looking at the various units, and it’s quite interesting (to me) to see how these patterns emerge.
For starters, of course, we have the basic troops, the Guardian Defenders. These guys have guns and are pretty standard fare, though the kit is a delightful dual-purpose thing with Storm Guardians, the close-combat variant. Interestingly, while the Storm Guardians have the options for swords, they also have the option for swapping out some of those for special weapons. I would have thought the Defenders would have that kind of customisation.
The Eldar thing includes the Aspect Warriors, the more elite squads that, in the lore, represent the different teachings of the Phoenix Lords as they sought to pursue the Path of the Warrior. There are eight of these Aspect Shrines represented by models, about half of which need updating from their 2006 finecast kits.
Dire Avengers are quite simply more elite upgrades for the basic Guardian Defenders, with slightly better guns than their Guardian brethren. Shining Spears are similarly a slightly better version of the Eldar jetbikes, the Windriders. There are then three Aspects that are quite close-combat oriented, and three that are like specialised shooting units, which feels very much like the tactical support squads from Horus Heresy. Dark Reapers have long-range, heavy guns; Fire Dragons are the melta squad, and Warp Spiders are the flamer team. Moving to the melee versions, Swooping Hawks are a bit like assault marines, being able to fly across the battlefield on jump packs; Striking Scorpions are again a bit like assault marines but without the jump packs, and Howling Banshees are very definitely the stabby guys – in fact, I think they’re more akin to Dark Eldar Wyches when you see their stats.
What about the leaders of the army?
The Autarch is the guy in overall command, so is like the captain in the space marines. There are three psyker options which I find very interesting, because it also speaks to the Eldar thing. Your basic psyker is the Farseer, the librarian of the Eldar. There is also the Spiritseer, who is a specialist that is tied into the Wraith constructs. Finally, there is the Warlock, who is an Aspect warrior who has decided to move off the Path of the Warrior, and instead has joined the Path of the Seer. In the lore, they bind together in conclaves to increase the martial might of their psychic potential. It’s a very Eldar thing, and I like it a lot.
The vehicles are perhaps the most confusing elements of the army, though, and in fact are one of the reasons I embarked upon this whole post! The Wave Serpent is the basic transport for the army – I don’t really want to call it the rhino, but it’s probably close enough! The Falcon is essentially a razorback, a transport that trades some capacity for firepower.
That leaves the Fire Prism and the Nightspinner. The Fire Prism is perhaps the most competitive option, when you think it’s prism cannon is stronger than the lascannon. The Nightspinner has a slightly less powerful, indirect fire cannon on the same chassis.
Of course, there are the Eldar specific stuff that have come out of the attempt to diversify armies with more unique units, such as the Wraithguard (although you could argue these are terminators), but otherwise the units like the Wraithknight and Wraithlord are quite clearly similar to existing stuff in other armies.
I have been fiddling about with ideas for lists, and have (hopefully!) come up with ideas for 1000 points, and an additional 2000 points, the second batch staged in two lots of 500 points. The idea being, of course, that I can play games as I’m building up the army. I don’t really think I’ve approached 40k like that before, as I’ve always wanted a painted force to play with, yet have bought the cool stuff so end up without a viable army for a while, then almost panic-buy stuff to play with the army, and end up with too much plastic to paint! Suffice it to say, though, I’m very excited about this army project, and I’m really looking forward to finally getting a full force to play some games!!
I know I already have a lot of plastic on the to-do pile, but I’ve recently started to think about starting something completely different.
I keep coming back to these guys, because it’s a force I’ve never really thought much about before, but for six weeks now I’ve been thinking about it. That’s a long time to deliberate, and I’m definitely not impulse-doing anything. But yeah, Craftworld Eldar.
Warhammer 40k 10th edition is pretty much here, it seems! Last week, we’ve had the data sheets for every army released for free over on the Warhammer Community website, with the core rules already up there since the start of the month. Friday brought us the points values, and it seemed like every Facebook group I’m in exploded with negativity. The AdMech group in particular was a pretty bad place, with seemingly everyone thinking the army was now unplayable. Remarks about 10th edition being dead on arrival, and so on, we’re being bandied about freely. In short, it’s been grim.
It’s really made me think how rough this hobby is, sometimes. While on the one hand, I understand that people are frustrated when they have spent a lot of time and effort on an army, and they’re then feeling that all of that has been wasted. But we’re also seeing reactions all out of proportion to what is meant to be a game, a hobby.
You want to have a fighting chance when playing, of course, but it seems like people are distraught that their army is apparently not going to table the opposition on turn one. I find the whole thing quite distasteful, if I’m honest, and while I usually like to check in with what people are saying about this sort of thing, getting the odd hint and tip as we go, I’m finding that I actually don’t want to be involved. Better to just avoid it all, and let the dust settle, I think. It’s much better for my own sanity that way, I think!
In the meantime, I’m going to just happily work on getting my AdMech up to scratch. I’ve got ten Skitarii that need to be painted and stuck to bases, after which I think I will be working either on the Sicarian Infiltrators, or the Corpuscarii Electro-Priests.
I’ve come to realise lately that I’m quite happy in this hobby, and I want to try as much as possible to focus on what brings me happiness to keep that going. I’m not interested in playing tournament lists or anything, I’ll always just play what I like, but even if I end up in a situation like last summer, with my Sisters being utterly hamstrung from the off, I still want to find the good stuff that I can enjoy.
I don’t know whether 10th edition is going to be great or not, because I haven’t played it yet. However, unlike a lot of the folks I’ve seen ranting and raving about this stuff lately, at least I want to give it a chance…
Well, well, well… we’ve had another preview day for Warhammer 40k, as the game turns 35 soon, and it was actually pretty exciting, I have to say! A lot of the time, I’ve found these sorts of previews to be more miss than hit, but today was really very interesting, indeed!
I missed the start of the event, unfortunately, so didn’t get to hear all about the new Imperial Guard stuff until about ten minutes into the presentation. But I have to say, these new models are really very nice! It seems that the Guard are getting a range refresh, with possibly all of the old kits being re-done. To launch this, we’re getting an army box as GW like to make big boxes of plastic, it seems, with a command squad, a sentinel, two squads and two ‘field ordinance batteries’, which are a bit like upgraded heavy weapons teams.
This stuff is just beautiful, and the field ordinance batteries in particular have really captured my attention. It reminds me of the Wyvern model, which had a couple of guys out the back in almost a mini diorama. I do love this stuff, and it has pretty much tipped me over the edge into wanting a Guard army now!!
They said in the preview that this is about half of the new stuff coming for the army, and they wouldn’t show the cover of the codex because it would give yet more away. So all of that is quite interesting, I feel! Something I do like the idea of is being able to mix regiments within an army now, so the fact I have those Krieg lads from the Kill Team box, as well as a bunch of Tempestus Scions waiting in the wings, might not be a bad thing after all!!
Arks of Omen is the next narrative expansion for 40k, and sees the action move to ships and space hulks, so brings a new way to play rather than just adding more rules on top of rules to contend with. Of course, this requires more terrain, so…
The box features the equivalent of two of the Kill Team boxes, apparently! I have to say, this sounds really cool, and I love the idea of being able to almost play Space Hulk but in regular 40k, but I honestly don’t think I have room in my life for this. I’ve spoken before about how 40k almost demands to be a way of life for you, and I think I’m set back a bit from that nowadays. If it was the only game I played, then sure, but things are just moving too fast for me to keep up, I barely get to play regular 40k let alone all this additional stuff they’ve been pumping out!
I’ve still not properly played the new Kill Team, and here we are, now on the sixth big box, and the second box of space hulk themed games. It’s Necrons vs Kasrkin, too, which is actually making me wonder if I should be looking to pick this one up!
The Necrons are very weird in this one, and it seems like we may actually be getting a brand new group of models, even if those Deathmarks look very familiar. It’s a Cryptek and his merry band, and I am very interested, so let’s ponder this one some more.
New model for the World Eaters codex coming out whenever. Looks lovely, I think they said it’s an updated sculpt of a very old model, too? Interesting, although I am not going to be getting these guys, that’s a promise!!
The whole presentation ended with this little tease. Arks of Omen seemed to be suggesting that Abaddon has made a pact with a daemon of some kind, and it is being suggested that this daemon will be coming out in model form – delightful, I’m sure you agree! However, there’s talk of daemon + metal, which is making the internet lose its collective mind because Dark Mechanicum has been a very real hope since Blackstone Fortress gave us those crazy cultist guys.
Could it be? I mean, it would be incredible, for sure!
Between this, the kill team stuff, and the fact I think I’m starting a Guard army now, I’m going to be very poor for the rest of my days, I think…
The Leagues of Votann are basically space dwarves re-imagined for the modern age. After being a shorthand for any army at risk of being removed from the setting, Squats are back on the menu, as GW have ushered in another new faction for Warhammer 40k.
Having seen a lot of these little guys around the internet in recent months, it has got me thinking as to whether I’d want to collect any of them, as well. I have models for ten full armies already, with a correspondingly massive backlog of stuff to paint, so I don’t really want to start yet another new army as I do have a lot to be getting on with. But I do really like the look of them, I have to say!
I’ve been reading up on the WarCom articles that I’d missed over the last five months, and I’m quite intrigued by the lore behind them – specifically, how the whole Dwarf thing has been brought into the far future. The whole cult of the ancestors thing is there in glorious technicolour, as we learn that they jealously guard their “Votann”, a type of super-computer that holds all the wisdom of the centuries. It’s fascinating, in its way, because it’s definitely on-theme for the sort of future that Warhammer 40k represents. A people that has developed a way to collate all of their wealth of knowledge and protects it in true isolationist fashion.
The startling thing, I think, is that all of the kin are cloned – not identical clones, but it seems to be a bit like they had reached a perfect level of society, so stopped at that point and just started to clone themselves rather than reproduce normally. Reminds me a little of Dorsk in the Jedi Academy trilogy and later, Darksaber.
The space dwarves have some very interesting tech, for sure. Hover trikes?! Blimey, I never thought I’d see the day. It seems to stem from the fact that the Votann contain, among other things, a set of fully-functional STCs, which means they are able to fabricate much better weaponry than their Imperial cousins. They also do not find themselves constrained by the Adeptus Mechanicus and the taboo on trying to improve on their designs. As such, they have all sorts of crazy stuff going on, and as this has been translated to the tabletop, it has already been called out for being slightly ridiculous.
There are a few stratagems that have been officially shown that seem to be ridiculous, from the bikers ability to shut down re-rolls to the strat that rolls what would be two or three effects for other armies into one. All for a single command point. I am a bit salty about that, even while considering collecting them! I don’t think that designing rules to sell these models was necessary, given the reception they’ve had so far, but I suppose we already have stupid possibilities in space marines, which turn off the fun in any game where you’re going up against them. If only the rules writers thought as highly of literally any xenos race!
Something that I’ve found particularly confusing is the new type of weapon, HunTR, which I suppose can be thought of as a basic gun – you can’t run and shoot with it, you can’t double-fire at half range, it’s just a gun that you can shoot things with, but which is still affected by other rules for shooting. That said, it’s a stupid name for the weapon…
At least it doesn’t ignore invuln saves and the damage doesn’t overspill through a unit. That’s just oppressive and unnecessary (except to sell new models).
The rules feel stupid and a blatant case of power-creep, possibly the worst we’ve yet seen. I’ve complained before about how oppressive it can be to play against space marines, but these little chaps are doing things which might well exist within the lore they’ve established for the race, but because it’s brand new to the setting, it’s like some other game has been imported into 40k. Sure, they aren’t constrained by AdMech prohibitions on tech development, but neither are the Tau, who also have an established thing for developing new weapons, and having experimental weaponry etc. But they don’t have the stupid overpowering rules these guys have. It’s probably great to sell the models, but the models look good regardless, so they don’t need the ability to put out 20+ mortal wounds per turn, in addition to all the shooting and stuff they’ll be doing. It feels like a bit of a mess, and I’m now seeing rumours online that the faction has been banned in some tournaments because of their as-yet-unreleased codex. It’s just stupid.
But the models!! The models!! The more I think about these little guys, the more I kinda feel like getting my hands on some. They do look like they would be fun to paint, with some interesting contrasts between the armour plate, the leather, and the undersuit. The little details like the shades and the wrist comm things do just make it even more interesting.
I think the hover-trikes look a bit funny, but they have some good looking vehicles in the garage, such as the Sagitaur (above) and the Hekaton land fortress (below).
These things somehow manage to give off that rugged miner/prospector vibe while also being credible vehicles of war, rather than the way the Genestealer Cults look like they’ve gone into battle with what they’ve got. I suppose part of that is due to the lore of being isolationist, and prepared for hostile encounters as they move on to start plundering new areas.
One of the models that most impresses me is the psyker, the Grimnir. I think anybody who strides into battle in a leather robe with his floating gun-buddies gets my vote! A lot of these models are taking a lot of design cues from the Primaris range, when you look at the rounded greaves or the multi-layered plackart, which specifically calls to mind the Gravis Captain. This guy is fairly similar, at first glance, to the Phobos librarian, too. It also strikes me that it’s becoming a thing to have units that consist of a character with retinue, and here we get the psyker but also the techmarine-analogue coming with his mates, as well.
Some of the models are a little silly though. There are some very weird and wonderful things coming up for the new force, I can’t imagine if I were to start a new army of these guys, I would be getting everything from the range…
Yet other models look like they might be worth picking up regardless, as it’s always good to have multiple options for ranged and melee combat. I would put the bikes in this category as well, because they look a bit daft, but by the same token they look like they should be useful on the battlefield. They also have some amazing details in there, too, which makes me think they would be a lot of fun to paint up.
It all started with the Squat Prospectors for Necromunda, of course, and the more I’m thinking about it all, the more I’m thinking it might be a better idea to get the gang box and be done with! I mean, I really like the basic troops for the Kin, but I like the Ironhead blokes better…
Due to the rules controversy, and given how many projects that I currently have on the go, I should probably think long and hard about it before I go ahead and buy anything else, though…
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