The Curious Thing about AoS releases....

[Mr Mystery]

How do?

More fairly random wibbling from the foetid depths of my brains.

This time, inspired by the frontpage of BoLS, where I braved the comments (either I'm desensitised, or it's getting increasingly more civil out there?).

Anyways, as you may know the summer campaign is entering it's final week, and it's looking like Order will carry the day. And as you might expect, there are those who feel that faction had the upperhand all along, as they've had the most new books, and thus are more likely to have active players (more on that in a second!). And d'you know, they're absolutely right. I'll break the releases down.

Order Battletomes
Stormcast Eternals, Seraphon, Fyreslayers, Stormcast Extremis (EXTREEEEEEEEME *sound of widdly widdly electric guitars), Sylvaneth.

Chaos
Khorne Bloodbound, Archaon, Clans Pestilens.

Destruction
Ironjawz, Bonesplitterz and Beastclaw Raiders.

Death
Flesh Eater Courts.

Yep. No doubt about it. Order got all the love this past year (even if Bonesplitterz remain the single besterest faction ever - with Flesh Eater Courts in a close second place simply because of their very cool background).

Of course, that's not the whole story, is it? Many players of AoS will have existing armies from The-World-That-Was, with precisely nothing stopping anyone fielding those forces. But.....a new book attracts new players. Not just those entirely new to AoS, but existing players are easily galvanised to start a new collection, and that's what I mean by Active Players. By having the most books, Order will also have the majority of Active Players.

But why? Why has Order been favoured so?

Pretty simple really - it's all about the background, baby. For those who have been following the narrative, this is pretty clear with hindsight. And you know, it does fit that Narrative. For the first time possibly ever in the history of Warhammer, the Forces of Order are doing more than simply holding back the night.

This time, they're walking into the night with a great big Azyrite clobbering stick, looking to give it a good kicking and cast it back from whence it came. We've got Sigmar and Alarielle (especially Alarielle!) resurgent - determined to reclaim the Realms, and actually genuinely capable of doing it.

Destruction for the most part are just along for the ride. And the fight. OK, they're mostly along for the fight.

Death? Background wise, up until the last novel (Lord of Undeath, which I'm about halfway through at the mo) Nagash isn't fully committed to fighting with anyone....he's Nagash after all, and the only thing that eclipses his power is his own arrogance.

But what comes next? Who knows. I'm hoping for Steamhead Duardin - mostly to see if GW can actually make Steampunk appeal to me where all others have failed (chances aren't great there though), and FFS....give us a Rotbringers Battletome! They've got the models already, dagnabbit!

Whatever the central narrative for the next 'phase' turns out to be, that'll dictate who gets the most love. I wouldn't be surprised if it's Death. If/when Nagash does commit, you know he's going to pull out all his not inconsiderable ming to take whatever he decides is rightfully his....and who knows what new toys his various underlings have come up with during the desperate times of the Age of Chaos?

[CoffeeGrunt]

I want actual, proper vanilla Death to get a decent book. I'm currently trying to collect a force of zombies, skeletons, and other things that creep in the night. Nothing intelligent is my main, core aim though. I don't want scheming Vampire Lords or nefarious Necromancers, I want a force that merely exists and marauds. Bones and frozen flesh creep back to life as the corpses of soldiers and citizens long dead return to life to feast on the living, while dragons swoop down on rotted wings. No intent or reason behind it, just the empty hunger of the long-dead.

Sadly Death seems to be all about the hero characters. IMO Nagash shouldn't ever be on a battlefield, he's a God now, and like Sigmar would work through proxies as no battle would ever be enough to warrant his own personal attention. (That said, GeeDub gotta sell models, so I don't hold it against anyone who does want to play him.)

[grimmas]

I'd guess you'll get something on those lines when they do time of war rules for places in the Realm of Death sounds like the sort of think that'd be going on there.

Mystery you did refer to someone as a "mong" on the frontpage (entirely fair by the way) so you did come out swinging.

[Mr Mystery]

That's true, I did.

Just sick to death of people deriding something they've clearly taken no pains to even vaguely familiarise themselves with

Plus, it's a brill insult!

[CoffeeGrunt]

Eh, "mong" is a shortening of Mongoloid, a racial insult used to equate people with special needs to Mongolian people.