Change

It’s never been so good to be evil. Rumours, leaks and teasers have been bouncing around the internet of new Daemon models being released next month with a rules update in White Dwarf; for the first time in over a decade I will buy a copy.

Considering the lack of decent pictures available I’ll keep you entertained with a couple of pictures of the OOP Horror models I’ve been working on this week. The musician:

Some of the new models are plastics of old metal models (new, not recast in finecast – thank god). Plastic Flamers, Screamers, Nurglings and Plaguebearers are included in here, and I think I saw something about Fiends, Beasts and some heroes and lords as well.

Flamers and Screamers are allegedly getting a rules update (nerfing one and buffing the other). I would hope that Plaguebearers would be getting updated too - no point in releasing the models if there’s no great reason to buy them.

Someone started a rumour of Bloodletters being nerfed to S3 with great weapons. Word is that it’s just someone making stuff up, but unless it were accompanied by a decent price drop then it would just be ridiculous. Plaguebearers are supposed to be the slow ones, damnit.

The big excitement is the new additions to the army. First of all: Soulgrinders. They’ve been around in 40k for a while and I’m a bit torn on them. On one hand we have a new big gribbly thing, which is awesome. I’ve liked the model since I first saw it too, and even considered buying one just to paint it. On the other hand it doesn’t fit too well aesthetically with the rest of the Daemons army (although Juggernauts seem to have gotten away with the mechanical look alright). I’ve heard that he’s going to be something like T7 with 5 wounds and the option to act as a stone thrower or grapeshot. Purely from the look of the model I’m expecting him to want to get into combat too, so hopefully they aren’t move or fire weapons. He’s going to need a massive base I think. Apparently the GDs were too hard to hit with a cannon.

If it comes with the option for giving it the mark of a God, then I may just have my excuse to buy a Plague Hulk from Forge World.

Oh yeah, here’s my Horror champion:

A bit of a blatant reminder of the bad old days where they could only produce practically 2D models, isn’t it? There’s a tail that I can attach but I’m not a huge fan of the look of it.

Now for the actually new new model, which is a Slaanesh chariot. It might be a 2 model kit (like the Empire got with the Luminark/Hurricanum) for a regular style chariot and what is being called a Hellflayer. It looks a bit like a Seeker-drawn combine harvester, which is just a beautiful concept for me. It harks back to the good old days in GTA: San Andreas when I drove farm equipment through crowded streets. Fun times. I’m expecting it to work like a chariot with extra impact hits or something, but having it damage enemies by moving through them like the current Screamer/Hexwraith rules would be pretty epic.

I’ll be saying more once I get my hands on the White Dwarf this weekend. TBH I don’t care if they do what people who still think it’s 7^th ed. want and nerf Daemons back to hell. Doing so through a WD update gives them time to test out the changes before a new army book so anything that goes too far can be switched back (or anything that doesn’t go far enough can be taken further).

I’m not good enough at writing lists or playing at the moment to be able to limit the strength while remaining viable in a battle, so a nerfed army where I can bring whatever filth I want and have no complaints would probably be good for me.

Whatever the outcome, this is ideal for me: getting an update after long enough for me to have an opinion on the changes without taking so long that I get bored with what I have.

I was getting worried too; it’s been more than a week since I made a frivolous purchase.

A final word: non Daemon models rumoured to be release next month include recast finecast High Elves and Beastmen and an all new Great Bray Shaman model. I’m not seeing many people bothering with the finecast considering the cost and quality problems that we are all too familiar with being applied to old models, but the new stuff might be worth a look.

"Somebody once asked could I spare some change for gas,
I need to get myself away from this place.
I said yep, what a concept,
I could use a little fuel myself,
And we could all use a little change."

-All Star by Smash Mouth