Grand Alliance Order - first inklings....

[Mr Mystery]

Via the (presumably freshly updated) Age of Sigmar App.

The following screenshots are, I think, the totality of newly named factions.

Oddly, no new names for Dark Elf models, nor Wood Elves. One may wish to contrast and compare with the current 'Last Chance to Buy' section - though from what I've seen that's mostly either quite old kits, or Finecast.

One observation....your basic Elven troops aren't yet classified into their own faction - yet the relevant kits for Woodies and Dark Elves aren't in the last chance saloon.

I got nowt to back this next bit up with, but I reckon we'll see the basic High Elves return before long - albeit resculpted and sans ham-Hock-hands that would do a Slayer proud!

Alsö wïk....Dispossessed it would seem are a separate faction to the 'talked about in the background but your guess is as good as mine' Steamhead Duardin....

[Ben_S]

Is the assumption that all these kits, having not been moved to Last Chance today, are staying? Seems strange that Swordmasters of Hoeth survived while some other nice kits, like Glade Riders, are gone.

[Mr Mystery]

They may be working on more fantastical Cavalry?

[Dyolfnai]

Well according to my app, doomfire warlocks are DAUGHTERS of Khaine!

[Mr Mystery]

Crikey Michael O'Hooligan McBlimey!

He's right you know - even more updates!

Time to see if I can get those on here as well.

- - - Updated - - -

And here we go :)

[Asymmetrical Xeno]

awesome, so I do get the witch elves faction I wanted in Daughters of Khaine, thats great. Guess that'll be my 3rd AoS army down then.

[Mr Mystery]

It's nice to finally see how things might be as the story unfolds.

I for one can't wait for the Free People's.

Suspicion for me is that there's one more volume of Realmgate Wars, after which the other gods will be up and about and joining in giving Chaos a damned good shoeing :)

[Asymmetrical Xeno]

I'm really excited to see how Sylvaneth will be developed especially. The old tree-kin are in the last chance to buy section now, so I wonder if they'll get a plastic kit sometime. I am hoping all of these new factions get battletomes with new kits eventually.

[Asymmetrical Xeno]

So the full list of "Order" factions is :


Stormcast Eternals
Extremis Chamber
Seraphon
Sylvaneth
Fyreslayers
Free Peoples
Collegiate Arcane
Devoted Of Sigmar
Dispossessed
Eldritch Council
Ironweld Arsonal
Lion Rangers
Order Draconis
Phoenix Temple
Darkling Covens
Daughters Of Khaine
Order Serpentis
Scourge Privateers
Shadowblades
Swifthawk Agents
Wanderers

[Brakkart]

Some nice themes to the factions, tempted by a couple of them but for now my loyalty will remain with the Savage Orruks. Bring on the last Grand Alliance book I say and give Destruction its due!

[Asymmetrical Xeno]

Yeah it's all been order and chaos, itll be nice to finally see a new faction/models for Destruction. Curious how they look.

[Kirsten]

so the existing stuff has been reshuffled in to factions, but I wonder which factions will be updated? will all of those factions exist with new Age of Sigmar models? I fancy some Ironweld and Free peoples.

Looking at some of these factions it doesn't look like they are meant to be stand alone. some work fine, but you would struggle to field an Ironweld Arsenal exclusively, or a Phoenix Temple etc. I would love to see an engineering faction with some infantry and stuff. essentially Age of Sigmar Mechanicum...

[Asymmetrical Xeno]

so the existing stuff has been reshuffled in to factions, but I wonder which factions will be updated? will all of those factions exist with new Age of Sigmar models? I fancy some Ironweld and Free peoples.

Looking at some of these factions it doesn't look like they are meant to be stand alone. some work fine, but you would struggle to field an Ironweld Arsenal exclusively, or a Phoenix Temple etc. I would love to see an engineering faction with some infantry and stuff. essentially Age of Sigmar Mechanicum...

Yeah, I really hope they are all expanded on over time, theres a lot of potential with the new themes. The "metal" Duardin sound a bit like what might be AOS equivilent Mechanicum though, guess we'll have to wait and see.

Would be nice to see more diverse human factions too, it's all white dudes so far.

[Mr Mystery]

Reckon the more esoteric artillery will come with the Steamhead Duardin.

Which, despite normally loathing Steampunk (but to each their own!) I'm quite interested to see.

[Ben_S]

Seems strange that Swordmasters of Hoeth survived while some other nice kits, like Glade Riders, are gone.


They may be working on more fantastical Cavalry?

Maybe, or maybe they just want to sell Dark Riders (5 per box rather than 8 too), but my real surprise was the Swordmasters surviving, rather than the Glade Riders going.

I wish most of the plastic kits were staying actually, but Swordmasters are a) Finecast and b) somewhat redundant given White Lions, DE Executioners, and WE Eternal Guard. If they're not going now, it makes me wonder whether there will be a second round of culling sooner or later.

[Erik Setzer]

Looking at some of these factions it doesn't look like they are meant to be stand alone. some work fine, but you would struggle to field an Ironweld Arsenal exclusively, or a Phoenix Temple etc. I would love to see an engineering faction with some infantry and stuff. essentially Age of Sigmar Mechanicum...

Well, you're approaching it from a WFB or 40K mentality, where a "faction" is a complete army of its own. In AoS, factions are more like pieces of a whole, describing specialized parts of forces rather than entire armies. Like how the Stormcast Eternals have various Chambers broken off as factions, and while you could run them on their own, you know the intent is to mix the various types of Stormcast units together.

So you could have, say, an Ironweld Arsenal force using units hired from the Freeguild, or have an arrangement with the Dispossessed forces at large.

Heck, the Freeguild seem like the human engineering faction, for the most part.

But hey, if they want to ever make models and rules for those "Technomancers" they mentioned, I'm totally game for that.

[Asymmetrical Xeno]

That is true, but I do hope they are expanded to at least stormcast/bloodbound/fyreslayer size model ranges in time. I'd be happy with that big as you can still do a whole army with that amount of stuff.

[Mr Mystery]

I'm actually kind of tempted by Swifthawk Agents - which is a new feeling, as I've previously been distinctly 'MEEEEHHHHH' about any non-Dark Elf.

I'm interested to see how these smaller factions affect the perception of average game size.

[Kirsten]

I do wonder why the glade riders have been taken away when all the other wood elf plastics remain

[Mr Mystery]

No idea.

Theory I've got is that they're going for more fantastical mounts in the future.

But then, Dark Riders....

[Kirsten]

could be, something more like the wild riders have perhaps, or even just a rebox into a five

[Erik Setzer]

It's still a bit confusing to read that Tyrion and Malekith/Malerion went after Slaanesh to get the elves back... and yet there were apparently already elves living in the realms that ended up fleeing to Azyrheim. It's another case of them trying to figure out what they want to do with the fluff and having some contradictory stuff going on.

But, hey, second edition fluff could clean that up. Worked wonders for 40K.

[grimmas]

The Aelf background has been very vague so far. When Tyrion was found by Sigmar he couldn't sense any Aelves in the realms at all. Then there was the bit about Slaanesh have glutted on their souls and being vulnerable and Tyrion and Malerion going to kick him in. Hopefully it be cleared up a bit by this one but I think it'll take a bit more explaining than what they've got space for in a Grand Alliance book.

Yeah they did do it for 40K in fact they managed wholesale background changes across the lifespan of Rogue Trader let alone when they updated to 2nd.

Im going with Aelves I like the old English look to it.

[Kirsten]

interesting that the Empire sounds to have stayed the same design wise

[Erik Setzer]

They're not going to change the look in the artwork because that'd cause a disconnect with the models. Right now they have to find a way to explain the incorporation of WFB lines in AoS, otherwise the game would have three factions: Sigmarines, Khorne, and Fyreslayers. I'd bet that in time they'll introduce new human models to represent the Free Peoples that have set up new fortresses and such, and phase out the Empire-related art along with the models.

If/when that happens and you want to keep using your models, though, just keep using the warscrolls you have. Same think TK and Bret players are doing.

[Brakkart]

I'm liking the redone Dark Elf factions (Scourge Privateers and Order Serpentis), some great themes for those models with good potential for expanding the ranges in the future, a re-done Reaper Bolt thrower perhaps for the Privateers would fit perfectly, as would any manner of scaly beast for the Serpentis to augment their limited numbers of dragons.

[Trojan66]

Despite being a year down the line this feels like a rushed release. Nothing new or clever. No mashing of the elves into one race and empire looking exactly the same as they ever have. Bit disappointing as far as I'm concerned.

[grimmas]

That's no great surprise it's just AoSifying the existing ranges at this point.