Sepulchral Stalkers and Warsphinx Photos

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Games Workshop's "What's New Today" blog is showcasing some of their staff's Tomb King Armies and a there are a couple of neat pics of the new Sepulchral Stalkers and Warsphinx.

These miniatures belong to Andrew Kenrick's army and a very nice army it is indeed ! I particularly like High Queen Khalida's host of lady vampire priests and handmaidens, the chariots are also very cool as are the below new models. He's opted for a bone and red colour scheme which makes a nice change from the oft used turquoise. I just thought you might be interested in the pics, I love the stalker's tail and golden helm.

http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/content/blogPost.jsp?aId=16200033a

Images are © Games Workshop. All rights reserved. Used without permission.

New Fantasy Battle Expansion

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Warhammer Storm of Magic expansion (for Fantasy Battles) incoming !

I'm not sure what this is all about although it looks like quite an exciting development. Until I can find out more you'd better read what Games Workshop have to say below. It's out in July 2011 and is coming with a load of new monsters and magic...cool heh :)

"Incoming: Storm of Magic

Storm of Magic - when the eight winds howl...

The Winds of Magic are tumultuous. Drawn by Morrslieb, they are prone to rise from a strong gale into a howling tempest. And when they do no kingdom or realm is safe.

Monsters awaken from their slumber and are summoned from their lairs at the bidding of sorcerous masters. Armies assemble, ready to defend their borders or seize the opportunity to gain limitless power. It is in these desperate times tenuous pacts between wizards and creatures of darkness are sealed to create alliances never thought possible.

A time of doom and great deeds is at hand. Will you rise to meet the storm?

Announcing the impending arrival of Storm of Magic, the latest and largest Expansion for Warhammer, the Game of Fantasy Battles. Launched in July 2011, Storm of Magic describes what happens when great eldritch maelstroms roil across the lands. Magic becomes far more powerful and there is a whole range of Cataclysm spells to cast, unleashing untold devastation on the enemy. Arcane Fulcrums burst from the ground, not only acting as loci for the swirling energies that pervade a battle fought amidst the Storm of Magic, but changing the way a Warhammer tabletop looks and interacts with your armies. With such things so crucial to your Storm of Magic games a new range of Warhammer scenery and Wizards will soon be released in time for you to wage cataclysmic battles.

Then there are the monsters. When the Winds of Magic blow with such strength, the fell creatures of the world gravitate towards the tempest, slithering from deep tunnels or emerging from mountain lairs.

With the new Expansion allowing you to use so many different creatures there are a whole host of new monstrous plastic kits on their way. Citadel's queen of creatures, Trish Morrison, has spent the last few years in her own lair preparing for the new monsters to be unleashed upon the world and you can see two brief glimpses of what is to come below:


July is still a few months away; we are in the calm before the storm so now is the time to prepare. Bolster your forces, prepare your regiments and summon your wizards in time for the ultimate war. Keep checking White Dwarf and the website for updates, for when the storm hits nowhere will be safe!"

Text and Image are © Games Workshop. All rights reserved. Used without permission.

Jabberslythe Model !

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A custom sculpted Jabberslythe miniature for use with the Beastmen Fantasy Battle army - at last !

There still isn't an official Jabberslythe Warhammer model from Games Workshop so the Miniature Painting Group (MPG) have come up with their own and they'll mold one for you (and paint it if you like).

MPG have also produced a great Cygor model and a really, really great Ghorgon.

MPG don't stop there, they have quite a few other difficult to find miniatures that don't have an official GW version - yet?!

Here are some snippets from the Jabberslythe description in the Beastmen Army book, see for yourself if the sculpt is an accurate representation of the monster, I reckon they've done a pretty good job of it...

"Ungainly and clumsy creatures... they have a thick sticky proboscis-like tongue... rudimentary wings... vile appearance... nightmarish vision... fang-ridged maw... erratic and ungainly flight..."

It's a fairly chunky model standing over 5 inches high, check out the slideshow pic including Count Mannfred for a size comparison. It also has an excellent twisted tree base to represent it's deep, dark forest lair.

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You can contact them through their Miniature Painting Group eBay shop.

Images used with permission of Miniature Painting Group.

New Tomb Kings Army Video by GW

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A video with magic, monsters and some Khemri background without "too much" promo.

As soon as I started watching the video I got a bit annoyed expecting it to be promotion drivel delivered by people who wouldn't give two hoots on a Khemrian Bone Horn but it turned out a lot better than I expected.

What you can expect; some nice pics, insights into the thinking behind the army background (think scarabs, scorps, vultures and way too many Sphinxes), a rare "honesty-nod" towards the time it's taken since TKs were last looked at (blink and you'll miss it !), magic normalization and general army wide thinking made it worth watching (esp if you're looking for TK colour schemes and an alternative look at the model pics)

It's 14 mins long so... suffer like me my venomous serpent worshiping undead friends ! [signed: Sigmar]



Back to winds of magic with their own lore and a Sorcerous character that, with blessings and curses, somehow mixes the lore of light with lots of death :)

So far in the desert sand, so good until the oasis (of death !)  :D   Muhahahaha

Images are © Games Workshop. All rights reserved. Used without permission.

New Tomb Kings Army Book Release

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The desert Kings arise from their Tombs once more - with (hopefully) a comprehensive 8th edition update and (once again) competitive Warhammer Fantasy Battle army list ;-)

There must have been the sand storm from hell to bury the pyramids so deep for it has taken 9 long years for the Tomb Kings to dig themselves out and reveal to us their new 8th ed. army book (and quite a few cool new units) !

Without further ado, if you fancy hearing what GW have to say and checking out some of the pics, here's the official GW getting started webpage for Tomb Kings:-

1) http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/content/article.jsp?aId=16000016a

And here's Games Workshop's promo blog entry:-

2) http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/content/blogPost.jsp?aId=16200008a

Where you will find a 360 degree "rotatable" picture of the Kemrian Warsphinx* (which can also be constructed as a Necrosphinx which is a very tough looking (and sounding) lone metallic / stone monster unit (think ultra stomp)

* I like the way GW have included a Tomg King miniature and Tomb Guards so you can assemble the War Sphinx as a unit ("Rare" I presume) or a Lord mount.

First impressions of the Warsphinx are excellent but I'm not so keen on the look of the Necrosphinx (below) which appears a touch too 40k-ish for my liking. It does however sound like a real "tank" for absorbing punishment and a potential game winner with a special rule named "devastating strike" which can kill anything with a single blow. For these reasons I suspect we'll be seeing more of the Necrosphinx on the battlefield than the Warsphinx. Anyway, I will reserve judgement until I have read the rules and seen them in the flesh bones!

And last but most importantly, the Advance Orders (7th May 2011)  Tomb Kings page:-

3) http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/armySubUnitCats.jsp?catId=cat440004a

Where you will find loads more pics and the prices and those all important sprue shots.

The most "striking" (haha !) new models in my opinion are the Necropolis Knights which can also be assembled as Sepulchral Stalkers (or any combination of the two I suppose ?). Both units look quite cool although how the knights are supposed to hang onto their mounts when they strike (assuming they strike ?) is anyone's guess. Still, we are living in a fantasy world here so let's give them the benefit of lightning reactions  mastered over centuries trying to dodge out of the way of the undead serpents  !

Here are the pics (Sepulchral Stalkers followed by the Necropolis Knights) - from the GW blog post:-

If you click on the below book you can just about see the unit profiles...

So far, all is looking good with the new models which all seem to have been produced to top-notch GW standards. I know nothing of the book's contents and haven't been following the usual leaks in Warseer and the like so I can't comment on the army itself right now. I'll let you know what I think in due course, feel free to post your opinions here if you have already come to some conclusions.

One last thing, I'm really pleased with the way GW are approaching some of the larger multi-part kits these days. They seem to be focusing on the customer a bit more with the variety of possibilities available and the different assembly options leading to noticeably different unit appearance and of course unit rules. Nice work, thanks GW.

Images are © Games Workshop. All rights reserved. Used without permission.

Ghouls or Zombies - dual purpose miniatures ?

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I spotted these undead models from Mantic Games and saw a very sweet money saving opportunity :)

Mantic sell both Zombies and Ghoul minis for their Kings of War Fantasy tabletop game but their appearance (esp when painted a fleshy colour) probably fits more comfortably into the traditional (and of course GW) idea of what a Zombie looks like. Games Workshop clearly made a very conscious effort to differentiate their Crypt Ghouls and Zombies but I reckon these miniatures could fit the bill for both.

A few weapons from your bitz and pieces bin for the zombies (the green guys below) and a different shade of "dead" paint for the ghouls (the guys clothed with more rags - the 2nd pic) and I reckon you have an all-purpose ghoul or zombie unit which you could mix up to deploy larger units and save yourself a few quid.

I'm probably stretching things but if money is short it might be worth considering. Just thought I'd share.

Mantic released some other undead recently (check out their Skeleton Catapult below), they actually have quite a few army deals which work out very good value for money if you do the maths.

Mantic Home page:- http://www.manticgames.com/home.html
Mantic Fantasy blog:- http://www.manticblog.com/

Images are © Mantic Games. All rights reserved. Used without permission.

Master your dice rolling skills !

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There is more to winning Warhammer Fantasy Battles than tactics and army selection.

You really can get ahead in a battle by mastering your dice rolling techniques. It's not cheating (like you might think) and it's not easy but good old Games Workshop have now published a guide to help out. It's a superb publication and will help you get that 10-20% extra out of your army through precision rolling at key and critical "roll events".

From GW...

"126-page full-colour guide containing everything you ever need to know about rolling dice to improve your battles. It takes you through every step you'll need to master your dice so that you'll be rolling nothing but sixes and laughing at your enemies. It is nothing short of a tabletop revolution."

http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/content/blogPost.jsp?aId=16100001a

PS. If you believe that then maybe you will be interested in the new Chinese ISO adjusted measuring rulers. They use the Asia Pacific ISO millimeter measure as opposed to the Western Gregorian version. Over larger ranges (such as with 48" repeater bolt thrower) you will gain almost 3/4 inch in distance which could allow for a decisive shot that you otherwise wouldn't be able to attempt.

Image is copyright Games Workshop, used without permission. All rights reserved.