Games Workshop has finally revealed the full Dominion box on livestream complete with unboxing. This limited edition box will mark the start of a new 3rd edition and a new conflict in the Mortal Realms. On this Round table we have some of our Mortal Realms correspondents giving our hot takes. Included on this Round Table we have:
- Alice “RagnarokAngel” Lirette
- FlamingFig
- Zach “Bair” Bair
- Charles “Fancy Necromancy” Fiandaca
- Thundercloud
- Joek
- Fowler
- Magos Sockbert
- Kenji
If you missed the preview or want to get caught up, you can find it on the Warhammer Community website.
That trailer was pretty sick right? Are we sufficiently hyped for 3rd edition?
RagnarokAngel: GW made the right call getting an animation department. The 9th edition 40k trailer was great and as an Age of Sigmar player this definitely had more appeal for me. I was sufficiently hyped and it was very cool to see Stormcast in motion.
FlamingFig: I’m absolutely amped! AOS was already very good in its rules but there was some signs of decay showing with early books. Now we will get all the cool rules we have now on top of a bunch of new stuff! Also the team that works on AOS has so far not released 1 bad book thus far so my hopes are high!
Bair: Stoked. I haven’t even gotten to play a lot of AoS since the earlier days when it barely just got points (and before that) but look forward to a new edition (and some goddamned new Fyreslayers, they better be coming).
Thundercloud: Stormcast get knocked down, but they get up again.
Fancy Necromancy: This Trailer is owns, A proper way to kick off the new edition, GW been really working on their hype game and it shows here.
Joek: I was real disappointed we only got a floaty logo for the first “announcement” but even tho I don’t play Destruction and I’m not a Stormcast fan boi, that got me hella hyped
Magos Sockbert: While I loved the epic action sequences of the 40K trailer, I’m a huge fan of this focus on narrative rather than just sheer violence. I love that Sigmar keeps copies of Battletome art in his house as well. Still not… entirely sure why the Stormcast fight, though, despite the phrase “Remember why we fight!” being littered throughout the trailer.
Kenji: I…didn’t really care for the trailer? I think the CG is improving but the animation feels very stilted and like… PS3 Video Game Cutscene. Also I agree with Sockbert; how am I supposed to remember if you don’t say a reason for it?
RagnarokAngel: Well he literally says “Chaos defeated us” so that might have something to do with it.
We’ll get into the new factions in just a minute but first off what do we think about the box as a whole? Do you plan to get it?
Bair: Eh. Probably because I’m a sucker and the Stormcast kick ass and I’m going to fall into the hype and want them and the rulebook. Will I regret this in the following weeks? Most likely. Will I do it anyway? Yeah.
FlamingFig: By the hammer, yes! I obviously play stormcasts so why wouldn’t I?! As for the box as a whole that feels like indomitus +1. Because my god there’s a lot of stuff in there! I had zero expectations that the big Valkyrie character was gonna be in there but here we are!
Thundercloud: I’ll definitely be picking the box up, and likely the two Coolboyz EZbuild kits as well. Stormcast I’ve got a pile already either painted or almost finished, so if I want to add more minis to the force I can grab the 2nd ed bolt thrower and some Castigators and add them in.
The Coolboyz side I’d definitely be interested in getting more of, as they’ll likely be a horde faction and 40 Hobgrots is likely to be needed in a proper sized army.
Fancy Necromancy: like the Indomitus Box this looks like a great starter box and I’m sure down the line we’ll see starters set tiers similar to 40k. That said I’m going to attempt to split two of these with friends who play stormcast.
Joek: it’s a boat load of models, and the collectors edition rulebook is a neat touch.
Fowler: How many times do you have to say “I don’t need another army” before you really believe it? Both factions look pretty amazing, but I am already flush with grey AOS plastics. If Death or Nurgle end up in a versus or army box down the line I will be there with bells on.
Magos Sockbert: This one isn’t for me. I picked up Indomitus despite player neither army, and that dragged me kicking and screaming into a Minotaurs army, but nothing here is really grabbing me. I’m super hyped that there seems to be a ‘learn to play’ campaign, like the excellent Isle of Blood and Battle for Macragge boxes of yore, but nothing in here screams ‘unique’ to me; there just isn’t a hook.
Kenji: This is a pass for me at the moment. I have a NIS Indomitus box sitting around staring at me, as well as a Lumineth starter box, and frankly a lot of hobby reckoning. I was sort of hoping this box would inspire me to be hype, but maybe my wallet will thank me later.
Stormcast Eternals. Sigmar’s Golden Boys. Now that we’ve seen the entire box how do you feel about them?
RagnarokAngel: Now I’m no Sigmar lover, as a dedicated Nagash faithful I would not sully my hands with them but uh, yeah that said pretty cool. Angels are an auto sell for me, as my choice of handle implies. I’m also a huge greek fangirl and the chariot, phalanx and round shield boys seriously are killing it. It gives them a new aesthetic that helps them stand out.
FlamingFig: I, however, am a devoted servant of the god king! So obviously I’m amped as hell! But to be more specific I love the new look of the stormcasts. The Spear men and women look like the right proportions. The liberators of old are cool but they are super chunky in a weird squat kinda way, all males, and no helmetless heads! These have diversity, many head options, they look bulky to a reasonable level, and still have that kind of liberator look. The new paladins however! I love seeing them embrace the big chungus paladin way, the dudes are thicc af and I love it! I’m a big fan of dudes in huge armor with big old shields and hammers like the classic paladins. AND NOW WE ARE GETTING A VALKYRIE CHICK?! AND IT’S IN THE NEW BOX TOO!? Sigmar be praised for this boon! Also that new Banner dude and the Arcanum is just *Chiefs kiss* The old banner you rarely see, not because it’s bad but because it was a bit too over the top if that makes sense. The new one is all epic looking as a center of attention model without going too over the top. As for that Arcanum I just love it! Normally I like having no helms but the helmet on that one is dope as hell! Order like, but mysterious and mystic like, nice touch! The halberdiers were a nice surprise! They look cool as hell and very simplistic looking like “yeah I dont need fancy shit to look cool, I AM COOL!”…. Ok! I will stop now before I rant for too long….
Bair: I’ve liked Stormcast, and have off and on collected Stormcast in the past but always hit a wall of feeling like playing Army-Generic in a game where loads of races/armies existed. However, with CHARIOTS NOW??? These are way too fucking cool and I will be having them. The new armour looks incredible (thanks Grungi) and the newer aesthetic is gorgeous while still being tied to the older themes of death masks, hammers, shields, spears, and bows.
Thundercloud: I like the look of the new Slimcast. They deal with the aesthetic problems I had with the range, particularly the static-ness of the 1st edition models. I’ll likely mix in some of the 2nd edition models I’ve got to make a proper sized force. I think the much maligned 1st ed starter box style Stormcast are going to stay in books for a while, but no one will be rushing to buy them.
Stand out models in this are the angel lady and the Slimcast Spartans, both are great sculpts. The halberdiers come second, and some of the characters I feel are a bit meh, but they’re still solid sculpts and very good for a push fit beginner box. The Ezbuild box supplementary releases give you more bird dogs, which players are going to like because they’re both birds and dogs, and which nicely supplement the contents of the box (adding ranged firepower and a fast unit). I prefer the chariot out of those two models, but nothing I’ve seen is as good as the angel lady. I see a few Sanguinius conversions coming in the future.
Fancy Necromancy: The new models look better proportioned and the armour definitely scream greco style and I for one am all for it. Seeing chariot return to the game is also wonderful as they feel more at home in the mortal realms than they did in the World that was.
Joek: <ore shooting? More impact hits? Smaller boards? Maybe they’ll be better then mid B tier game wise. Models look much better than they have been before.
Also: plz gimme all of your masked Lord Arcanum heads. I need all of them. Plz. For tzience.
Magos Sockbert: Yndrasta is still perhaps the coolest Order model out there for me, but nothing else is really doing it. I think my biggest issue with Stormcast is they’re all the same dude, just holding different weapons, so there’s nothing particularly interesting. If the only visual thing differentiating a Praetor and a Vindicator is a cloak and an axe, why should I care? I’ll absolutely be picking up not!Sanguinius, but it’ll be a second hand purchase.
I do wish they’d drop the Hammers of Sigmar style for another scheme (perhaps the coolest chamber, the Knights Excelsior). I feel that so much of the quality of the sculpts is buried behind fairly bland metallics.
Kenji: I always had some issues with Stormcasts; I’m not sure why, but as individual models, I think they look neat, but together they look… not? I can’t quite describe it, but as a unit of models I always felt they looked very stilted or dull. I really like Yndrasta, and some of the new Stormcast inspire a “this would make for some nice dark fantasy style knights”, but I don’t play Stormcast so I can’t comment on them beyond that.
New faction, the Kruleboyz. Orks with kunnin’. What stands out to you? Any particular models really interest you?
RagnarokAngel: Again, not my scene but continued evidence that the AOS modelers are continuing to kill it. There’s so many great details on these models, and they’re going to be a real joy for painters. I feel like they have a sort of old fantasy or Lord of the Rings takes on Orks which might be more accessible to new players who want Orks.
Bair: I’m mostly curious how these will play out with the other Orruks. Will they become one MASSIVE battletome? I don’t actually think so, these seem too far removed to be part of them, but will be cool to be able to ally them across, depending on how 3rd handles allies. Aesthetically I’m not sold on them yet. The hobgoblins seem odd, but it’s cool to get a whole new aesthetic anyways. A bit more Tolkien-esque all around.
Thundercloud: They said in the stream that you can use them with the other Greenskin factions, so looks like either rules in the battletome for doing that or a giant fat Orruk Warclans battletome with them included. I think it’s likely to be the first, same as Nighthaunt can be mixed with other Death. I anticipate an Orruk or Greenskin keyword or some sort of section dealing with a Orc Super Friends list.
Being old I can remember some of the ganglier Orc sculpts of 1st to 3rd edition Fantasy battle, which is where the faces on the shields hark back to, so this does tickle my nostalgia gland a little as well.
Looking at the better pictures after the stream, we’re getting cool spear boyz and hobgoblin skirmish grenadiers, which is pretty good. They also talk about the hobgoblins serving darker masters, hinting that we may see Chaos Dwarves being introduced in AoS 3.0, which would make me really happy.
The characters run from good to great, and the little goblin gladiator is awesome. The design gives a much nastier looking orc, but there are still some light touches of greenskin silliness.
Also they’re now the Coolboyz.
FlamingFig: I also collect orks too and they were actually my first faction I ever played in 40k and old fantasy way back in the day. And I thought my collection was done at this point and thought “eh i’m just gonna take the stormcasts and be on my way! The new gobos can’t be that cool can they?” (watches the preview) “…… you win this round GW”
Fancy Necromancy: YES YES YES YES YES YES! These guys scream with Lotr energy, with an AoS flair. I’m Loving the Killaboss on the Great Gnashtoof and I hope we’ll see a unit version of lesser ones. From the description on the stream the army feels very fight on my terms, whether that’s baiting enemies to fight your wall of spears or picking them off will well place man-skewer shots. Also Stab-grot enough said.
Joek: the first destruction army I’m actually interested in? Maybe in 12-13 years in this hobby.
Fowler: I am absolutely here for the King Krule Boys. It’s really nice to see a fresh take on older corners of the lore. These models have a sprinkle of evil 80’s Jim Henson energy which I really enjoy seeing in the AOS universe.
Magos Sockbert: The Kruleboyz Orruks (“Krorks”, if you will) really feel like they were sculpted by the Lord of the Rings team, not the Age of Sigmar sculptors, and it’s killing me. I’m super in for shaking things up, but a whole army riding straight out of Mount Gundabad into Ghur doesn’t do it for me; the armour is as jagged and spikey, the flesh is the same weird realistic tones (especially the Great Gnashtoof, my god give that painter a raise), but the biggest thing for me is the scale. The new orruks are, very clearly, not the ‘heroic’ scale of every other Age of Sigmar model. They almost look… realistic? Like something that could actually ride out of the swamp. Great, except comparing them to an Orruk Brute or Gloomspite Git they just don’t look even related. Even the Mirebrute Troggoth shown later doesn’t feel like anything we’ve seen before, which would be great if they weren’t meant to be related to things we’ve already seen before. I know this is an unpopular take, but these models don’t feel like they fit the game at all.
The one upshot is the hint on the stream that Kruleboyz trade away slaves to other dark masters, and how this is a throwback to the World-That-Was. Chaos Dwarves and hobgoblins, anyone?
Kenji: I’m glad for Sockbert being here because I was afraid I’d be the only person who doesn’t like them. They certainly do look very LoTR Goblin or Orc inspired, but I also had a lot of reservations about OBR and Lumineth until actually seeing the models on a table; it’s possible these King K. Rool Boys will actually fit into the Destruction line, but I’m not so sure. My biggest fear is that this is all that GW has planned for this line until possibly way later this year, meaning that you’re likely to be forced to mix and match them with other Orruks and the visual dissonance strikes me as odd. These almost look like some 3rd party company making a “We have Orruks at home” line. Aside from that, I am perhaps alone in that I really don’t like the giant red squig shields/banners. There’s something visually unappealing about this line and they are kind of a big part of it for me.
EIGHT NEW RULES! We don’t know a ton about 3rd edition yet but some of the new rules seem encouraging. Which ones in particular do you want to see more about?
RagnarokAngel: God, so much of it. My number one excitement is how there sounds like there will be a lot less downtime. Going second will grant more command abilities and you have more command abilities to use in every phase, even if it’s your opponent’s turn will help deal with the significant downtime Age of Sigmar has. Some are probably disappointed the second turn is staying around, but I can take it or leave it, especially if they’re trying to improve going second.
Secondarily, I love hearing Path to Glory is getting an improvement. I hope a lot of lessons were learned from Crusade in 40k because I think Age of Sigmar is a setting possibly more fitting for a crusade-like system of warbands becoming more powerful. The next few weeks will tell what’s going on.
Bair: Basically second the above, I’m really excited to see how command points are dealt with because I’m assuming the going-second to get more isn’t the only change to this. I think AoS missions are generally incredibly balanced while still often favouring going first to take mid-points with a horde and sit on it for early points. Encouraging players to go second is something that I think is always difficult to do in games where you take your entire turn at a time, but this is a positive change for me. Reactive Command abilities also sound awesome. Big fan of Hero Hammer so having more a reason to use Heroes is always a good thing. The only thing I’m not stoked about is Magic being bigger/better especially with things like Lumineth and Soulblight existing.
Fancy Necromancy: I’d be lying if I didn’t say Core Battalion peaked my interest the most. One issue I had with AoS 2.0 is some battalions were very strong (changehost) while others you would never take either due to unit requirements or rules given. I’m hoping the core battalion will give small useful bonuses while also improving army drops. The idea of less down time also appeals as sitting there during a double turn can make you want to pull your phone out sometimes, they didn’t go into great detail but it sounds somewhat like command abilities won’t most be in the hero phase.
FlamingFig: I second above I mainly want to see the new Core Battalions and also how they work when it comes to the +1 cp and relic. Cause they can be very hit or miss depending on your book. On one hand you have to take one because the +1 CP and relic is way too good to not take. On the other hand some books just have flat out bad or mediocre battalions so we have to wait and see. On a side note I want to mainly see if having larger units has a benefit. Cause in this game usually there’s no reason to not take the minimum unless you’re playing a horde army like Gitz.
Thundercloud: Anything that improves the interaction of the game is good. Giving the player who goes second extra command points and allowing them to interrupt their opponents turn to do things means double turns, though staying, should hopefully be less obnoxious.
I’m really hoping to see Combat Patrol style small games, because it’ll mean I have to paint less to put an army on the table.
Joek: Endless spells doing more damage? Tzeentch and Slaanesh are gonna be jacked. Going second in battle rounds gives you more control of the game? That’s how I play anyway so…awesome. Priority roll is still in the game? Fantastic. Smaller boards? Wind spirits being able to move >108” in a battle round is even more ridiculous now.
More and more it sounds like ListLabs by Smorgan on YouTube has been pretty accurate, so we shall see what becomes “core battalions” and what isn’t.
Also: if you’re a player who *hates* the priority roll and has *lost or won every game because of it*, lets chat sometime. It’s better than you think. And if you play 40k as well; learning how to play around the double turn will make playing your 40k games a little easier ❤️
Fowler: A hint at new monster shenanigans has me very excited. Some of the biggest models in the game are squishier and less killy than some cheap infantry units. Big boys having a bit more bite is pretty exciting to me.
Thundercloud: They are clearly implying LOTR style monster rules giving power attacks of some sort to make monsters crunchier. Which is a good thing. Makes your centrepiece units more useful.
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Magos Sockbert: Loving most of the new tweaks, but a tad concerned about buffing second turn, which most people wanted anyway to prepare for a double turn, and strengthening magic really benefits magic heavy armies the most, and they’re the ones doing well already right now. A little worried about the rich getting richer with most of these; even the making monsters scarier part. Who wants to see even more powerful Morathi or Archaon screaming across the table at them?
Finally, the disclaimer that “at least some persons in this video are entirely fictional” makes me concerned for whether or not Nick actually exists…
Kenji: As someone who is consistently unable to actually play any games of AoS, I really don’t have any great insight from a player’s personality. I will say that just from watching others play AoS and absorbing what I can via osmosis, the fact that this wants to address second turns is nice. I do wonder if they’ll do away with the dreaded double turn, or otherwise address it; Double turns are both one of AoS’s most unique features and probably one of it’s most controversial.
Well that’s all. It was a packed preview and the future is looking bright…or not so bright, depending on your perspective in the mortal realms. What part of the preview were you most excited about? What do you want to know more about? Let us know below or email us at contact@goonhammer.com
