Balance of Power discussion.

[Mr Mystery]

Picked it up this afternoon, and currently on page 132.

So far, pretty damned cool! It's great to see stuff other than Stormcast V Chaos, and so far I've had Fyreslayers, Sylvaneth, Seraphon, Neferata and Undead sticking it to Chaos in good fashion.

I've only just read Wardens of the Everqueen, so not much I don't know about Alarielle's part so far, but the book is well set out, showing different Planes and areas thereof where stuff is happening altogether.

I've got maybe 90 pages of plot left, the rest being Warscrolls for the characters and that.

[Mr Mystery]

If anyone is wondering what these books are, think 'End Times', but in a single volume rather than two.

You get a bit of the story, followed by a Battleplan covering that plot along with Time of War rules for the setting.

They've also chucked in painting guides, and as mentioned unit rules and the game rules.

So for those looking to start AoS, any of these will help see you off to a start, and other than fluff reasons (though there is a recap), no need to buy the other volumes, or indeed buy them in order. Which is nice.

[Insert_nickname_here]

Still not got Quest for Ghal Mharaz yet, I need to pick that up before I get this one. I took the plunge and started rebasing my undead last night (I know you don't have do, but the do look better on round bases).

[Mr Mystery]

If anyone was wondering why we've had the Sylvaneth reboxed, but no Battletome, I get the distinct impression we may very well be getting a new, probably plastic, possibly Nagash sized Alarielle.....or 'Alarielle in her War Form'......

With any luck we'll get plastic Treekin and all. And possibly Spite Swarms.....

[Morgrim]

How much Seraphon is in the book? Just some fluff, or some rules based stuff as well?

[Mr Mystery]

Slaan v Skarbrand punch up :)

Oh, and I finished the plot parts last night. Things are shaping up most interestingly, especially for those that get tonked off Ghal Maraz....

[malisteen]

I haven't read the book yet, but from what I've heard from those who have, I'm disappointed at the treatment of Alarielle and Neferata, two characters who should be important movers and shakers, figures to fear and respect whose actions and decisions should be helping to drive the plot. Instead, apparently neither has any significant agency in the narrative, both basically only being in the story at all so that the Big Hero Sigmarines can swoop in and save them from chaos.

[Erik Setzer]

So for those looking to start AoS, any of these will help see you off to a start, and other than fluff reasons (though there is a recap), no need to buy the other volumes, or indeed buy them in order. Which is nice.

Though each book does have formations you typically won't find elsewhere, so to get them you'll have to get the book(s).

[Mr Mystery]

You can buy those in the AoS App :)

[Erik Setzer]

AoS app isn't an option for everyone...

[Mr Mystery]

Option is still there though - and if you've got it, you don't need to go buying the Grand Alliance books. Which is nice.

[malisteen]

Option is still there though - and if you've got it, you don't need to go buying the Grand Alliance books. Which is nice.

I'd be more about the app if ALL the formations and whatnot could be purchased there. So far the box set ones aren't available at all, for extra charge or otherwise.

Also, the app's reader for books purchased in it is aweful. Unless it's seen some major updates since its release, it has no search feature, no table of contents, not even a page skip. It doesn't even remember what page you left off on, so every time you open a book to reference anything, or gods forbid try to read the next chapter in a novel or something, you have to flip one page at a time, tediously loading each page of what could be a several hundred pages book, in order to get to the page you left off on.

Worthless. Absolutely worthless. It's an ok app for referencing war scrolls, but you should never, ever buy books on it.

[Mr Mystery]

The ones from the boxed game, or the Getting Started?

I've only used it for the Warscrolls. I like to have my rule books in paper form. All lined up in the bookcase. In release order. Nice and neat.

[malisteen]

The getting started ones. I'd happily pay a buck or two to be able to reference the malignant formation on on the app, but no.

[Mr Mystery]

Can send you pic of my one. Don't much fancy carrying it around, as I'm liable to lose it or damage it, so photo will be taken anyways.

And in other newses.....stuff wot I has lurned from Balance of Power.

There are female Stormcast Eternals.

Sigmar can and will make new Stormcast.

Ghal Maraz offering redemption wasn't just a sideline in the Stormcast Battletome.

Archaon's origins are just secret.....but potentially ruinous for him....

Which is pretty cool :)

[Erik Setzer]

Nice to see them notice the backlash on the Sigmarines and add the female reference.

Not nice to see a continuation of the attempted retconning of the WFB background. Oh well. Not unexpected, but still disappointing.

[malisteen]

Can send you pic of my one. Don't much fancy carrying it around, as I'm liable to lose it or damage it, so photo will be taken anyways.

Is this directed at me re: the Malignant formation? If so, it's fine, I have a copy, I just would have liked it to be available on the app if I was going to try to actually use it for referencing scrolls.

It's worth noting that all the units from the compendiums that didn't make it into newer AoS books - helcannon, throgg, the entire tomb kings line - are still in the app. Even the named versions of characters that now have generic replacements, like the tomb kings characters or Krell.

However, what's NOT in the app is formations from compendiums that have been updated in some way. In particular, while the app maintains the entries for Vlad, Konrad, vampire on abyssal terror, etc, the entries for 'deathrattle horde' and the ghoul formation have been deleted, which I find very frustrating because that was free content that's now been removed, to be replaced by less content (the GAoD book only has a single formation of skeletons, nothing for ghouls or anything else) that they'll charge extra for.

I'm just... really frustrated by that, and by the GAoD in general. None of the changes were critical, it doesn't seem to add any meaningful fluff, and it leaves behind far, far more content than it adds. If they didn't have anything new for death to offset at least to some small degree all the stuff they were going to drop, then they shouldn't have bothered releasing the book yet, and the fact that they couldn't even be bothered to come up with a handful of formations, which don't require any new models, is just insult to injury.