Mr Mystery
08-13-2014, 02:49 PM
How do?
So it seems all but confirmed (and by confirmed, I mean actual sight, or even better, grubby mitts on the model) that Nagash is coming back.
And that's a pretty big change in the Warhammer world.. I mean, this isn't just some long missing character making a welcome return, this is pretty much a God walking the face of the Old World. There is no race this won't affect in some manner, and it would seem given the events of Blood of Sigmar, the Empire is in for a good (very, very) old fashioned kicking. I won't do spoilers about what happened in that yet, in case some are inspired to grab it to find out for themselves (and you should, it's great!)
It also may explain why things have been quiet on the Warhammer front. Blood of Sigmar added new background, and shock horror, advanced the background, quite significantly (GO BUY IT NOW!).
The ramifications of the first Necromancer getting his ming on requires a lot of new background to be written. And that takes Studio resources, and depending how far they're taking it quite significant resources at that.
But for now, I'll shy away from idle speculation, as I'm very likely to off on one about it. Instead, let us take an objective look at what has happened since 7th Edition Warhammer was released just four short years ago....
Well, first of all we've had the most comprehensive single edition army update I can think of. Only Brets, Beastmen and Skaven to go, and out of them, one could argue it's only Brets that really, really need it based on the age of the remaining books. It has been fairly quiet of late, but the system has benefitted a lot. Bigger gribblier monsters out there, no one army is noticeably harder than any other (consider old Daemons and previous Dark Elves compared to the previous Wood Elf and Ogre books!). Some are of course easier to use than others, but against two equally experienced players, the outcome is mostly down to skill, rather than DeathstarMSUbore. 7th Edition also made bigger games more interesting, with the introduction of Horde units, and Steadfast being made available. As a long time Warhammer player, this was welcome, as my collections were growing beyond what I could feasibly field in a single game, without feeling like I was just spending points to get them spent. Add in the nicknamed 'step up' rule so we all keep fighting, and the game works nicely at bigger points now. Small games haven't changed a great deal!
We've also had four expansions of a sort. First up, we got Blood in the Badlands. Then we got Storm of Magic, which I really like. Following that, and the only new book thing I haven't bought (yet), Triumph and Treachery. Finally, and you may have noticed I'm a fan, Blood of Sigmar (which also introduced a 40k style Unbound way to collect an army).
There's also been a serious effort to move infantry into plastic, rather than metal or Finecast. Pricing has been a bit.....odd on some kits, but for the most part infantry heavy armies are more cost effective than before. Add to this the big stuff we've been getting. Only Brets have missed out so far if we count Helpit Abominations and the Ghorgon kits.
And now we get Nagash. The big daddy of evil. The single greatest threat to the established order of the Warhammer World we have ever seen. This guy changes so much. Ostensibly, it seems High Elves, Dark Elves and Lizardmen won't be overly fussed, as they're not exactly Old World. But..... High Elves have things to look after in the Old World - Things which keep the Vortex working. Those'll need defending, and against Nagash, who would probably quite happily topple some to tap the winds of magic, that's a lot of defending needed. This will draw troops away from Ulthuan, at a time when Malekith is poised to invade yet again.... Lizardmen likewise will have to intervene for their own sake, though precisely how is a very open question!
I'm excited folks. I think our patience and enthusiasm for setting system may be about to pay off!
Though rabid as I am about the potential, there does remain the risk that this may turn out to be a damp squib - but I'm thinking it won't be! :P
So it seems all but confirmed (and by confirmed, I mean actual sight, or even better, grubby mitts on the model) that Nagash is coming back.
And that's a pretty big change in the Warhammer world.. I mean, this isn't just some long missing character making a welcome return, this is pretty much a God walking the face of the Old World. There is no race this won't affect in some manner, and it would seem given the events of Blood of Sigmar, the Empire is in for a good (very, very) old fashioned kicking. I won't do spoilers about what happened in that yet, in case some are inspired to grab it to find out for themselves (and you should, it's great!)
It also may explain why things have been quiet on the Warhammer front. Blood of Sigmar added new background, and shock horror, advanced the background, quite significantly (GO BUY IT NOW!).
The ramifications of the first Necromancer getting his ming on requires a lot of new background to be written. And that takes Studio resources, and depending how far they're taking it quite significant resources at that.
But for now, I'll shy away from idle speculation, as I'm very likely to off on one about it. Instead, let us take an objective look at what has happened since 7th Edition Warhammer was released just four short years ago....
Well, first of all we've had the most comprehensive single edition army update I can think of. Only Brets, Beastmen and Skaven to go, and out of them, one could argue it's only Brets that really, really need it based on the age of the remaining books. It has been fairly quiet of late, but the system has benefitted a lot. Bigger gribblier monsters out there, no one army is noticeably harder than any other (consider old Daemons and previous Dark Elves compared to the previous Wood Elf and Ogre books!). Some are of course easier to use than others, but against two equally experienced players, the outcome is mostly down to skill, rather than DeathstarMSUbore. 7th Edition also made bigger games more interesting, with the introduction of Horde units, and Steadfast being made available. As a long time Warhammer player, this was welcome, as my collections were growing beyond what I could feasibly field in a single game, without feeling like I was just spending points to get them spent. Add in the nicknamed 'step up' rule so we all keep fighting, and the game works nicely at bigger points now. Small games haven't changed a great deal!
We've also had four expansions of a sort. First up, we got Blood in the Badlands. Then we got Storm of Magic, which I really like. Following that, and the only new book thing I haven't bought (yet), Triumph and Treachery. Finally, and you may have noticed I'm a fan, Blood of Sigmar (which also introduced a 40k style Unbound way to collect an army).
There's also been a serious effort to move infantry into plastic, rather than metal or Finecast. Pricing has been a bit.....odd on some kits, but for the most part infantry heavy armies are more cost effective than before. Add to this the big stuff we've been getting. Only Brets have missed out so far if we count Helpit Abominations and the Ghorgon kits.
And now we get Nagash. The big daddy of evil. The single greatest threat to the established order of the Warhammer World we have ever seen. This guy changes so much. Ostensibly, it seems High Elves, Dark Elves and Lizardmen won't be overly fussed, as they're not exactly Old World. But..... High Elves have things to look after in the Old World - Things which keep the Vortex working. Those'll need defending, and against Nagash, who would probably quite happily topple some to tap the winds of magic, that's a lot of defending needed. This will draw troops away from Ulthuan, at a time when Malekith is poised to invade yet again.... Lizardmen likewise will have to intervene for their own sake, though precisely how is a very open question!
I'm excited folks. I think our patience and enthusiasm for setting system may be about to pay off!
Though rabid as I am about the potential, there does remain the risk that this may turn out to be a damp squib - but I'm thinking it won't be! :P