Yesterday a ton of news dropped at Warhammer Fest Europe, a bit shocking considering how much news has been dropping lately for a variety of Games Workshop games, but it looks like GW was holding plenty of tasty nuggets in reserve for us. James, Jeff and I give our thoughts on the beans that were spilled on yesterday’s Warhammer Community post.

Blood Bowl

Casey: The Nurgle’s Rotters are finally here! We first saw concept art for these guys way back when the new edition of Blood Bowl was announced and previewed. Here we are almost two years later and the Nurgle team is finally coming to life. To be fair to the Specialist Games team, the Nurgle’s Rotters were originally planned to be a Forge World resin team so it’s taken time to redesign the team for plastic release. I’ve had the urge to convert a Nurgle team for a while, but have often felt an official team would be around the corner, a couple corners later and I’m glad I held off. I think overall the team looks really good. The helmets remind me a pit of German helmets from World War I. The rotters borrow a lot of design elements from the 40k poxwalkers, but a little more subdued than the over the top spikes the poxwalkers had. The weak link, I feel are the pestigors. They look to me more like mutated skaven with branches sprouting from their backs rather than diseased beastmen.

James: Well its about time. It seems lifetime ago that they teased some designs for this team.  Its rather unfortunate that two more deathzones were published without the original teams getting actual teams. I had considered making my own team using the Blight Kings and some metal Pestigor models from the original Storm of Chaos event. As for the look of the team I think they look great. The Bloaters are way better than the boy-short wearing Doom Lords and the disgusting bloated guts are great.  The rotters I do enjoy also as they keep the sports vibe look yet look sickly and fragile.  The pestigors are a bit on the weird side.  I think making them hairless adds to the skaven look but the crazy horns are a nice touch. Certainly different that the beatman with mange look that you typically see.  Overall I think its a great looking team and if you like painting large amounts of skin would be fun to paint.

Jeff: I agree, James, it does feel like forever since we saw that initial Nurgle sketch. As for the final result in plastic…amazing! I can’t believe I’m saying it, but I’m thinking about a Nurgle team as well. Heck, didn’t see myself wanting a chaos team either, but on my shelf are the Chaos Chosen models. Initially, I wasn’t into the BB16 launch, but at some point I was able to reframe the game…well the setting…mentally and BB16 really works for me. In fact, I’m preferring this new aesthetic on the range more than previous editions. In my head canon, the classic 2nd ed was very much a ‘pro-sports’ deal. With plenty of mix raced teams, crazy rules, but cybersport lookling gear it felt like a universe of high stakes sports. 3rd edition, with it’s more racial pure / Old World alignments felt more like a ‘World Cup’ era of the game. Maybe it’s because of the End Times, or my love of Fury Road and post-apoc films like Blood of Heroes, but that’s how I frame BB16…sporting competition in a recovering world. Anyway…this a long way of getting to the point that these models look perfect for that concept. My painting queue is stacking so not sure how I can fold these bloaters into the mix…but I wanna.

The more I think about it the more I hope that a) Blitzbowl is good and b) all future teams come with Blitz Bowl cards in their team pack. One of the draws of Shadespire is getting to hobby in bite size chunks across the AoS range. I’m not interested in owning full versions of each BB team, but I’d happily paint a sprue of six for each. Seems like fun micro-projects. Cross pollinating their two BB lines like that feels like a no brainer.

Kill Team: Rogue Trader

Casey: Rogue Trader sure looks to be adding a lot of cheekiness to the grim dark future of 40k where there is only war. At least that’s the feeling I get from the music, animations and narrator’s tone in the trailer video. We’ve pretty much seen all the minis already in the previous teaser a couple months ago. The preview does confirm that it’s a rogue trader crew vs. the rest of the crew that has been infected by Nurgle daemons. Hey speaking of Nurgle, I think those really big guys would make a great beast of Nurgle for a Blood Bowl team. Featuring two sets of kill zones and all new minis this set looks awesome. I’m guessing you’ll need the Kill Team core rules in order to play though?

James: The video was certainly a very light-hearted affair for 40K.  Not sure how the game will work if you need Kill Team rules to fully play it or if it will be a stand alone.  Seeing it adds new venues for Kill Team I think it will sell well and the style of the models on both sides are great.  I’m interested in Kill Team so I’ll be keeping this on my radar for sure.

Jeff: I love the light hearted take in that video. Almost gives the setting a bit of an anime feel or something, or at least an old 80s cartoon. I’m not a super fan of the 40K setting, so shining the light on a lighter section of the universe is cool with me. It looks very character driven. If it were a stand-alone game, I might get it (after Space Hulk’s approval!), but I’m not sure if the Kill Team base is required or not. Speaking of Kill Team, it also looks like there are move boxes coming for that. New locations and terrain…or at least repackaged for KT.

Casey: I’m sure it will 100% have everything that it needs to play with what’s in the box. However I’m guessing to incorporate it into the main Kill Team you’re going to need the Kill Team rules which are either available in the Kill Team box or separately. As for the other Kill Team boxes, yes GW has been producing those already. Boxes with a starter kill team, some terrain and some rules for the terrain in the game. Next will be Deathwatch and Druhkari. Right now if I get into this game I’m tempted by Rogue Traders, Dark Eldar, Eldar and Grey Knights. Kind of an odd assortment I know.

James: Looking at the price of the terrain alone in those kill team sets more than makes them worthwhile.  I think over my birthday and Christmas I’ll wiggle my way way into Kill Team and if RT seems worth the cash I’ll probably slide it into the collection.

Warhammer Underworlds: Nightvault

Casey: A new core set is coming for Shadespire! I guess I should say to Warhammer Underworlds as the suffix is turning to Nightvault. The video is nothing more than a logo reveal (surprise! It’s in the same font as “Shadespire”). It’s widely believed Nighthaunt will be in the new box which probably means another Stormcast warband as well. I get they are the poster boys for Age of Sigmar, but do we really need a third warband from the same faction? Let’s see some love for Sylvaneth, Kharadon Overlords, Tzeentch, Nurgle, etc.

James: As the one guy in the group yet to play Shadespire I am not sure what to make of an expansion.  I’m sure new boards will be nice and of course new models is always everyone’s favorite.   I’ll second Casey’s sentiment that another warband of stormcasts is a bit much but we know nothing so far so fingers crossed for some variety.  I’d be keen to see some of the non balloon-flying Kharadon models make it into the game.

Jeff: I am a Shadespire fan. I like this brief video simply because it’s a further announcement of the line’s continuation. Personally, I have mixed thoughts about it. One, I haven’t finished collecting and painting all the Shadespire warbands. Now, I feel a bit pressured to do so before delving into Nightvault. Two, I was hoping that this second box would also be set in Shadespire because I want two more Shadespire boards for four player multiplayer games. GW released that one board, but it’s only one. Adding it to the two in the base allows for three-player games which is always odd. Plus, that board has some pretty crazy rules. I was hoping for more ‘regular’ shadespire boards. I guess I’ll have to look around for someone selling boards out of the box. Anyway, I disagree with James and Casey on the Stormcast. This is the Age of _Sigmar_ after all. The main point is Sigmar trying to ‘liberate’ the Mortal Realms. If there’s a conflict…the golden boys will be sent there. Plus, it just makes sense from a marketing standpoint to include models that most players have armies for. Plus, plus in only a few short years, GW has already created the ‘silhouette effect’ for it’s new line with these SCE models. That’s good marketing and makes sense to include them. I have no doubt GW won’t explore the other AoS factions and I too also look forward to an Overlord warband. With the Shadespire core box matching the factions of the AoS 1e starter, I expect the same with Nightvault…so, SCE vs. Nighthaunt.

Casey: I’m not sure what you’re worried about Jeff. You don’t think the boards in Nightvault will be compatible with Shadespire? I’m betting Nightvault will follow the same format as Shadespire. Two warbands, bunch of cards, dice and two boards. It will be like an expansion but one that is playable on its own. However, I wonder if the Shadespire core set will go OOP or web exclusive to GW? I totally get that Stormcast are the poster boys for Age of Sigmar and GW in general. I guess I was just shocked we saw two more warbands for Stormcast and Khorne before Nightvault came out. I just want to see more factions in the game rather than subfactions.

James: I’m with Casey.  I understand that the Stormcast are the main show but let’s see some other factions get their first look before we see a third Stormcast crew.

Necromunda

Casey: The new Cawdor special character looks vicious! I also like the look of the weapons in the Forge World conversion kits, except the heavy flamer on the champion looks a bit like an ork scorcha for me.

James: I can’t say I’m a fan of any of the weapon designs with Cawdor.  I like everything else about them but the weapons are just so huge and motley.  I understand the vibe they went with but it doesn’t work for me.  What does work for me is the candles all over that brute.  Nothing says grim-dark like strolling around with a halo of candles on your neck.

Jeff: I mentioned above that I’m not a fan of the 40K universe…except Necromunda (and Space Hulk!). Being inspired by the old 2000AD comics, I’ve always enjoyed the gonzo gangs etching out survival in the ‘spire. House Cawdor is a bit more 40K-gothic than the rest, so were always my least favorite. Still, these are cool models. If I were a Cawdor fan, I’d be stoked.

Casey: I played Cawdor back in the days of the original Necromunda, but I’m kind of iffy on the new gang. I like some aspects, but think they went a little too overboard on the scavenger thing. Right now the Van Saars and Orlocks are my favorite models, though I think the Eschers are pretty good too.

Speed Freeks

Casey: Speaking of orks … the new buggies from Speed Freeks look amazing! There also looks like a super huge ork in the back on a trike which I want to see more of. This game looks intriguing. The models look awesome, but I get the feeling it’s not the return of Gorkamorka that dedicated fans are hoping for. If it is though, I will be pleasantly surprised. If not, well Gorkamorka players will have cool new models to play with.

James: Hats of to GW’s team for making some truly great videos to show these guys off.  Hard to believe that warbuggy was 21 years old.  Man, I’m getting old, as I remember when it was the new hotness during the battle for Armaggedon.  Compared to this new model it certainly shows it’s age.  This new guy looks like a fun painting project even for a guy with zero interest in playing Orcs.  I’ll need to see more of Speed Freaks before I’d consider picking it up, but at least we know it has some great looking models.

Jeff: These buggys look sweet! I thought I read somewhere that SF might be a mix of Dark Future and GorkaMorka. as a big fan of Dark Future, I think that’s great. I’m not sure that’s true though. Well, maybe it’s like Dark Future if it comes with bikes, but the scale is too big, there’s no road, and the old Dark Future rules are probably _not_ what modern gamers want to roll with. Still, these models look fantastic. Closed, singular game or not this box is great for ork players.

Casey: I think I read somewhere that Speed Freeks would come with some cardboard tiles. So perhaps a Dark Future style gameplay is still possible?

Adeptus Titanicus

Casey: Warhounds are revealed! Word is from Facebook these will come in packs of two. Looks like they are maybe on 50mm round bases? Hopefully these guys are a lot cheaper than the Warlord at $110, maybe going for an option of Reavers and Warhounds will be a cheaper way to get into the game? I’m actually going to a demo of AT today so I’m looking forward to seeing how the game is played. My buddy running the demo is an Epic devotee so I wonder if he’ll have brought some other models to use as proxies to try out the rules for Reavers and Warhounds.

James: Casey and I have differing opinions on AT.  I would have preferred more bang for the buck and gone with smaller Titans at a smaller price.  The game may be the bee’s knees but I’m not shelling out 110 for a single model.  I’m sure that there are cheaper routes into the game, as the warhounds suggest, but I get the feeling in this game if you aren’t playing with the big boy you aren’t really playing.  As far as the models they look great.  If you showed me the two painted warhounds I would think they would easily pass for the large sized ones on first glance.

Jeff: Yeah, I agree again with James. I question the price on this title. I played a bit of Epic back in the late 90s, but this seems to be a reach to far. Maybe that says more about my wallet than anything, but it feels like they should have scaled back the base box a little then allowed these high dollar models as add-on options for those that want to explore in that direction. Big Robot Battles has always been a classic setting, and I can see this title intriguing my son…but not for this much cash.

Casey: I was red hot for AT earlier this summer, it was a must-buy for me. After the pricing release, it has become a rather hesitant possible purchase. I still think the models look amazing and the game looks really cool but the price is really steep. I’d love to see it expand to include more races, infantry, tanks, etc to be more like epic. But there’s something about the giant robot combat that reminds me of playing Man o’ War.

James: Man-o-war is pretty in-depth and great combat with rather small ships.  I think going that route would have been a home run.  The cost of AT is going to eliminate the casual gamer I think.  I can spend a little to hop into a game of shadespire, I’m not going to drop 110 to have an occasional spin with AT.

Endless Spell

Jeff: Very Last Unicorn Red Bull. I like that it’s not exactly that, but close enough to pull it off if a hobbyist wanted to. I don’t have Malign Sorcery yet, but have played against an opponent using Endless Spells and they are a cool option to the game. Be interesting to see which faction this one is for. Obviously,it looks Chaos Dwarf, or Beastman, or maybe Khorne. We could be surprised though, but my gut says Khorne. As the poster villains of AoS 1e, they need that Endless Spell love.

Casey: That bull is awesome. The first thing I thought when I saw it was “Can I use this to make chaos dwarves in BB, somehow?” but the endless spells are really big, so I don’t think that will be a possibility.

James: I’d love to see some real chaos dwarves in AoS that aren’t a small fortune in Resin!  I don’t know much about the endless spells but hats of the GW for making some sweet models!