Leaked Drukhari Model, Lady Malys?

[Commissar Greif]

Personally I'm not sure kabalites will be refreshed quite yet. They haven't aged quite as disgracefully as the old guardians had. Always a possibility though. I feel we're more likely to see a lot of the old resin stuff get replaced. Maybe a new plastic archon, too.

 

On 4/8/2025 at 10:21 PM, Chapter Master Valrak said:

Just a heads up, this may not be the only model released with DE this edition. 

Anyway back to my vacation 

Hope you're having fun, Valrak. Never could stomach the weather in Florida, myself.

[Tokugawa]

1 hour ago, Mogger351 said:

 

Hard disagree, fluff wise they do represent different branches of society yes. That's not really relevant to the point I was making though.

 

With regards strats etc I guess... maybe? But trueborn are missed because people ran an archon and 4 blasters in a venom. They're not missed for anything other than the fact they were a special weapons caddy you could zoom about at 20".

 

Scourges exist as a mobile/point insertion special weapons squad, so lack the transport element. So the only real difference is they were kabalites with more gun, but "marines have redundant choices and bloat so DE can too" is a weird argument.

Agree with you.

 

Assumptions like "marine have something, so my faction would have it too" is…funny. Wishing in this way would only meet dissapointment after dissappointment.

[DeadFingers]

1 hour ago, Commissar Greif said:

Personally I'm not sure kabalites will be refreshed quite yet. They haven't aged quite as disgracefully as the old guardians had.

See, I thought the same about some of the Tyranid kits, and even about the Chaos Terminators, and yet here we are. Still, it's definitely the safer bet to say that the finecast/missing models are higher on the priority list. Guess it depends on the size of the release as well, but they also like to throw some new toys alongside the model updates in releases like this, so who knows.

 

Wouldn't surprise me if Dark Eldar receive the Craftworlds treatment and get a couple waves spread over a couple editions though, so while Kabalites, Wyches, Scourges and all that may not be getting an update now, they may still get one a couple years down the line.

[Karhedron]

16 hours ago, Mogger351 said:

If they bring back trueborn and bloodbrides I don't want them to simply be wyches and kabalites with an extra attack, leadership and a few extra special weapons. They need more of an identity and a reason for existence than "special weapon unit" as that's already held by scourges.

 

Agreed. Marines lost "Veteran Intercessor" when they got proper Primaris veterans in the shape of Bladeguard and Sternguard (hopefully Vanguard will come soon too). Dark Eldar need something similar. Incubi are clearly different and have a defined role that cannot really be replicated by Battleline units.

[Deus_Ex_Machina]

We need a diorama depicting this:

 

Space Mongol Dark Eldar Waifu Harem.

 

No wonder those Primarchs are reluctant to visit 40K because they all have received invitations from the Khan.

[Ripper.McGuirl]

If Dire Avengers (elves with shuriken catapults) can be different from Guardians (elves with shuriken catapults), then Trueborn can be different from Kabalites.

They can also be different from Scourges. One of the things that separated them from scourges in the past was that they were a different Force Org slot, so that no longer applies.

But if scourges are theoretically for flitting around and laying down supporting fire, trueborn could be for zooming up, blasting, and stealing objectives. They could be worth a damn in close combat or give bonuses to kabalites near them as they try to keep up. They could cause some kind of fear to the enemy as they feel the seething waves of contempt coming off of them. They could have bonuses when an archon is attached to them or be extra good at killing lone operatives or the enemy general. They could deploy a webway portal or have a special thing they do when they eat a pain token. There’s a million ways to make them different.

Back to Malys: she is super cool in the lore and her kabal had fun rules in previous editions. The model looks great and will obviously also make a great archon base, as well. I feel like she’ll be a great addition to the range, and if we’re not going to see anything actually new to the army, at least getting something we havent had as a model is a good start. 
I would love some actually new models or characters we have never seen or had rules for, but I’ll settle for just  Malys and updated Urien, grotesques, court, beasts, plastic reaper and tantalus, upgrade sprues for bloodbrides and haemoxites, and maybe an updated archon. Plus models for the Baron, the Duke, and the Decapitator, and some version of Vect. That’s all I’m asking for in this wave, nothing much. 

(Sorry for the empty quote below, couldn’t figure out how to get rid of it on my phone)

On 4/8/2025 at 1:20 PM, TheMawr said:

 

Edited Thursday at 05:30 PM by Ripper.McGuirl

[ThePenitentOne]

18 hours ago, Mogger351 said:

 

Hard disagree, fluff wise they do represent different branches of society yes. That's not really relevant to the point I was making though.

 

With regards strats etc I guess... maybe? But trueborn are missed because people ran an archon and 4 blasters in a venom. They're not missed for anything other than the fact they were a special weapons caddy you could zoom about at 20".

 

Scourges exist as a mobile/point insertion special weapons squad, so lack the transport element. So the only real difference is they were kabalites with more gun, but "marines have redundant choices and bloat so DE can too" is a weird argument.

 

16 hours ago, Tokugawa said:

Agree with you.

 

Assumptions like "marine have something, so my faction would have it too" is…funny. Wishing in this way would only meet dissapointment after dissappointment.

 

I think both of you are reading a little too much into what I actually wrote. I don't mean to imply that every faction needs a range as big as marines.

 

What I meant to express is that in a game where one faction has 100+ kits, it seems a bit over the top to question every potential release for a neglected faction with a mere 22 kits. Certainly I agree with the premise that trueborn/ blood brides/ haemoxites SHOULD be meaningfully distinguishable from their battle line equivalents... I just have a problem with the suggestion that neglected factions don't deserve a few extra units unless they meet an arbitrary standard uniqueness in a game where another faction has 100+ kits and far and away, many more instances of redundancy. 

 

@Mogger351 The Trueborn have a great background that shines a light on elements of the larger Drukhari society; the Blood Brides all have the title of Hekatrix, and fluffwise, each capable of serving as a squad leader, while the Haemoxites are among their Master's most durable and enduring creations. And sure, all of those things are fluff distinctions, and you're writing specifically from a rules perspective... But just because the rules told us to field 4 Blasters with an Archon in a Venom, that doesn't mean that those players didn't see them as the uncloned, badass ancients that they were. 

 

As a Crusader, I had to EARN my favoured units- first, my character would have to earn the title of a Lord of Commorragh- a requisition that can only be purchased when the Character hits Battle Hardened, Heroic or Legendary. Once they've earned that title, they may upgrade one new battle line unit to favoured status. But the narrative for Scourges was different- one of our campaign rules was that Ascendant Lords had to first capture one of the territories associated with a Mercenary type- Incubi Shrines, Scourge Spires, and Shado Districts- before they could recruit Mercenaries of that type.

 

You may never have played a Drukhari Crusader in 9th ed. But for us, the differences between Trueborn and Scourges matter in a lot of really subtle ways, some based on fluff and others with rules interactions. And for what it's worth, I really liked what they did with all the favoured units in 9th. They didn't change load out at all; Kabalytes got really shooty, wyches really fighty and wracks really tough. My Kabal were poisoners, so my Trueborn took their battle honours as poison weapon upgrades; having that 2+ BS and ability to ignore hit modifiers was a nice multiplier given the poison specialization. It allowed for another good bit of narrative too; as a campaign rule, Ascendant Lords had to capture a Toxin Distillery before any of their units could choose from that category of battle honours.

 

 

[CL_Mission]

Well it seems like GW aren't following this up with a reveal of their own as they've done in the past. A shame but it's up to them I guess, I wonder what their M.O. is for deciding on when to respond to a leak and when not to, perhaps the Dark Eldar book is just too out and it's simply too early for them to show anything off. I feel like there have been other cases where GW hasn't responded to a leak but I can't remember any details.

[TheMawr]

51 minutes ago, CL_Mission said:

Well it seems like GW aren't following this up with a reveal of their own as they've done in the past. A shame but it's up to them I guess, I wonder what their M.O. is for deciding on when to respond to a leak and when not to, perhaps the Dark Eldar book is just too out and it's simply too early for them to show anything off. I feel like there have been other cases where GW hasn't responded to a leak but I can't remember any details.

 

Right now i can only remember them not adressing leaks that  had to do with startersets ( mortarion, first primaris mini shown, the HH box contents, the new landspeeder picture.. I think biker Where first seen there too, and the sprue of the new bretonnia pegasus. ) though that link is  coincidence based on how early those can leak, because it goes though many more hands much earlier than other releases... the link between those not shown is likely how far away the release is.

 

There is time still however, not all leaks Where adressed immediately, the deathguard character took 2 weeks i think?

[TheMawr]

Oh i remember others now,  there is an AoS commemorative miniature still not adressed i think.

People are even buying it already from official stores but it has never been officially revealed 

[Lord Marshal]

1 hour ago, CL_Mission said:

Well it seems like GW aren't following this up with a reveal of their own as they've done in the past. A shame but it's up to them I guess, I wonder what their M.O. is for deciding on when to respond to a leak and when not to, perhaps the Dark Eldar book is just too out and it's simply too early for them to show anything off. I feel like there have been other cases where GW hasn't responded to a leak but I can't remember any details.

 

I'm guessing it'll be the May show we see her now. The Lord of Poxes they held off showing until LVO, despite having been around (and built) for a short while prior and presumably having originally been meant to appear at Adepticon with the codex reveal.

 

Iirc there's been a few recent AOS leaks (the mounted Vampire Lord comes to mind) where they've not immediately shown them off now too, so it seems their new MO is just to wait until the next coming preview show or 'New Model Monday' and pretend all was planned instead of assuming everybody scours unofficial social media and sees the leakz.

 

Now I've said this they'll probably show her off this Monday though.

 

Edited Saturday at 12:01 PM by Lord Marshal

[Jscarlos18]

So with the monday reveal going to the new Drop Pod, it seems GW either scrapped Lady Malys or has choosen to leave her reveal for when the Drukhari codex is announced. Because the posterboys need to be in the spotlight 24/7/12...

 

Shame to wait with this uncertainty but time will tell.

[Nephaston]

1 minute ago, Jscarlos18 said:

So with the monday reveal going to the new Drop Pod, it seems GW either scrapped Lady Malys or has choosen to leave her reveal for when the Drukhari codex is announced. Because the posterboys need to be in the spotlight 24/7/12...

 

Shame to wait with this uncertainty but time will tell.

 

Very, very unlikely they scrapped her, seeing as this is a plastic sprue, so even just producing one means thousands of pounds of investment to cut the steel mould.

More realistically, seeing that it's a 2023 sprue, they might have simply shelved her for the time being.

Which is nice, since they honestly do not need to react to every single leak, especially after the Lord of Poxes leak meant showing it off a reveal early slimmed down the adepticon reveal even more.

[Jscarlos18]

20 minutes ago, Nephaston said:

Very, very unlikely they scrapped her, seeing as this is a plastic sprue, so even just producing one means thousands of pounds of investment to cut the steel mould.

More realistically, seeing that it's a 2023 sprue, they might have simply shelved her for the time being.

Which is nice, since they honestly do not need to react to every single leak, especially after the Lord of Poxes leak meant showing it off a reveal early slimmed down the adepticon reveal even more.

True, I hope that GW has given them a hefty range refresh since they deserve it after the Craftworld waves got theirs.

[01RTB01]

45 minutes ago, Jscarlos18 said:

True, I hope that GW has given them a hefty range refresh since they deserve it after the Craftworld waves got theirs.

In fairness, the warp spiders were 30 years old, they were well overdue.

 

The DE range is still really tasty despite its age.

[HeadlessCross]

On 4/8/2025 at 10:54 PM, Tokugawa said:

Are you really eager to see your basic battleline unit get update in a £47.5 KT box form?

Aren't Kalabites already terribly done like that anyway? It's FOUR different weapons in the squad to roll for. Absolutely ludicrous and the unit can't specialize worth a damn. 

[Ripper.McGuirl]

35 minutes ago, 01RTB01 said:

In fairness, the warp spiders were 30 years old, they were well overdue.

 

The DE range is still really tasty despite its age.

The plastics are still great and need very little, except maybe some upgrades would be nice. But as I mentioned upthread, there are some iconic things still finecast/range rotated out, and some former Forge World stuff that would be killer to see in plastic. So there are lots of options for refreshing without dipping into re-doing any of the existing plastics.

Again, if they are bothering to do Malys, I have to assume (and as Valrak has also indicated), there’s probably more as well.

Still: SHOW ME MALYS BECAUSE I AM IMPATIENT

[01RTB01]

2 hours ago, Ripper.McGuirl said:

The plastics are still great and need very little, except maybe some upgrades would be nice. But as I mentioned upthread, there are some iconic things still finecast/range rotated out, and some former Forge World stuff that would be killer to see in plastic. So there are lots of options for refreshing without dipping into re-doing any of the existing plastics.

Again, if they are bothering to do Malys, I have to assume (and as Valrak has also indicated), there’s probably more as well.

Still: SHOW ME MALYS BECAUSE I AM IMPATIENT

Agreed on all fronts.

 

I hope for DE players that it is Malys. It'd be great to see her on the tabletop.

[TheMawr]

I will always keep disagreeing on wyches, I cherish the many I have and they are a decent/good old kit, but they are very definitely an old kit. I think because of the nature of the models it does indeed feel different to the other kits. And while I posted my theories that Kabalite warriors will probably be updated ( sadly more likely than wyches imho.) its not necessarily because I think they need it, but rather because I think its what GW will do. But wyches definitely do need it imho.

 

I think comparison also aids, after all, I mostly have them next to Harlequins (wich arent great imho, but thats a taste thing not a quality thing), new Howling Banshees, Witch elves.. alot of things that do the dynamic occupying 3 dimensions thing, but miles better because GW got more experienced with it ( I think wyches where the first to try this in plastic actually?), and things like demons etc.  I actually have relatively few more "static" posed armored miniatures.

When you mostly have them next to Necrons, Spacemarines and Grey knights.. old or new, they are probably of such a different nature that it maybe hardly registers how outdated they really are ?

 

And also slottabases... slottabases and their annoying tabs ( maybe its just me who has had so much bad experience with those ever since the metal days that I prefer my models jumping off tactical rocks if that means not having to deal with those.)

 

 

 

[TheMawr]

48 minutes ago, 01RTB01 said:

Agreed on all fronts.

 

I hope for DE players that it is Malys. It'd be great to see her on the tabletop.

 

I think its unlikely not to be her.

Though this could still mean its an anniversary kind of miniature, or a future novel tie in miniature, maybe a weird warhammer plus choice... or something else that means she wont get rules/adopted into the permanent range, I hope not, but those things are still possible and something to keep in mind.

And I guess even in the permanent ranges we have generic characters who people could have sworn are named character X ( Tellion the Phobos captain, the Blood angels apothecary that is not corbulo, though I dont really see that one, but the people who matter on it do.)

[ThePenitentOne]

1 hour ago, TheMawr said:

I will always keep disagreeing on wyches, I cherish the many I have and they are a decent/good old kit, but they are very definitely an old kit. I think because of the nature of the models it does indeed feel different to the other kits. And while I posted my theories that Kabalite warriors will probably be updated ( sadly more likely than wyches imho.) its not necessarily because I think they need it, but rather because I think its what GW will do. But wyches definitely do need it imho.

 

Whether they need it or not though, people aren't necessarily objecting to it. They are saying that needed or not, there are things that are needed more... Like the things that can't currently be played because they don't have models at all.

 

No matter how much you think Wyches need an upgrade, I'm sure you'll agree that they don't need it more than the Court, Beasts and Grotesques.  I bought resin Beasts and Court models because I was afraid I might hate new sculpts, but I don't want to invest time in painting them until I know I'm either not getting plastic ones, or I'm getting them and I don't like them. As for Grotesques, if GW doesn't give them to us soon, I'm pulling the trigger on W Artel.

 

In fact, part of me had hoped this Malys model was a Lhamaean, because that would CLEARLY mean the Court was coming. But when folks pointed out the crystal heart, that kinda sealed the deal. 

Edited 14 hours ago by ThePenitentOne

[Tokugawa]

Special/limited release didn't always mean "just a skin". Titus received tournament legal 40K rules, months after the model released.

[Ripper.McGuirl]

9 hours ago, TheMawr said:

 

I think its unlikely not to be her.

Though this could still mean its an anniversary kind of miniature, or a future novel tie in miniature, maybe a weird warhammer plus choice... or something else that means she wont get rules/adopted into the permanent range, I hope not, but those things are still possible and something to keep in mind.

And I guess even in the permanent ranges we have generic characters who people could have sworn are named character X ( Tellion the Phobos captain, the Blood angels apothecary that is not corbulo, though I dont really see that one, but the people who matter on it do.)

It could definitely be a non-codex-attached Malys, but I think only the novel tie-in has any actual likelihood. Dark Eldar in general and Malys specifically don’t have the kind of broad appeal that most of the anniversary and WH+ models tend to be trying to tap into. I’d happily take a Malys novel and model. But even that seems unlikely given the general reluctance for Black Library to put out Xenos novels and the fact that we just had the Lelith book.

I am still putting my heart in: a wave of stuff is coming at some point, Malys is part of it, and it’s far enough away that they don’t want to show her yet.

But also: SHOW ME MALLLYYSSS