techsoldaten

This is exactly what I thought when I first saw it: the designers could have gone armored scarab, instead they went desiccated Hyena. The design fails to satisfy the #1 design rule for Chaos models: all damage dealers must be imposing and tyrannical. These just look like stiff, stripped down husks of secondary importance.

While I generally agree with the sentiment expressed in the OP's post, there are several specific historical references and characters that spring to mind when I'm thinking about the Iron Warriors. The Battle of Arras , 1914 - Fought between the French and the Germans, this battle seemed to embody so much of IW lore. The early stages of WWI were not characterized by trenches, it was better characterized in terms of large troop movements, city sieges and attempts to grapple with the significant innovations in German artillery. The French and the German armies were trying to outmaneuver each other in a series of actions called the Race to the Sea, which eventually came to a head at Arras. Arras was the first place the French really put their foot down. Until this point, there was a lot of talk the French armies would collapse within a month or two. At Arras, they set up within heavily fortified areas and basically dared the Germans to come get them. The Germans obliged. While the battle was bad for both sides, the Germans suffered horrendous casualties and began to feel the pinch of supply lines. Until this point in the war, they were using as much artillery each day as Germany could produce in a month. When the stockpiles ran low, it meant battles became infantry affairs. The frontline units on both sides hadn't taken massive casualties or fought against any entrenched foe (much less a veteran force.) The casualties at Arras were substantial and this phenomenon started taking place, where troops from the rear were being marched up to the front having to look at the casualties from the last assault. As far as I can tell, this battle in particular is where the talk about the "horrors of war" in that conflict really started. The Battle of Arras lead to the first fixed trench systems being set up and the first immobile front lines coming about. The 2 German Generals - Rupprecht and von Bulow - were published saying things that would be recognizably Peturabo. Also, if you read about the battle, the way the German soldiers are described, with their shining helmets and regimented formations, is very reminiscent of the Iron Warriors. The Battle of the Somme, 1916 - This was the longest battle of WWI. The Allies were assaulting German defenses in an effort to relieve pressure on the French at Verdun. The idea was to break through the lines and open a new front. This was the biggest and most costly battle of the war. The Germans, poorly supplied, pursued a war of attrition, deadlock and entrenchment that cost the Allies 60,000 casualties on the first day. It went on like this for months, total casualties were over 1 million. It included some of the first uses of tanks along with endless hellscapes of craters, shell holes, bodies that could not be retrieved, barbed wire stretching for miles, and the like. The German's strategy, in a nutshell, was to bleed the allies white, and it's very recognizable as something the IW would pursue. German General von Falkenhayn, in particular, was know for the elastic defense, where Allied armies would be allowed to penetrate the trench network to be drawn into a killing zone with artillery and machine guns positioned in the back. This made success and retreat impossible. von Gallwitz, another German general, was very concerned with defense and counterattacks. He maintained a system of fortifications along the line that were extremely difficult to break, even with artillery and masses of men. He was basically creating fortresses that allowed him to launch counterattacks whenever he wanted to, similar to the fortresses Iron Warriors are known for putting up. There's a lot of great literature from the era available for getting into the mindset of the Iron Warriors. I can't think of them without thinking of what must have happened at these 2 battles.

After a 2 year break, my GW paints dried up, including bottles I hadn't previously opened. Have moved to oils and Vallejo's Heavy Metal range, but need something that dries faster. Might give these a try.

Bringing back canonically-dead Primarchs is a horrible idea. Angron, Mortarion and Magnus work because they are these ancient Daemon Primarchs who never died to begin with. While I could understand a story where Alpharius was in hiding this whole time, pulling the strings of the Alpha Legion in secrecy, Kurse was assassinated. There's not a lot of nuance to that, his story ended. Same with Sanguinius, same with Ferrus, same with Russ. But 40k isn't served well by turning it into 30k. These fallen heros are part of the pathos of the setting.

Long time ago, I bought an Emperor's Children army. Looked to be circa 2nd edition. It consisted of: - Chaos Lord with Doom Siren - 30+ Noise Marines with Sonic Weapons - Dreadnought with Sonic Blasters - Several Rhinos - Daemonettes - Daemonettes on Seekers - Goat-headed Keeper of Secrets with massive claws The army was visually striking and the mix of troops and daemons seemed so appropriate to Slaanesh. Tons of short-to-mid range shooting with fast attack / melee infantry to tie up opponents. Never played against it, but thought it would be fun to run. While I'm certain GW will do their best, there's lots to love in what's already come before. I hope they don't take it in too different a direction.

Honestly, I expect GW will continue the same track they've been on with Deathwatch since 8th. Wild power swings and rules changes that make any unit unreliable from the standpoint of a collector. I started my Deathwatch army in 8th, saw it become almost useless in 9th, before the rules were taken away in 10th. It almost doesn't matter what this supplement does, no telling what to expect as year out.

Yeah I was impressed with the abstracts and believe the proceedings to be generally interesting. The lack of engineering or technical perspective does concern me. I would have liked to see at least a couple sessions more focused on innovation and what would be done with the hobby with modern technology. Board piece tracking, rules enforcement, computer vision, AI for army selection, material science for board composition, distributed manufacturing of game pieces, etc. - those kinds of topics could significantly contribute to the proceedings. There's overlap in social awkwardness between tabletop gamers and engineers (speaking from experience in both fields.) Purely social topics leave a lot on the table.

Dealing with it is mostly a matter of discipline. My perspective is the meta is a function of time and price developed to extract as much cash as possible for the benefit of the controlling organization. It's very similar to gambling in that the house has amazingly good odds of profiting compared to players. For players, it's a game that can be won by simply controlling when money is spent. Short term, never buy any recently released models. The rules will be juiced for whatever you buy. Here and there is okay, but chasing the meta with new purchases means guaranteed disappointment (most often within 6 months.) Longer term, buy other people's armies. Make friends with people who are frustrated so you will be the first call they make when they decide to quit. You want them to call you before they put their army up on eBay, a good way to make this happen is to buy something from them beforehand and make sure they have your number in their phone. Be the simpler option. I have 2 closets in my basement filled with models and can field almost any Chaos, Death Guard, Daemons, Grey Knights, Guard, or Deathwatch army. The total cost for me is maybe 20% of what they all would have cost new and can liquidate whenever I feel like. I sold all my Orks and Voystrans about 5 years ago, which paid for a big chunk of the rest. This is mostly preparation for changes in the meta. If the meta changes, great, I already have the models and can proxy anything I don't have. If it's a bad edition, fair enough, I make up for that using skew lists tailored to destroy specific opponents. If it's a big change I don't like, I don't play. Sat out most of 7th and 9th edition and have barely played any 10th. I have been playing 4th and 8th edition rules with friends.

Alpha Legion Primaris Lieutenant 10 Intercessors 10 Hellblasters 3 Aggressors Special marker token to indicate the unit containing Alpharius

I've been down this route. The issue with Deathwatch Vets is the torso, Legionnaires have noticeably thicker chests by comparison. The difference is slight, and you may find it's fine for your purposes. But I wanted my custom Vets to look more puffed up and ornate than standard CSM troopers. So anything I wanted to do would be a kitbash or custom sculpts. When it comes to weapons, the DW sprue is generous. You will find all sorts of options for Bolt Pistols, Accursed Weapons, Combi-Weapons, and the like. It's not easy to fit the arm pieces onto Legionnaire torsos without a little sculpting, but it can be done. Good luck!

A Chaos Lord with a Jump Pack or a Terminator Lord would be welcome. Footslogging Joe the Chaos Carpenter fails to inspire the way CLs in earlier editions did. That said, I will believe we are getting new CLs when I see the models.

I think you are on the right track. Iron Warriors, Alpha Legion, and Word Bearers would benefit the most from upgrade sprues. The Cult Legions are already distinctive and Legionnaires already look very much like Black Legion. Red Corsairs not so much, they're space pirates and might be best represented by thoughtful kitbashing. The thing I'd really like to see for Iron Warriors would be upgrades for Havoc Squads. Unique heads and more distinctive heavy weapons. I can get MkIII helmets for Legionnaires without too much effort, which is fine for them. It's the guns that make these models come to life. For Alpha Legion, the thing I'd most like to see is scales for armor. Just an odd assortment of shoulder pads, torsos and helmets could really set off the range. When I see standard models with the green and blue gradients, I just think that's a missed opportunity. For Word Bearers, I'd like to see more worshipful livery - censers, scrolls, skulls on chains, distinctive chaos symbols, etc. Had to sculpt these individually in the past and that can take up a massive amount of time. But also standards - they feel like the Legion that would most want to proclaim their allegiance outside of Cult units.

For Necrons, the relationship between coolness and complexity is inversely proportional and this dynamic becomes more exaggerated over time. No multi-million-year old living metal species needs the title "diviner."

While I like the guitar-wielding Noise Marine, the Rogue sculpts were outstanding. I still have about 30 of them and will break them out if / when ECs get a Codex. These models are tall, easily the same height as current Legionnaires. Really hoping the designers take queues from these.

This might be more involved, actually... In December 2022, Tesla offered US buyers a $7,500 discount on their cars. The trick was you had to take delivery by the last day of 2022. By the time I lined up the financing the next day, the car I wanted was gone and there was little inventory available. In January 2023, $7,500 in tax rebates were announced and Tesla dropped their prices. They also suddenly had new car inventory, I had my choice of colors / options and could take delivery in a week. Everything was lined up, all I had to do is push a button. There's something about building people's appetite with an incentive that can't be realized. The desire for the product doesn't go away just because you yank the deal. My bet is we see Exalted Eightbound and Combat Patrols available everywhere in a month or two. And GW sells a lot of them. The lack of inventory was market research and building demand.