The Age of Sigmar Begins....

https://clankhorvaak.wordpress.com/2015/06/26/rumorspreview-age-of-sigmar-model-leaks/

With the new pics of Age of Sigmar, many rumors of the past year have been confirmed and many more dispelled.  The forces of Chaos look very much like the aesthetic we've come to expect from Khorne, with some interesting new monsters and amazing character models.  Mix in the new End Times figures for Khorne and you can see that Archaon's elite are off to a great start in the new Age of Sigmar.

The real buzz has been about the forces of Sigmar, with massive figures in armor, fliers, and an enormous hero on a new monstrous mount.  They have the look and feel of Balthasar Gelt ond the Lore of Metal, with iconography of the Lore Heavens in the form of lightning bolts on their armor.  Though humanoid, they seem much larger and powerful than the basic peasant from Altdorf that comprised the state troops of the old Empire.    Who and what are these new warriors that ride into battle on bolts of lightning?  Sigmar must have realized that if millions of old Empire peasants couldn't stop Chaos, he'd need to find some better troops!

The terrain, thought you can only catch glimpses of it in the background, looks to be amazing as well.  It's hard to tell what realm or dimension the battles are set in, but I'm hoping we continue to lean toward the insanity in the Realm of Chaos....where you can design the weirdest things imaginable for your battlefield and really pull yourself out of reality for a few hours.  

The long anticipated (or feared?) shift to round bases also brings new questions about game play.  The size of the forces involved reminds me of my first 1st Edition WFB army, where regiments (my old Ruglud's Armored Orcs and Harboth's Orc Arrer Boyz) were never more than a dozen troops, and monsters, heroes, and chariots ruled the field.  While I'll miss the look and feel of pushing giant units around as we did in 8th Edition, frankly I'm tired of painting rank upon rank of "back rankers" who die unceremoniously without seeing combat.  We've also reached a point, at least locally, where units are filled with diorama pieces (aka unit fillers) in an effort to bulk tiny units into massive hordes. As my time becomes more precious and a scarcer commodity, I'm happy to jump on board a version of Warhammer where each model at least has the potential to get into combat.  After all, #orclivesmatter.

 So, out with the old and in with the new.  I may preserve the bulk of my remaining old armies (DoW, O&G, OK, WoC, VC) for "old school WFB nights" and begin collecting all new forces for the new Age of Sigmar.  I've gotten plenty of playtime and enjoyment out of all my old armies, more than enough to compensate the money and effort I've put into them.

One more week until pre-order.....and as Harry would say...."BRING IT ON!!"